Spanish Conquistadors: Heroes or Murderers
"The Indians in the first fatal decades of the white man in America were
conquered because they could not conceive what it was that the white man was
after, and what manner of man he was." (The Indians of the Americas, p97)
This misconception, was that the Indians could not imagine was that the
Spanish Conquistadors would come to the Americas and brutally murder men women
and children in the name of a god. They could not see how a group of people
could follow such a god. The Spanish conquistadors raped the American natives of
their naiveness. The Spanish conquistadors took away the Indians right to their
way of life and their land.
Living in the United States of America, it's hard to imagine a group of
people coming into our country, and taking our land. But this event has already
happened, almost 500 years ago. The people who dominated the United States
before the Spanish invasion roamed among a 2 large continents. Today the Indians
are restricted to reserves or "reservations". Their land has been taken from
them, and little if any was given in return. The people who live among these
reservations try to preserve the "old way of life."
Another thing taken from the Indians of Americas was their way of life.
One thing almost all people hold close to their heart is their way of life
whatever it may be. The Indians however were persecuted for their beliefs and
either killed or converted to the "Spanish Catholicism" or many other varying
ways of life. This conversion did not take place peacefully. Many resisting
Indians died for their cause. The Indians of the Americas could no longer hunt
and gather food freely. Nor could they farm just for their community. Strong men
were taken as slaves either to Hispañola (Modern Day Haiti), Cuba or taken back
to Spain. Such slaves were often worked to death, because of the seemingly
endless supply of American Indians. Other Indians were forced to pay tribute to
the Spanish by... [continues]
"The Indians in the first fatal decades of the white man in America were
conquered because they could not conceive what it was that the white man was
after, and what manner of man he was." (The Indians of the Americas, p97)
This misconception, was that the Indians could not imagine was that the
Spanish Conquistadors would come to the Americas and brutally murder men women
and children in the name of a god. They could not see how a group of people
could follow such a god. The Spanish conquistadors raped the American natives of
their naiveness. The Spanish conquistadors took away the Indians right to their
way of life and their land.
Living in the United States of America, it's hard to imagine a group of
people coming into our country, and taking our land. But this event has already
happened, almost 500 years ago. The people who dominated the United States
before the Spanish invasion roamed among a 2 large continents. Today the Indians
are restricted to reserves or "reservations". Their land has been taken from
them, and little if any was given in return. The people who live among these
reservations try to preserve the "old way of life."
Another thing taken from the Indians of Americas was their way of life.
One thing almost all people hold close to their heart is their way of life
whatever it may be. The Indians however were persecuted for their beliefs and
either killed or converted to the "Spanish Catholicism" or many other varying
ways of life. This conversion did not take place peacefully. Many resisting
Indians died for their cause. The Indians of the Americas could no longer hunt
and gather food freely. Nor could they farm just for their community. Strong men
were taken as slaves either to Hispañola (Modern Day Haiti), Cuba or taken back
to Spain. Such slaves were often worked to death, because of the seemingly
endless supply of American Indians. Other Indians were forced to pay tribute to
the Spanish by... [continues]
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"Spanish Conquistadors: Heroes or Murderers." StudyMode.com. 10, 1999. Accessed 10, 1999. http://www.studymode.com/essays/Spanish-Conquistadors-Heroes-Murderers-4252.html.
