October 1

Zinn “Columbus…Progress” Response

From the reading, which is very desciptive and detailed, we should gain a clearer appreciation of what the Native People experienced once Columbus hit Caribbean shores. Locate two passages that you feel evoke the reality of what actually happened to the Arawaks. Cite those two passages, quoting them in MLA Style (with appropritate quotations and ellipses, if necessary) and explain how each passage illustrates the gravity of the indigenous experience with the newly arrived Europeans.

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Posted October 1, 2012 by tashak38 in category Uncategorized

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129 thoughts on “Zinn “Columbus…Progress” Response

  1. David M.

    AP English 11
    Ms. Keeble
    2 October 2012
    Efrain Enriquez offered some very important points. His interesting perspective details a very simple way to describe the feelings of the natives like so, “I am sure the natives weren’t very happy with the treatment they were receiving either. Having 500 of your friends taken from you and sent to a faraway country isn’t the best way to start a relationship with your new neighbors.” (Efrain Paragraph 2) Its a very nice touch that offers simplicity and a way to sort of open with comedy. It is a method that makes a good point in a simple way that anyone can understand, It is quite interesting and tells us of the slavery that the Arawak people were put through in a unique way. Good Job Efrain!

    Reply
  2. Alexis L.

    When Columbus first arrived to what he thought was India, but was actually the Bahamas. He met the natives and to his surprise they were more friendly than he expected. The ran to greet him and his men, and they offered him all their worldy possession. The passage states,” They were willing to trade everything they”. They were kind and thoughful towards others. The natives didn’t understand the concept of not sharing. They shared everything they owned.
    2.)The Spaniards were startled when they saw that the natives gave more power to their women. The Spanish didn’t understand why though. For example,”Women in Indian society were treated so well as to startle the Spaniards”(paragraph 19). The natives treated there women with obviously more respect. They gave them power to a marriage. The Spaniards obviously didn’t treat their women with respect. I believe that the natives were more thoughtful to one another than just themselves.

    Reply
    1. niauni

      While reading Alexis’s response to “Columbus…Progress” I totally agree…ESPECIALLY with the second paragraph. We both picked the same quote to approach and we both approached it in the same type of light. This response makes me feel like not only did I comprehend the reading, but so did someone else.

      Reply
    2. Jose P.

      Jose P.
      period 5

      After reading Alexi’s response I thought that he was very descriptive with what he was trying to explain. Also he used sentences and quotes from the passage to use as examples. Overall his response was good and very detailed.

      Reply
  3. Kiala A.

    Kiala Aranas
    Ms. Keeble
    AP English 11, per 5
    1 October 2012

    After experiencing the hospitality of the Arawak natives, Columbus clearly states his vile intent, fully taking advantage of the Arawaks kindness for weakness. The excerpt reads, ” They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane… . They would make fine servants…. With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.”(paragraph 1)
    Although the passage doesn’t depict the severity of what is to happen, it foreshadows something dark and terrible. The Arawaks greeted Columbus and his crew with the utmost respect and glory. Unfortunately, the Spaniard sailors took their hospitality and showed one of the awful side of the natural man in return.

    As Zinn continues, he applies the account of Las Casas to the works. The passage accurately details the cruel humor that the Spaniards found in the native people, ” Total control led to total cruelty. The Spaniards ‘thought nothing of knifing Indians by tens and twenties and of cutting slices off them to test the sharpness of their blades.’ Las Casas tells how ‘two of these so-called Christians met two Indian boys one day, each carrying a parrot; they took the parrots and for fun beheaded the boys.” (paragraph 24)
    Because the Spaniards took total power over the Arawaks, the value of their lives was, again, humorous. Their lives meant absolutely nothing. Aside from the actual genocide that Zinn describes, I would rather dissect the mentality of Columbus.
    Is it the hilarity found among the Arawak, or the fact that Columbus knew from the beginning that he could manipulate the “Indians” that is despicable.

    As children, we read that Columbus arrived, and thanks to him we now live in what is the discovered land of America. As children, we read that he got the Indians to work for him. It is obvious that those are the most basic of facts.

    Reply
  4. Kiana Ledda

    Kiana Ledda
    Keeble
    AP English, Per.5
    2, October 2012

    1.) “Now, from his base on Haiti, Columbus sent expedition after expedition into the interior. They found no gold fields, but had to fill up the ships returning to Spain with some kind of dividend. In the year 1495, they went on a great slave raid, rounded up fifteen hundred Arawak men, women, and children, put them in pens guarded by Spaniards and dogs, then picked the five hundred best specimens to load onto ships. Of those five hundred, two hundred died in route…although the slaves were ‘naked as the day they were born,’ they showed ‘no more embarrassment than animals.’Columbus later wrote: ‘Let us in the name of the Holy Trinity go on sending all the slaves that can be sold.'”

