Time For a Celebration!! We've Got Exploration and EXPLOITATION!!!
(A paper I typed for Caribbean Lit...Just something to think about)
Exploration and Exploitation:
The Other Legacy of Columbus
As the desire to discover new maritime trade routes became an increasingly significant priority for thirteenth century Europeans, countless explorers sought to capitalize on the possibility of wealth and prominence promised by their respective kings. It was during this period of economic expansionism in which the Europeans, by chance, stumbled upon the “New World” – what is now referred to as the Americas and the Caribbean. On many voyages to the “New World,” Christopher Columbus traveled up and down the coastline, naming the places he saw and settling where he believed could be opportunistic for the Europeans. Because of Columbus’ extensive exploration, he is now revered as a prolific icon of Western ingenuity, romanticized from every angle. But what is often consciously ignored in the history books we educate our children with are the long-lasting detrimental effects of colonization that which the indigenous people of both the Americas and the Caribbean were violently forced to suffer.
To understand the magnitude of devastation caused by colonialism it is essential to consult the primary texts written during this period that recount both the questionable motives of Columbus and the specific impacts of his colonization. In Columbus’ journal, which describe his various encounters with different places and persons, the superficial motives are made very apparent: his obsessive quest for gold, his perception of the natives as nothing more than possible labor workers, his hope to “save” the natives through Christianity, and, finally, his love of the “fertile” geography that could potentially be extremely helpful to the European economy. But Columbus obviously doesn’t recognize his motives as selfish or oppressive to the natives; rather, he believes them to be divinely justified – that the ultimate purpose in life is the spread of Christianity. He also believes them to be politically justified in the sense that it is right and just to spread the seeds of civilization. But a Dominican monk, Bartoleme de Las Casas, illustrates how this “justified” invasion of the “new world” ultimately caused irrevocable damage to the natives – their culture, their land, their dignity.
Each time Christopher Columbus arrived in on a new island he first took notice of the geography of the land and possible benefits with which it could serve Europe. He notes, “they are all extremely verdant and fertile,” and, moreover, he claims that “[his] eyes are never tired with viewing such delightful verdure, and of a species so new and dissimilar to that of our country, and I have no doubt there are trees and herbs which would be of great value in Spain” (Columbus 11). In each of his descriptions of a new island Columbus encounters, he continually takes note of the “verdant,” “fertile” land. But Columbus is not making these observations simply because he has powerful affections of beauty that he can not suppress; Columbus takes note of the landscape with the hope of “selling” it to the king of Spain, who will make Columbus a governor of a province if he believes it to be worth his while. This is precisely why Columbus makes a remark about a particular aspect of the land’s potential use for the Europeans; for example, when he discovers an aloe tree he states, “I discovered also the aloe tree, and am determined to take on board the ship tomorrow, ten quintals of it, as I am told it is valuable” (12). As Columbus explored new regions of land, he shed away his innocent observations and gilded everything he saw in terms of how beneficial it could be for Europe.
But beyond evaluating the landscapes in measures of potential benefit for Europeans, Columbus also evaluated the native people in the same light. He did not attempt to understand their culture before he arrived at the conclusion that the natives were a primitive people in need of Christianity and civilization. For example, when he arrives on his first island he states, “they could be much more easily converted to our holy faith by gentle means than by force” (6). He later states, “the people are ingenious, and would be good servants and I am of the opinion that they would very readily become Christians” (7). Not only does he make observations about the natives as being potentially good servants and easy converts, but he then explicitly states how he will take action on these thoughts: “I intend at my return to carry home six of them” (7). Columbus also notes to the king that he “could conquer the whole of them with fifty men, and govern them as [he] pleased” (8). These inhumane words and actions are justified to Columbus because the indigenous people are “uncivilized” – they are naked, they have no noticeable religion, and their weapons have not advanced beyond simple javelins and spears – which is why Columbus believes that the natives “seemed to take great pleasure in serving us” (9). For Columbus, it is natural to think that an uncivilized person would find great joy in serving a member of civilized society, because regardless of the toil, labor, and suffering they would undergo they would nevertheless be a part of the “advanced” society. Columbus arrives at the various islands and perceives the people as either potential servants or converts, and this mentality foreshadows the next several hundred years in both the Caribbean and throughout the Americas.
