Bartolomé de las Casas

Christopher Columbus’ journey to find a sea route to Asia in 1492 changed the way we see the world. Not realizing that there was an expansive land mass west of Europe, in between Spain and Asia, Columbus landed in the Bahamas only to be greeted by the indigenous Arawak native tribe that had been on the island for decades. Columbus saw this encounter as an opportunity to pay back Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain for his voyage, ships and crew. Columbus then set off, sending thousands of natives…

Utilizing the lens of intersectionality allows for analytical analysis of social identity structures such as gender, race, class, and sexuality. It invites study on a multidimensional level, providing complexity and context to researching social categories. Conceptually providing a greater understanding of advantages and disadvantages, differences and similarities, within social constructs resulting from identification with multiple categories. Discussing the readings “The Legacy of Slavery, by…

Directly following the start of the Commercial Revolution in the 1400s, Spain and England began to colonize the Americas, which was often referred to as the New World.The Spanish and English colonies were both similar and different in several ways. The Spanish and English colonies were slightly alike in the poor and unfair treatment of indigenous people and substantially different in religion and economic base. The Spanish and English were slightly comparable in terms of treatment of indigenous…

Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer born in Genova, Italy around 1451, although being born into a poor family his father was able to send him to the University of Pavia where he studied navigation, Latin, geometry, geography and astronomy. Columbus spent much of his life in Portugal and Spain, after seeking funds for an expedition to locate the Land he believed to be Asia, it was here he met with Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand who obliged him. He was highly revered because of his…

While “discovering” America, Columbus destroyed an entire civilization. This was that of the Arawak Indians, whom he enslaved for his own purposes. Columbus was a ruthless murderer who essentially killed and destroyed many lives and homes, with no legitimate reason. The Arawak Indians withstood brutal torture from Columbus and his comrades, but finally, they fled. Still, they were hunted down, tortured, and killed. Now, not one Arawak Indian remains alive today. Columbus was a very greedy,…

Introduction Guatemala has become the leading place for conducting researches on religions in Latin America. The predominant religions in Guatemala are Catholicism, Christianity and Mayan spirituality. However, during the colonial era, Catholicism was the main religion. There has been a tremendous growth in the Protestants community. According to the The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, “Pentecostals represent the most rapidly growing sector of Latin American Protestantism”. The other…

In 1492, Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer, initiated colonization by Europe in the New World when he sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas. English and Spanish colonies grew to become very different from one another with frequent similarities. The Spanish colonies and New England greatly differed in terms of control by a European government, were both vastly similar and extremely different in terms of religion, and were largely similar in terms of treatment of indigenous…