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Reflection on critical reading and thinking skills
Impacts of colonialism in Native America
Impacts of colonialism in Native America
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Avarice, often erroneously associated with ambition, serves as the purpose to achieve supremacy over the masses, one of the fundamental cornerstones of human nature. Ever since the beginning of civilizations, humankind has been the quintessence of authority and power; constantly striving for the satisfaction of the desire to obtain material wealth correlated with aforementioned prestige. Literature, like any other invention contrived by mankind, often conveys the views and depictions of the vicissitudes that certain groups -Indians for instance- undergo. Subsequent to the discovery of America, works of literature were written to portray the description of the New World, and the hardship that the natives endured for several years.
In George
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Sabo III’s analysis called “Rituals of Encounter: Interpreting Native American Views on European Explorers”, Sabo expresses the idea that, the so called “savages” would openly welcome European settlers -French in this case- with gifts and ceremonies. Sabo utilizes the instance of Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, and the fact that the natives greeted them, giving an insight into a traditional custom their culture: Foreigners/visitors were celebrated and venerated throughout their stay. Likewise, the author focuses on the interactions between the French and two groups; the Quapaws, and the Caddos, serving as allegories for the cultural clash between Worlds. Following the establishment of parallels between the symbiosis amongst the two Indian groups from Arkansas, and the French; the author concludes that: While both groups celebrated the arrival of the same faction differently, the customs were essentially equal since they both involved the ephemeral acceptance of guests. As a denouement of his dissertation, Sabo asserts, “Native Americans did not comprehend Europeans precisely the same ways: Their perceptions of Europeans were in fact the product of individual cultural patterns”, acknowledging the fact that, ironically while considered savages, natives’ habits differ little from those of “civilized” men (Sabo 68). Moreover, A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies by Bartolome de las Casas, encompasses the thesis that, literary works impart the metamorphosis of Native Americans’ customs and traditions.
In this work, de las Casas denounces Spain for causing the death of millions of savages due to the poor working conditions. In his writing, he makes a call for reflection inflicting the words, “... [readers] would please consider whether or no such Barbarous, Cruel, and Inhumane Acts as these do not transcend and exceed all the impiety and tyranny … and whether the Spaniards deserve not the name of Devils” (de las Casas 36). These claims gained more momentum since not only do they condemn Spaniards’ actions, but they denominate them as Devils from de las Casas’ -a priest- perspective. As a result of this document, the term Black Legend arose, and the world became aware of the egregious conditions the natives underwent. Furthermore, in History of the Indies, de las Casas specifically, and more deeply complains about the working conditions of the natives, as exemplified by the citation, “And this was freedom, the good treatment, and the Christianity that Indians received” (Foner 9). In this excerpt, the author comments on the fact that, after being captured and put to work, most of the natives died due to a combination of poor living conditions at the minting locations, inadequate food supplies, deficient treatment of diseases, and diminutive treatments as humans. Bartolome de …show more content…
las Casas’ literary works disclose that, with the arrival of the Europeans: Indians went from a peaceful, comfortable, and organized hunting-based system; to a commercial gold mining system to satisfy the greed for material goods of the oppressive newcomers. As a well-established society, Indians welcomed the newcomers and associated with guiding, trading, and allying in wars. This change in customs was so prominent that by 1762-1763, after the Seven Years’ War, when Indians were constantly revolting against Europeans, Pontiac told the story of an Indian from Delaware –Neolin- that had encountered three paths and to reach wisdom through the “Master of Life” (Foner 81). In this allegory, characteristic of Indians, the story relies on the fact that two paths contained flames, symbolic for destruction and each path represented a belligerent country –England and France-. The third path represents Native Americans’ fate of free will, and the “beautiful woman” in white represents fertility for the new life that was destined for Indians. Finally, when Neolin –an allegory for Native Americans as a whole- follows his path, he encounters the Master of Life, and he enlightens him with the revelation that they have become too similar to what they hated: white men. While being imperative with the extermination of Europeans, this God urges Indians to remain what they were before being colonized, which is in essence, more humans. In addition, another instance attested by Eric Foner’s collection of literature epistles in Voices of