But beyond all other preoccupations Columbus had during his voyages throughout the Caribbean, his main obsession was his quest for gold. But because the native cultures did not view gold as highly as the Europeans, Columbus had many troubles finding it. One cannot help but laugh when reading the descriptions of Columbus’ arrival and departure to and from every island, because they illustrate his undying determination to find gold, despite the fact that he perceives gold in a much more advantageous light than the natives do. He arrives at the islands, confronts the natives, “and strove to learn if they had any gold” (7). Likewise, as he leaves the islands, he repeatedly states, we “proceeded on [to the next island] in search of gold and precious stones” (7). But although Columbus’ dreams of finding gold are left unfulfilled, he still manages to get permission and funding from the King of Spain to continue exploring and settling in the region; this is because Columbus successfully persuaded the King that the land was fertile and that the natives could be easily conquered, converted, and put to work, which would be very helpful to their kingdom’s wealth.
So what were the results of Columbus’ sales-pitch of the Caribbean? The King bought the idea and immediately began colonizing the various islands, using force when both necessary and unnecessary. The effects of this colonization are recounted in Bartoleme de Las Casas’, Brief Account of the Devastation of the Indies. In this essay, Las Casas vividly describes the inhumanity that the natives were forced to suffer simply because they were different, and therefore perceived to be inferior. Though Las Casas was also a Christian hoping to spread his faith, his message was not tainted by the material desires for gold, land, and free labor – these are the things he spoke out against. He describes how the Spanish settlers “immediately behaved like ravening wild beasts, wolves, tigers, or lions that had been starved for many days” (Las Casas 2). Las Casas claims this violence has been a continuous trend: “the past forty years, down to the present time … they are still killing, terrorizing, afflicting, torturing, and destroying the native peoples, doing all this with the strangest and most varied new methods of cruelty, never seen or heard of before” (2). This inhumanity wrought upon the natives by the European settlers was a relentless force of devastation and oppression. Las Casas states, “with the infernal actions of the Christians, there have been unjustly slain more than twelve million men, women, and children” (3). Later in his essay Las Casas explicitly confronts Columbus and his men’s materialistic greed that is robbing the indigenous people of a culture once rich (no pun intended) and thriving: “their reason for killing and destroying such an infinite number of souls is that the Christians have an ultimate aim, which is to acquire gold, and to swell themselves with riches in a very brief time and thus rise to a high estate disproportionate to their merits” (3).
After describing in vivid detail many of the specific types of torture, Las Casas concludes by describing the sadistic, genocidal “final solution” done to the natives: they sent the “men to the mines to dig for gold, which is intolerable labor … [they sent] the women into the fields of the big ranches to hoe and till the land, work suitable for strong men. Nor to either of the men or the women did they give any food … [and eventually] the milk in the breasts of the women dried up and thus in a short while the infants perished” (5). And furthermore, “since the men and the women were separated, there could be no marital relations” (5). Las Casas describes for us how brutal the European invasion to the Caribbean actually was; it transformed itself into a mass genocide for all who were unlike the Europeans, and because of this, the indigenous cultures have very little to hold on to. It is important for people living in the present to never forget the detrimental effects of Christopher Columbus’ seemingly justified and innocent excursions to the new world, because history has a way of always repeating itself, and if we let ourselves be blinded by overshadowing motives such as spreading faith (or democracy, which sounds quite familiar) or helping to advance other civilizations we may lose sight of the underlying effects that completely transform, or, more radically, wipe out a culture rich and thriving in its own respect.