    I think that what Columbus did to the Arawak people was simply cruel and unethical because he had the audacity to take over land that wasn’t even his for selfish reasons: gold and power. The Arawaks had to undergo the pain, misery, and embarrassment of being taken away from their land and become slaves. The innocent Arawaks were treated like animals and no one deserves to be treated so unjust. The way the article was so descriptive gave me mental images of the Arawaks depression and suffering. The Europeans completely destroyed the Arawaks by stripping them of their culture and dignity. In the end, however, regardless of the Arawak people’s pain and unjust torture, the Europeans still got control over them and their land. This has got to be the most cruel thing the Europeans have done.

    Reply
    1. Maria F.

      Maria F.
      Period 2

      I like the way you set up the whole response and how you gave examples of the text to explain what the Arawaks felt and went through. I agree with every thing you said because the text did say that the Arawaks went through. When you said ” The Europeans completely destroyed the Arawaks by stripping them of their culture and dignity” it put everything in just a sentence that explained everything. Good job Kiana!

      Reply
  5. Hannah R.

    Hannah Reddy
    Ms. Keeble
    AP English Period 2
    2 October 2012
    1. In the fifteenth paragraph, Zinn writes, “In the year 1495, they went on a great slave raid, rounded up fifteen hundred Arawak men, women, and children, put them in pens guarded by Spaniards and dogs, then picked the five hundred best specimens to load onto ships. Of those five hundred, two hundred died en route. The rest arrived alive in Spain and were put up for sale by the archdeacon of the town…” This shows how Columbus clearly treated the Natives. At the beginning of the passage Zinn explains how the Natives were friendly and came bearing gifts, however Columbus wasn’t nice back. This shows how the Natives were clearly treated by the Europeans.
    2. In the eighteenth paragraph, Zinn writes, “The Arawaks faced Spaniards who had armor, muskets, swords, horses. When the Spaniards took prisoners they hanged them or burned them to death. Among the Arawaks, mass suicides began, with cassava poison. Infants were killed to save them from the Spaniards. In two years, through murder, mutilation, or suicide, half of the 250,000 Indians on Haiti were dead.” When you think about it, the Natives had no such weapons. Their weapons were no match against guns! Its like that saying, “Don’t bring a knife to a gun fight,” because you will not stand a chance against a gun. Because of these Spaniards, the Arawaks were killing to kill themselves and their children in order to escape the Spanish; I mean doesn’t that tell you something right there? If you choose to kill yourself over “sticking through it,” you know something is horribly wrong.

    Reply
    1. Johanna G.

      I agree with your assertion, Hannah. I, too, believe that the Arawaks were treated with cruelty and that they shouldn’t have done what they did to them. It was wrong for the Europeans to treat the Arawaks like that, especially since they approached them in a kind and friendly way.

      Reply
  6. DaJohn W

    1) The Indians, Columbus reported, “are so naive and so free with their possessions that no one who has not witnessed them would believe it. When you ask for something they have, they never say no. To the contrary, they offer to share with anyone….” He concluded his report by asking for a little help from their Majesties, and in return he would bring them from his next voyage “as much gold as they need … and as many slaves as they ask.” He was full of religious talk: “Thus the eternal God, our Lord, gives victory to those who follow His way over apparent impossibilities.” (paragraph 12)

    Columbus and his men treated the Indians or Natives as if they were nothing but scum on their own land. It’s unfortunate to see people be treated in such a manor. It is even worse to see how they were taken advantage of. Clearly he thinks it is like taking candy from a baby since he describes it with a joyous tone. From the time they got there, the Natives treated them with respect and basically made their land home to the Europeans. With ownership and a different way of living embedded in them, instead of compromising, they decided to have others compromise to their likings while they do what they please.

    2) Trying to put together an army of resistance, the Arawaks faced Spaniards who had armor, muskets, swords, horses. When the Spaniards took prisoners they hanged them or burned them to death. Among the Arawaks, mass suicides began, with cassava poison. Infants were killed to save them from the Spaniards. In two years, through murder, mutilation, or suicide, half of the 250,000 Indians on Haiti were dead.

    The horrible acts keep to spread and spread. Reading about how another human being can come up, break apart unity, confuse the indigenous, enslave them, burn them, torture them, and still sleep at night is hardly impossible to imagine. Things escalated so bad that even suicides took place. One the Europeans came, they brought along a wave of worries, flocks of failures, with a hidden agenda to top everything off. Once they arrived, everything shifted downward and kept spiraling down.

    Reply
    1. Jasmine J.

      I like the use of vocabulary and the way you formatted your sentences. Your ideas were clear and thoughtful. When you said, “With ownership and a different way of living embedded in them, instead of compromising, they decided to have others compromise to their likings while they do what they please” I felt the emotions in your words. Overall, you constituted strong thoughts.

      Reply
    2. Jashleen Singh

      I definitely agree with Jasmine. Your use of vocabulary is very impressive, and you state your sentences in a way that catches the reader’s attention. The way in which you use your words conveys imagery, and the reader can feel your sense of emotion. It seems like you were very interested in the topic, which makes your response more enjoyable to read.

      Reply
  7. Amacalli Duran

    PLEASE EXCUSE MY LAST POST!

