The Roman Empire: The Destruction Of Native American Culture

The settlement of the Americas was a brutal and cruel undertaking done by the Spanish and English, and destroyed the Native American population and parts of their culture. The bloodshed and deceit from Columbus, Cortes, Pizzaro, and the Puritans was not a necessity for the human race to progress from savagery to civilization. Historians have seen that, throughout history, many civilizations have developed from more peaceful actions and circumstances. The Roman Empire is one example of a society that was not created through “brutal efficiency”, yet still had a thriving economy and culture. By killing off the Natives, the Spanish and English built a society that had its roots in unnecessary death and destruction that had only a negative impact

However, the truth of Rome’s development is that a group of Latins settled in the area of Rome around 1000 BCE. Since this group was near the Mediterranean for trade, and Greece was close enough to also provide an influence over the culture, these few Latins created a society that thrived into the Roman Empire. As far as archeologists and historians can find, there was no brutality involved in building this society. Yet they were still able to have a thriving culture and develop over a thousand years. America is currently in the same state as the Roman Empire once was, where different ideas are being introduced and new technology is constantly being invented. So, how did these two societies, that both started in completely different ways, come to be so similar? Well, the truth of the matter is, how a society is built does not dictate the future for it. Rome had an economic system, a government, and a military to go along with daily life. America does, as well, although the culture has many differences, but that goes with the time period. What matters most when trying to build a society are the decisions made by each population over time that benefit or hinder the country. For example, the government of Rome developed The Twelve Tables around 450 BCE, and the Corpus Juris Civilis around 525 AD. These documents were a part of the Roman legal system that described laws

The crashing economy, the large military, and open society are all aspects of both cultures. Due to the decisions made by these societies, they have become two of the largest and most influential cultures seen in history. With that being said, the Romans were much more peaceful in their attempts to build a civilization than Columbus, Cortes, Pizzaro, and the Puritans were when they landed in the New World. The slaughter of thousands of Native Americans was unnecessary brutality, committed to show dominance, and to enslave the few that remained alive. If it was not for these early settlers, the remaining Native Americans that live on modern reservations could be an integrated part of American society, and the bloodstain left behind from those tragedies would not