Freedom is the “Exchange Between John Smith and Powhatan.” Here, the work suffices as an allegory for the exchange between customs: Indian and English. Powhatan, representing Indians, explains the fluctuation in the Indian’s perspectives on European’s actions, and the repercussions of the interactions between the Old and New Worlds. Through the utilization of an extended metaphor, the Indians -Powhatan- claim that the transactions between them and the English commenced as somewhat beneficial, but slowly fluctuated towards the formation of Indians into greedy creatures just like their counterparts. Additionally, the Indians deviated their views on humanity when they realize that avarice -the Europeans- would bring nothing more than destruction as supported by the quote, “But this rumor that you are come to destroy my country, so much frightens all my people as they dare not to visit you” (Foner 24). Another epitome of the literary representation of the synergy between natives and settlers is seen in Daniel Richter’s Facing East from Indian Country: A Native History of Early America, where the author attests that, Indians responded to the arrival of settlers with eagerness, and willingness to establish a trade relation for materials and ideas -referring back to the cultural clash between worlds-, and were.
Additionally, an interesting argument of Richter’s is the fact that the relationships with settlers is able to develop in differing ways. Following this statement, one may contribute the quintessence of the general support of French over British settlers in the course of Native American history. In a review written by Nancy Shoemaker, she corroborates the authenticity of Richter’s speculations, and reflects her thoughts upon the literary work. Shoemaker praises Richter’s utilization of “Euroamericans” as an apotheosis of the exclusion of Indians from their own territory as they expanded westward, as supported by the citation, “... Euroamericans had opted to exclude Indians from the path blazed by their expansion westward” (Shoemaker
809).
However, Richter establishes the notion of imagination in the reader’s mind to make up for the amount speculation he uses. Using the scarce amount of sources at his disposal, Richter writes about what likely happened during Euro-Indian contact. A prime example of this is Richter making a connection between European shipwrecks, evidence of nontraditional items in Native communities before European contact, and movement of Indian tribes to coastal areas. The author relies on what is known of Native people during the Mississippian Period, and European accounts of their travels to North America. Lack of primary sources becomes a strong point of the book, allowing Richter to use his historical prowess and imagination to channel an unknown world in Indian
Anais Nin once said that “we write to taste life twice: in the moment and in retrospection.” In his book, Seven Myths of Spanish Conquest, Matthew Restall tries to change our perception of the past in other to open our eyes to what life was really like during the colonial period. As Restall puts it, the main propose of the book is to “illustrate the degree to which the Conquest was a far more complex and protracted affair” (p.154) than what was supposed in the latters and chronicles left by the conquistadores. Each one of Restall’s chapters examines one of seven myths regarding the mystery behind the conquest. By doing so, Matthew Restall forces us to look back at the Spanish conquest and question
The source of the first passage that I read was History of the Indies written by Bartolome de Las Casas written in 1528. Bartolome was a 16th century Spanish historian, social reformer and Dominican friar/priest, who condemned the treatment of Indians in the Spanish empire. Bartolome widely disseminated History of the Indies and helped to establish the Black Legend of Spanish cruelty (Give Me Liberty, 28). The source of the second passage that I read was the “Declaration of Josephe” which was created by Josephe on December 19, 1681, and Josephe was a Spanish-speaking Indian questioned by a royal attorney in Mexico City investigating the Pueblo Revolt, which is the revolt of the indian population, in 1680, which temporarily drove Spanish settlers out of present day New Mexico
The Frontier Thesis has been very influential in people’s understanding of American values, government and culture until fairly recently. Frederick Jackson Turner outlines the frontier thesis in his essay “The Significance of the Frontier in American History”. He argues that expansion of society at the frontier is what explains America’s individuality and ruggedness. Furthermore, he argues that the communitarian values experienced on the frontier carry over to America’s unique perspective on democracy. This idea has been pervasive in studies of American History until fairly recently when it has come under scrutiny for numerous reasons. In his essay “The Trouble with Wilderness; or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature”, William Cronon argues that many scholars, Turner included, fall victim to the false notion that a pristine, untouched wilderness existed before European intervention. Turner’s argument does indeed rely on the idea of pristine wilderness, especially because he fails to notice the serious impact that Native Americans had on the landscape of the Americas before Europeans set foot in America.
