Native American men (even if they aren't the Arawak/Taino who met Columbus) are incredibly hot.
Columbus was maybe the 11th or 12th explorer to "discover" these already inhabited lands.
He was met with curiosity but no hostility by the native people.
The real story is pretty scary (from "The Oatmeal").
Finally, what are we gonna do 524 years later except try to make up for it as best we can.
You are right,Bartolomé de las Casas arrived to the point of saying:if the Natives want the Spaniards to leave the Continent, they should leave...Evidently he wa ignored- And then came English and French colonization of North America.Th solution with the Natives; exterminte them!
ReplyDeleteAgreed as to Columbus and de las Casas. As to anonymous' comment, neither the English nor the French colonials had any plan initially to exterminate the native populations. At the beginning, the objective in New England was to educate and Christianize the native populations. More negative attitudes arose AFTER the settlers were attacked by the natives. In several instances, wars sprang from attempts by the English to protect less powerful tribes from more aggressive tribes. If you study the Pequot War and King Philip's War, you'll see that it wasn't a simplistic plan of "let's exterminate the Indians." For example, one of my ancestors was among the English invited to a peace negotiation ("parley") at Brookfield, Mass. in 1675. It turned out to be an ambush where the English were cut down mercilessly. The place became named "Bloody Brook" for obvious reasons. In other attacks, the Indians not only killed the English men but women as well and even bashed out brains of babies. In the wake of such treachery and brutality, the English felt justified in using brutal tactics against the hostile tribes.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the time it took to tell your story, and you're right -- it's neither simple nor simplistic. The post was intended to make a serious point in a relatively lighthearted way, i.e., via cartoons. I'd rather not get into chapter and verse of which group committed the worst atrocities because by our standards today they were all guilty. The fact remains that colonists of every nationality were not invited in to displace those who already lived there. I'm not sure there's any way to make it up to those native peoples now, but some acknowledgement would help. Thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteA very good and bright diversion on this site, which - I mean, the site itself - is actually good-natured, openminded, and has really good sense of humour (even about sexual stuff). Don't loose your stanadards!
ReplyDeletejoel -- I am stoked that you "get it" about this blog. We want it to be good-natured and open-minded with a sense of humor. Except, of course, for shaved bodies, Republicans, and a few other insults to decency. ;-)
ReplyDeletewell-well-well. A few shaved ones wouldn't be so bad either. You see, they so urgently need to look decent although their understanding of decency got fossilized in the kindergarden. you may always ask, of course, what are their standards of decency and why do they bother so much but don't judge them so harsh. For me, at least, savage nature is my home, shaved backyards are just places I don't visit. you seem a pleasant guy with a good sense of humour (the most important thing in this bloody brave new world), thanks,therefore, anyway
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