CHAPTER 1: COLUMBUS, THE

INDIANS, AND HUMAN PROGRESS

Alas, Kenya

CH S 245

IN SEARCH OF GOLDMillions of people around the world celebrate Columbus Day every October 12. But who was Columbus in reality? Are we honoring people who have created the greatest atrocities? Columbus was very ambitious. He was able to persuade the Queen and King of Spain to finance an expedition in search of Gold and spices in the Indies and in Asia. In return for bringing back gold, which was becoming the new mark of wealth in Spanish, they promised him 10 percent of profits, governorship and fame. He set out with three sailing ships, the largest with the name Santa Maria.

THE AR AWAK AND CO LUM BU S’ AR RIVAL

Columbus upon his trip to Asia, he came across the Americas. When he and his Sailors came ashore in early October 1492, the Arawak ran to greet them showering them with gifts and welcoming them with great hospitality. Columbus took the opportunity to befriend them and later use that to his advantage.

TAKING OVERColumbus went from island to island looking for gold. They found no gold fields but they had to go back with some kind of dividend so they took hundreds of Arawak as slaves. Some of the Arawak resisted consequently many were murdered and mutilated causing their population to greatly declined. In search of gold, he brutally and unfairly took over the Indians lands for his own benefits without merely thinking about what damage he was doing to the people of the land. (pages 4-5)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF_unlvjccA This video briefly explains what occurred during Columbus brutal conquest.

MULTIVOLUME: H I S T O RY O F T H E I N D I E S

Author: Las Casas, a young priest and critic of Spanish cruelty, who participated in the conquest of Cuba wrote several books on Columbus

Book Descriptions:

The 1st book is a transcription of Columbus’ journal. Las Casas describes the Indians. He focuses on their relationships and gender roles. It’s amazing how well the woman were treated.

The 2nd book is about the cruel treatment of the Indians by the Spaniards

Pages 5-7

CORTÉS AND PIZARRO

The Aztec Civilization of Mexico came out of the heritage of Mayan, Zapotec, and Toltec cultures. When Hernando Cortés arrived ashore, the Aztecs welcomed him with great hospitality believing he was the legendary Aztec man-god, the mysterious Quetzalcoatl. Cortés had come from Spain with an expedition to find gold. His tactic was to murder and deceive them in order to paralyze the will of the population and have them in their hands.

The Spanish conquistador Pizarro used the same tactic as Cortés with the Incas in Peru.

P.11 -12

ENGLISH SETTLERS AND THE POWHATANS

The English settled on land that was ran by the chief Powhatan whom did not attack. When the English were going through a period of starvation, some of them decided to join the Indians so they could be fed. The English later wanted their men back but supposedly they refused to give them back. In furry the English decided to pay revenge by killing Indians and burning their homes. In fear of the outgrowing number of Americans, the Indians decided to fight back. As a consequence, the English decided to exterminate them. 11-13

ENGLISH SETTLERS AND THE PEQUOTS

The Pilgrims came to a territory inhabited by tribes of Pequot Indians. Under the command of John Winthrop, they created an excuse to take the Indian land by saying that the Indians only had a “natural” not “civil right” . They attacked and burned villages, which resulted in a huge Indian population decline and massacre. 14-17

ZINN’S, THE ATUTHOR, CRITIQUES TOWARDS

APPROACHES OF HISTORYMany historians lie about the past or omit facts when they wrote about the past.

The past is told in point of views of governments, conquerors, diplomats, and leaders.

Zinn prefers to try to tell the story by other points of view such as the Arawak’s, the slaves, and the working class.

Pgs. 8-10

HUMAN PROGRESS?Was it necessary for all the death and brutality to occur in order to achieve progress? Were the intentions really for human to progress or to just benefit a certain group? That’s the question many ask. For example, Columbus called the Indians inferior. In order to gain power many Europeans and Spaniards used “annihilation of races” as an excuse of progress. For example Columbus in search of gold, he brutally and unfairly took over the Indians lands. For his own benefits without merely thinking about what damage he was doing to people of the land. Cortes and the Puritans took a similar approach. In search of better lands and progress for their own civilization, they went and took over others resources in order to be prosperous. While others progressed, others suffered the consequences.

REDEFINING THE CONQUESTSHistory Books all begin with heroic adventures of Columbus, Cortéz, Pizarro, and etc. with no bloodshed. Their atrocities are buried under mass of other facts of their gloried conquests. Is it that the people that they conquered and destroyed were inferior? In no way were these people inferior. For example Columbus named them Indians because the Indians had moved around in seek of land. In that process had developed hundreds of different cultures with the dependence of agriculture. In the meantime others had began to live in communities were there was more food and houses. They Indians greatly remained nomadic hunters therefore they were seen as inferior.

TEMPORARY GLORY

According to the author, all the killing and the glory of taking over only lasts for a bit and it makes a land prosperous only temporarily for example “For all the gold and silver stolen and shipped to Spain did not make the Spanish people richer”(Zinn, p.18), all the costs and things they did in order to gain such victory outweighed the end results. It makes us wonder why people take this approach that just leads to a temporary glorious moment of victory and ends with a worst condition.

REFERENCES

Zinn, Howard. A People's History of the United States. New York: HarperCollins, 2003. Print.