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Ch 1

Ch 1. Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress. Columbus was in search of Gold. Gold was a new mark of wealth- more useful than land b/c it could buy anything.

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Ch 1

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  1. Ch 1 Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress

  2. Columbus was in search of Gold • Gold was a new mark of wealth- more useful than land b/c it could buy anything.

  3. Gold existed in Asia, but Turks controlled land routes to Asia- so sea route was needed- Spain decided to gamble on long sail across unknown Ocean.

  4. A Promise • If Columbus brought back gold/spices Columbus would receive 10% of profits, governorship over newfound islands.

  5. B. In the wrong place at the wrong time? • The Arawak Natives lived in communes • developed agriculture, corn , yams, cassava, could spin/weave, • had no horses or work animals. • had no iron but wore tiny gold ornaments in ears.

  6. C. Columbus goes to Cuba… • Bits of visible gold in rivers and gold mask presented to Columbus led to wild visions of gold fields.

  7. Columbus took some prisoners insisting they guide him to source of gold.

  8. D.   Bloodshed • C.C got into fight with w/ NAs who refused to trade as many bows/arrows as he/men wanted. • Two Arawaks were run through with swords & bled to death. • The Nina and Pinta set sail for Spain. • When weather turned cold Indian prisoners began to die.)

  9. Primary Source Work, pg. 3/5/6/7 of Zinn

  10. E. Another Trip • Columbus’s next trip –he was given 17 ships / 1200 men- goal- gold and slaves. • They went island to island taking captives. • At Haiti they found sailors (left behind) killed. • From his base in Haiti- CC, sent men to interior- found no gold but had to fill up ships going back to Spain with some kind of pay off.

  11. F. Raiders • 1495, C.C. & co. went on great slave raid. • (selected 500 of 1500 Arawak- of the 500, 200 died on the way.) • Problem- too many slaves died in captivity- CC, desperate to pay back investors ordered all persons 14 or older to collect certain amt. of gold every 3 mos. • If goal met- they were given copper tokens around necks. • Indians found without copper token had hands cut off and bled to death.

  12. G.   Mission Impossible • Impossible task- they fled, were hunted down w/ dogs & killed.

  13. H.     Fight Back? • Arawak Army of resistance- faced armor, muskets, swords, horses • When Spain. took prisoners they hanged or burned them to death. • Mass suicide began among Arawak, with cassava poison. • In 2 yrs. by murder, mutilation or suicide- ½ of 250,000 on Haiti were dead. • When apparent, no gold left- Indians were enslaved on huge estates known later as encomiendas. • Worked at ferocious pace, died by 000’ .

  14. 1515, approx 50,000 Indians remained. • 1550- only 500 left • A report of 1650 showed none of original Arawaks left.

  15. I.     Could it be true? • Main source- and on many matters, only source of what happened after CC arrival is Bartolome de Las Casas who partook in conquest of Cuba. • After giving up his slave plantation he became critic of Spa. Cruelty. • Las Casas transcribed CC journal .

  16. Summary • Point is not that we must accuse, judge and condemn C.C. in absence—but easy acceptance of atrocities as a price for progress (Hiroshima, Vietnam, to save Western civilization, Iraq?) is still with us. • Argument- Nations are not communities, never have been. • The history of any country presented as history of a family, hides conflicts between conquerors, conquered , masters and slaves, capitalists and workers, dominators and dominated, race and sex.

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