Exploration and Exploitation:
The Other Legacy of Columbus
As the desire to discover new maritime trade routes became an increasingly significant priority for thirteenth century Europeans, countless explorers sought to capitalize on the possibility of wealth and prominence promised by their respective kings. It was during this period of economic expansionism in which the Europeans, by chance, stumbled upon the “New World” – what is now referred to as the Americas and the Caribbean. On many voyages to the “New World,” Christopher Columbus traveled up and down the coastline, naming the places he saw and settling where he believed could be opportunistic for the Europeans. Because of Columbus’ extensive exploration, he is now revered as a prolific icon of Western ingenuity, romanticized from every angle. But what is often consciously ignored in the history books we educate our children with are the long-lasting detrimental effects of colonization that which the indigenous people of both the Americas and the Caribbean were violently forced to suffer.
To understand the magnitude of devastation caused by colonialism it is essential to consult the primary texts written during this period that recount both the questionable motives of Columbus and the specific impacts of his colonization. In Columbus’ journal, which describe his various encounters with different places and persons, the superficial motives are made very apparent: his obsessive quest for gold, his perception of the natives as nothing more than possible labor workers, his hope to “save” the natives through Christianity, and, finally, his love of the “fertile” geography that could potentially be extremely helpful to the European economy. But Columbus obviously doesn’t recognize his motives as selfish or oppressive to the natives; rather, he believes them to be divinely justified – that the ultimate purpose in life is the spread of Christianity. He also believes them to be politically justified in the sense that it is right and just to spread the seeds of civilization. But a Dominican monk, Bartoleme de Las Casas, illustrates how this “justified” invasion of the “new world” ultimately caused irrevocable damage to the natives – their culture, their land, their dignity.
Each time Christopher Columbus arrived in on a new island he first took notice of the geography of the land and possible benefits with which it could serve Europe. He notes, “they are all extremely verdant and fertile,” and, moreover, he claims that “[his] eyes are never tired with viewing such delightful verdure, and of a species so new and dissimilar to that of our country, and I have no doubt there are trees and herbs which would be of great value in Spain” (Columbus 11). In each of his descriptions of a new island Columbus encounters, he continually takes note of the “verdant,” “fertile” land. But Columbus is not making these observations simply because he has powerful affections of beauty that he can not suppress; Columbus takes note of the landscape with the hope of “selling” it to the king of Spain, who will make Columbus a governor of a province if he believes it to be worth his while. This is precisely why Columbus makes a remark about a particular aspect of the land’s potential use for the Europeans; for example, when he discovers an aloe tree he states, “I discovered also the aloe tree, and am determined to take on board the ship tomorrow, ten quintals of it, as I am told it is valuable” (12). As Columbus explored new regions of land, he shed away his innocent observations and gilded everything he saw in terms of how beneficial it could be for Europe.
But beyond evaluating the landscapes in measures of potential benefit for Europeans, Columbus also evaluated the native people in the same light. He did not attempt to understand their culture before he arrived at the conclusion that the natives were a primitive people in need of Christianity and civilization. For example, when he arrives on his first island he states, “they could be much more easily converted to our holy faith by gentle means than by force” (6). He later states, “the people are ingenious, and would be good servants and I am of the opinion that they would very readily become Christians” (7). Not only does he make observations about the natives as being potentially good servants and easy converts, but he then explicitly states how he will take action on these thoughts: “I intend at my return to carry home six of them” (7). Columbus also notes to the king that he “could conquer the whole of them with fifty men, and govern them as [he] pleased” (8). These inhumane words and actions are justified to Columbus because the indigenous people are “uncivilized” – they are naked, they have no noticeable religion, and their weapons have not advanced beyond simple javelins and spears – which is why Columbus believes that the natives “seemed to take great pleasure in serving us” (9). For Columbus, it is natural to think that an uncivilized person would find great joy in serving a member of civilized society, because regardless of the toil, labor, and suffering they would undergo they would nevertheless be a part of the “advanced” society. Columbus arrives at the various islands and perceives the people as either potential servants or converts, and this mentality foreshadows the next several hundred years in both the Caribbean and throughout the Americas.