When considering the birth of America, most people look to Christopher Columbus and the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock. In An Infinity of Nations, Michael Witgen looks to shed light on the role Native Americans played in the formation of early America. Witgen analyzes the social relationships between the European settlers and the indigenous tribes of the Anishinaabeg and the Haudenosaunee in order to tell the story of the westward expansion of early American civilization. Witgen depicts agreement and conflict between the colonizing groups while also explaining the formation of power within them – but his analysis is incomplete. The incorporation of Joan Scott’s and Michael Foucault’s definitions of gender and power relationships into
In Thomas King’s novel, The Inconvenient Indian, the story of North America’s history is discussed from his original viewpoint and perspective. In his first chapter, “Forgetting Columbus,” he voices his opinion about how he feel towards the way white people have told America’s history and portraying it as an adventurous tale of triumph, strength and freedom. King hunts down the evidence needed to reveal more facts on the controversial relationship between the whites and natives and how it has affected the culture of Americans. Mainly untangling the confusion between the idea of Native Americans being savages and whites constantly reigning in glory. He exposes the truth about how Native Americans were treated and how their actual stories were
In a lively account filled that is with personal accounts and the voices of people that were in the past left out of the historical armament, Ronald Takaki proffers us a new perspective of America’s envisioned past. Mr. Takaki confronts and disputes the Anglo-centric historical point of view. This dispute and confrontation is started in the within the seventeenth-century arrival of the colonists from England as witnessed by the Powhatan Indians of Virginia and the Wamapanoag Indians from the Massachusetts area. From there, Mr. Takaki turns our attention to several different cultures and how they had been affected by North America. The English colonists had brought the African people with force to the Atlantic coasts of America. The Irish women that sought to facilitate their need to work in factory settings and maids for our towns. The Chinese who migrated with ideas of a golden mountain and the Japanese who came and labored in the cane fields of Hawaii and on the farms of California. The Jewish people that fled from shtetls of Russia and created new urban communities here. The Latinos who crossed the border had come in search of the mythic and fabulous life El Norte.
The discovery and conquest of American Indians inspired efforts to develop an ideology that could justify why they needed to enslave the Indians. The Spanish monarch wanted an ideal empire. "A universal empire, of which all their subjects were but servants. Charles V remained for them the dominus mundi, the legitimate and God-ordained lord of the world." (Weckmann, The Transit of Civilization, 23) Gold and religious conversion was the two most important inspirations for conquistadors in conquering America. Father Bartolome De Las Casas was a Dominican priest who came to the New World to convert the Indians to become Christians. He spent forty years on Hispanolia and nearby islands, and saw how the Spaniards brutally treated the Indians and sympathized with them. The Devastation of the Indies was an actual eyewitness account of the genocide by Las Casas, and his group of Dominican friars in which he demonizes the Spanish colonists and praises the Indians. Father Las Casas returned to Seville, where he published his book that caused an on going debate on whether the suppression of the Indians corrupted the Spaniards' values. What Las Casas was trying to achieve was the notion of human rights, that human beings are free and cogent by nature without the interference of others.
