Early Motivations For Columbus To Oppress The Indigenous People

Chapter 1:

1. Zinn’s purpose for writing history the way that he did was to give the viewpoints of the people that were affected- not just the people who were in charge like in most history textbooks. He sought to get the most truthful accounts of America since most sources for history lie about the past with bias by omitting facts, stating facts and burying them in a mass of other facts, or just lying outright.

2. Columbus is depicted as heroic in most history textbooks for braving the seas and discovering the Americas for Europe but, in actuality, his intentions were selfish and his means were cruel. The devastating affects Columbus and his men had on the Arawak people remain generally hidden to most people’s ideas of history due to how the

One early motive for Columbus to oppress the indigenous people was that he was promised 10 percent of everything he found in the new land by the rulers of Spain who sent him and he was searching for gold so when he saw that they had some, he forcefully took prisoners so that he could be lead to more. But later, when he realized that there was not as much gold as he originally thought, he had to make up for all the promises he made to the leaders back in Europe who had invested in him so he thought that he would send slaves in the place of gold while still trying desperately to find more by using and abusing the indigenous population thus oppressing the native peoples more and more. They were easy prey for him because it was their culture to share and they originally were curious about him and the other new Europeans. He took advantage of that and the fact that they didn’t understand what he was really doing to them and that they didn’t have as advanced weaponry as the Europeans did. And when they did understand and tried to fight against the unfair treatment and enslavement- he and the other Europeans killed them to express dominance and further oppress the

He declared the area legally a “vacuum” and stated that the land was not “subdued” by the Indians so they had no civil right to it- only a natural right that held no ground in a court of law. They also tried to use bible verses to justify their actions by twisting the meanings. For example, they used Psalms 2:8 to justify taking land- specially the part where it says “…and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.” They also used Romans 13:2 to excuse themselves for using excessive force on the Indians when taking land- specifically the part where it says “…and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.” Maybe he thought he really was doing the right thing and carrying out God’s plan though as he read the phrase “the ordinance of God” in Romans