1. Glacier- thick sheet of ice. Irrigate- to water crops by channeling water. Culture-way of life.…
Chapter 1 of Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States discusses the lives of natives of the Americas both prior to and after the arrival of European explorers, and includes a statement by the author on writing history. To begin, Christopher Columbus’s voyages to the Americas are covered heavily in the chapter, and I consider these themes regarding him to be the most important: • “The information that Columbus wanted most was: Where is the gold? He had persuaded the king and queen of Spain to finance an expedition to the lands, the wealth he expected would be on the other side of the Atlantic—the Indies and Asia, gold and spices” (Zinn 2) and “In addition for bringing back gold and spices, they promised Columbus 10 percent of the profits, governorship over newfound lands, and the fame that would go with a new title: Admiral of the Ocean Sea” (2). These passages explain Christopher Columbus’s motivation for setting sail for his first trip, which was acquiring rare goods to take back to Spain for wealth and…
Both N. Scott Momaday and Bartolome De la Casas respected the Natives’ culture; however, John Smith and Christopher Columbus viewed themselves superior to the ‘ignorant’ Natives. To start, Momaday and De la Casas appreciate the Native’s unique history and culture. Momaday illustrates his admiration for his family tribe the Kiowas for maintaining their culture despite the struggles and European influence in “The Rainy Mountain”. For instance, even though his grandmother became “a Christian in her later years… she never forgot her birthright”(np). Her memories of her culture of the Sun Dance and her language is still vivid to her, which then is passed to Momaday as stories to share.…
Due to all the selfish acts and awful decisions Columbus is a Villain throughout history. To all the atrocious consequences. Columbus’s first stop was at Hispaniola. There he found a native tribe who called themselves the Taino. Columbus named them “Indians”, due to believing that he…
The Taino people came to the Americas from Venezuela around 400 B.C. They cultivated crops like sweet potatoes, maize, yucca, and beans, and their population was estimated to be around three million on Hispaniola alone by the fifteenth century. They never developed a written language, but they crafted beautiful poetry, and many of their words are still used today. Along with being very innovative -- straining cyanide from yuccas, building canoes that went out on the ocean, and creating rubber balls that they played games with-- the Taino people were also very generous, which was likely a huge factor in their undoing. Columbus took this kindness for weakness, and decided they would make good slaves.…
Cook, David Born to Die: Disease and New World Conquest, 1492-1650. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1998. In this book, David Cook attempts to synthesize all available information about the spread of disease in the new world in one volume. Cook’s main argument is that the traditional historiography on the subject, most notably that written by Bartolome de Las Casas, over-emphasizes the cruelty of the Spanish as the reason behind the massive deaths experienced in Amerindian populations.…
The executive order 9066 was issued to evacuate Japanese to camps. A total of 110,000 people of japanese descent were evacuated to the camps. Before the evacuation an estimated 56% of workers in some counties were Japanese. The japanese internment was unjustified for a multitude of reasons. When the army evacuated the japanese there was absolutely no proof to the japanese committing espionage.…
What internal forces led to the Spanish and Portuguese conquest of the Americas? What internal factors led to the English conquest of the Americas? The first inhabitants found in the Americas by the Europeans, were the Tainos. When the Spanish had realized that the population ranged in millions of the Tainos, they quickly subdued them and turned them into a captive labor force.…
Tainos were the victims of Columbus, the king and queen of spain , the Columbus men and the system of empire . They suffer too much , they lived horrorific experience .When Columbus arrived to the Island , the Tainos were innocent and they welcomed him with open arms. In return they were enslaved , tortured , and killed . The Tainos are guilty because they accept to be enslaved .…
I, Christopher Columbus, am being charged with the murder and mistreatment of the Taino Indians. I have apparently enslaved the natives, inflicted harm, and even sliced their hands off. All of which is not true. These charges are completely absurd. I have never done so to the Taino natives.…
Christopher Columbus and Thomas Harriot were some of the explorers that came to the Americas to find new land and resources. Columbus and Harriot had similar experiences when they came to this new land. These two men had the chance to benefit from the Age of Discovery. There were many native people who were killed or taken from their…
Native Americans and Their Fight for Simplicity The earliest accounts of Native Americans expressed a civilization with a great sense of community. A civilization that was based on essentials, treasuring items that only improved their well-being. A civilization far from excessive, doing only enough to provide for themselves.…
The Taino people of the Caribbean Islands were a simple people with simple needs. “Their houses are all built in the shape of tents, with very high chimneys. None of the villages which I saw contained more than twelve or fifteen of them” (Columbus, Journal, par 18). The island natives lived more off the land and were not as grand as those of the Aztecs. Cortes believed that the housing, temples and a palace of the Aztecs was so grand that he could not justifiably describe it all with a human tongue because he was so in awe of what he saw.…
The Indigenous peoples of Canada have been mistreated for years, yet only recently has our government began to rebuild this important and valuable relationship. Canadians are generally known for their welcoming attitudes and openness towards others, however this view has constantly been tested since the beginning of the twentieth century. The largest problem facing Canadians as a nation is the constant mistreatment and discrimination shown towards the Indigenous Peoples, who are the descendants of the original inhabitants of this land. This is such an important issue because we are taking away the fundamental rights of these people.…
The one that standed out the most was the Aztec people believed in human sacrifice prior to the Spanish conquest. The Aztec also allied with two nearby city states (Texcoco and Tlacopan ) and launched military attack in order to expand. Aztec worldview was a culture evolved without knowledge…