William of Orange once stated, “Spain committed such horrible excesses that all the barbarities, cruelties, and tyrannies ever perpetrated before are only games in comparison to what happened to the poor Indians.” This statement is an example of an attempt to discredit the Spanish. Attempts such as these are known as the Black Legend. The Black Legend was the name given to the concept of cruelty and brutality spread by the Spanish during the 14th and 15th century. This legend demonizes Spain and specifically the Spanish empire in an effort to harm the reputation of them. It was through this propaganda that made other countries look down upon the Spanish empire. The Black Legend threw discredit upon the rule of the Spanish by building biases and prejudices against Catholicism and the Spanish treatment of the natives of South America. The Black Legend mainly exaggerated the treatment of the native people in the regions of the Spanish Empire and non-Catholic people such as Protestants and Jews in its European territories. The Black Legend was an anti-Spanish movement, which was started due to political and religious reasons by Northern European Protestant countries who were Spain’s enemies in order to discredit them.
What he and his men did to the Indigenous people is told in horrifying detail by the Dominican priest Bartolome de Las Casas, “whose writings give the most thorough account of the Spanish-Indian encounter.” Las Casas witnessed firsthand Columbus’ soldiers stabbing Natives for sport, dashing babies’ heads on rocks, and sexually abusing Indigenous women. His testimony was corroborated by other eyewitnesses, such as a group of Dominican friars, who addressed the Spanish monarchy in 1519, hoping to bring an end to the atrocities. At the very least, Columbus was complicit in the actions of his men. He cared so little for the welfare of the Indigenous people that he let his soldiers commit reprehensible acts that would be considered crimes against humanity in the present day. Christopher Columbus’ actions suggest he had no issue with serving as an enabler of the horrifying actions committed by his men against the Indigenous
Bartolomé de Las Casas was born in 1484 AD in Seville and died in 1566 in Madrid. In the ending of the 15th century and the beginning of 16th, he came to America and become a “protector of Indian”. In 1542, most based on his effort, Spain has passed the New Law, which prohibit slaving Indians (Foner, p. 7). In 1552, he published the book A Short Account of the Destruction of The Indies.
Talking Back to Civilization , edited by Frederick E. Hoxie, is a compilation of excerpts from speeches, articles, and texts written by various American Indian authors and scholars from the 1890s to the 1920s. As a whole, the pieces provide a rough testimony of the American Indian during a period when conflict over land and resources, cultural stereotypes, and national policies caused tensions between Native American Indians and Euro-American reformers. This paper will attempt to sum up the plight of the American Indian during this period in American history.
In A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, Bartolomé de Las Casas vividly describes the brutality wrought on the natives in the Americas by the Europeans primarily for the purpose of proclaiming and spreading the Christian faith. Las Casas originally intended this account to reach the royal administration of Spain; however, it soon found its way into the hands of many international readers, especially after translation. Bartolomé de Las Casas illustrates an extremely graphic and grim reality to his readers using literary methods such as characterization, imagery, amplification, authorial intrusion and the invocation of providence while trying to appeal to the sympathies of his audience about such atrocities.
All in all, the treatment of the American Indian during the expansion westward was cruel and harsh. Thus, A Century of Dishonor conveys the truth about the frontier more so than the frontier thesis. Additionally, the common beliefs about the old west are founded in lies and deception. The despair that comes with knowing that people will continue to believe in these false ideas is epitomized by Terrell’s statement, “Perhaps nothing will ever penetrate the haze of puerile romance with which writers unfaithful to their profession and to themselves have surrounded the westerner who made a living in the saddle” (Terrell 182).
From Spain's early arrival in the Caribbean through their establishment of the Spanish empire indigenous people were exploited through cheap, slave like labor. One of the most incredible subjects raised by the documents presented in Colonial Spanish America is the topic of Labor Systems that were imposed on the indigenous people. Spain tried to excuse this exploitation by claiming to save these indigenous people by teaching them the ways of Christ but many of the Articles in Colonial Spanish America, Struggle & Survival, and The Limits of Racial Domination prove otherwise. Through letters, personal stories, and other documents these books present accounts that tell about the labor system used in this area. They tell of the Spanish labor systems such as the encomiendos and later rapartamientos and how these operations were run.