But beyond all other preoccupations Columbus had during his voyages throughout the Caribbean, his main obsession was his quest for gold. But because the native cultures did not view gold as highly as the Europeans, Columbus had many troubles finding it. One cannot help but laugh when reading the descriptions of Columbus’ arrival and departure to and from every island, because they illustrate his undying determination to find gold, despite the fact that he perceives gold in a much more advantageous light than the natives do. He arrives at the islands, confronts the natives, “and strove to learn if they had any gold” (7). Likewise, as he leaves the islands, he repeatedly states, we “proceeded on [to the next island] in search of gold and precious stones” (7). But although Columbus’ dreams of finding gold are left unfulfilled, he still manages to get permission and funding from the King of Spain to continue exploring and settling in the region; this is because Columbus successfully persuaded the King that the land was fertile and that the natives could be easily conquered, converted, and put to work, which would be very helpful to their kingdom’s wealth.
So what were the results of Columbus’ sales-pitch of the Caribbean? The King bought the idea and immediately began colonizing the various islands, using force when both necessary and unnecessary. The effects of this colonization are recounted in Bartoleme de Las Casas’, Brief Account of the Devastation of the Indies. In this essay, Las Casas vividly describes the inhumanity that the natives were forced to suffer simply because they were different, and therefore perceived to be inferior. Though Las Casas was also a Christian hoping to spread his faith, his message was not tainted by the material desires for gold, land, and free labor – these are the things he spoke out against. He describes how the Spanish settlers “immediately behaved like ravening wild beasts, wolves, tigers, or lions that had been starved for many days” (Las Casas 2). Las Casas claims this violence has been a continuous trend: “the past forty years, down to the present time … they are still killing, terrorizing, afflicting, torturing, and destroying the native peoples, doing all this with the strangest and most varied new methods of cruelty, never seen or heard of before” (2). This inhumanity wrought upon the natives by the European settlers was a relentless force of devastation and oppression. Las Casas states, “with the infernal actions of the Christians, there have been unjustly slain more than twelve million men, women, and children” (3). Later in his essay Las Casas explicitly confronts Columbus and his men’s materialistic greed that is robbing the indigenous people of a culture once rich (no pun intended) and thriving: “their reason for killing and destroying such an infinite number of souls is that the Christians have an ultimate aim, which is to acquire gold, and to swell themselves with riches in a very brief time and thus rise to a high estate disproportionate to their merits” (3).
After describing in vivid detail many of the specific types of torture, Las Casas concludes by describing the sadistic, genocidal “final solution” done to the natives: they sent the “men to the mines to dig for gold, which is intolerable labor … [they sent] the women into the fields of the big ranches to hoe and till the land, work suitable for strong men. Nor to either of the men or the women did they give any food … [and eventually] the milk in the breasts of the women dried up and thus in a short while the infants perished” (5). And furthermore, “since the men and the women were separated, there could be no marital relations” (5). Las Casas describes for us how brutal the European invasion to the Caribbean actually was; it transformed itself into a mass genocide for all who were unlike the Europeans, and because of this, the indigenous cultures have very little to hold on to. It is important for people living in the present to never forget the detrimental effects of Christopher Columbus’ seemingly justified and innocent excursions to the new world, because history has a way of always repeating itself, and if we let ourselves be blinded by overshadowing motives such as spreading faith (or democracy, which sounds quite familiar) or helping to advance other civilizations we may lose sight of the underlying effects that completely transform, or, more radically, wipe out a culture rich and thriving in its own respect.
posted by Nick at 3:13 p. m.
2 Comments:
where did the illustration come from?
tres cool!
http://bongoes.blog.com/
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