    Amacalli Duran
    Ms. Keeble
    AP English/ 2
    2 October 2012

    Columbus set off on his journey with many false leads and the expectation of arriving in Asia. Unfortunately, Columbus arrived in the Americas where he found a different environment in which he expected. Columbus described in his log, “They brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks’ bells. They willingly traded everything they owned. They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features…. They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance” (Paragraph 1). The ignorance and curiosity of the Arawaks is greatly described in this passage. The Arawaks viewed Columbus and his men as though they were mysteries. Upon seeing Columbus and the other sailors, the Arawak people wanted to learn more about them. They were simply fascinated by these men with glittering and sharp objects that they had never seen before. The Arawak people had no intention of harming the Europeans, they only wished to learn, study, and befriend the interesting “men” that came upon their shore. Needless to say, the treatment the Europeans evoked upon the Arawak people was unpredictable. Columbus and his men had taken the Arawaks by surprise. The curiosity of the Arawaks overtook their common sense and they trusted to Europeans too easily.

    Crazed with power and glory, Columbus used his authority to dehumanize the Arawak people. The treatment of the Arawak people was beyond brutal as described by Las Casas, “…husbands died in the mines, wives died at work, and children died from lack of milk and in a short time this land which was so great, so powerful and fertile was depopulated. My eyes have seen these acts so foreign to human nature, and now I tremble as I write” (Paragraph 28). The cruelty Columbus acted upon is demonstrated in this quote. Columbus forced the Arawak people to live through hell. He mentally and physically broke them and forced them to do his bidding. The fear instilled upon the Arawak people forced them to not rebel and instead caused them to prostrate in front of the Europeans. Christopher Columbus Day is associated with positivity and has gained support only because it does not explain the torture he forced the Arawak people to endure.

    Reply
    1. Joelynn D. from period 2

      Hola 🙂

      I really like what you said with the first quote because it was a new perspective to think about. It was not only Columbus who was cruel or harsh, but also that the Arawaks were ignorant to Columbus’s true intentions. They didn’t take any precautions but openly invited the Spaniards in.

      Reply
  8. Diana Larios

    Diana Larios
    Ms. Keeble
    1st Period
    October 1, 2012

    1.) When the Europeans first came to the Americas and came into contact with the indigenous people that were already on the land, it seemed as if it was all in benefit for the Europeans. It was stated in one of journals it states “They were well-built men, with good bodies and handsome features…The do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance… They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane… They would make fine servants… With fifty men we could subjugate them all and do whatever we want.” (Paragraph 2)
    Columbus and the other Europeans that came along with him saw the ignorance that these indigenous people had of the world they came from, and with that they saw it easy and planned to take advantage of them.
    2.) The Arawaks were the ones to welcome Columbus to the new land that we know to be as the “Americas”. The way they welcomed the Europeans was very unique, innocent, welcoming, and peaceful. “This was to have enormous consequences: it led Columbus to take some of them aboard ship as prisoners because he insisted they guide him to the source of gold.” (Paragraph 12) Even though they were welcomed in the best way, that was something that Columbus and Europeans could careless about. They saw ignorance in them, and made themselves superior and made them inferior. Columbus was obviously very greedy and only cared about his own triumphs. The story that we are told when we are younger is so different from reality because Columbus is made seen as a hero who came to the Americas and peacefully shared the land with the people who already inhabited it before their arrival. That was obviously untrue because when we go more into the article we learn that the treatment the indigenous people received was so horrid they ended up killing their own people because it seemed like a better way to go than the horrid acts made by the Spaniards.

    Reply
    1. Alicia

      Alicia
      AP English
      Keeble
      Period 1

      While reading the response of Diana I agree with what she said in which the Europeans made themselves feel superior while they saw the Arawaks as inferior. The Europeans just like mentioned by Diana used the ignorance the Arawaks had and took advantage. Overall, Diana did a god job with her response because she was able to analyze why the Europeans treated the Arawaks in an inferior way.

      Reply
    2. Angel

      You put your words together great. The way you explain the following concept describing detail from detail telling me the main parts of whats being said. I wasn’t able to have computer access and didn’t know what the assignment was on and from reading this i actually understand whats going on. I think from reading this helps me out in whats being said and understand the assignment. Good job.

      Reply
    3. Dennise V Period 2

      Dennise
      AP English
      Keeble
      Period 2
      As I was reading Diana’s response I was thinking to myself, she is right, Columbus is portrayed to us as a hero when he really was not one. Diana brought up good points in he response. She was very good at analyzing the way that Arawaks were being treated. She did a good job!

      Reply
  9. Amacalli Duran

    Amacalli Duran
    Ms. Keeble
    AP English/ 2
    2 October 2012

    Columbus set off on his journey with many false leads and the expectation of arriving in Asia. Unfortunately, Columbus arrived in the Americas where he found a different environment in which he expected. Columbus described in his log, “They brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks’ bells. They willingly traded everything they owned. They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features…. They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance” (Paragraph 1). The ignorance and curiosity of the Arawaks is greatly described in this passage. The Arawaks viewed Columbus and his men as though they were mysteries. Upon seeing Columbus and the other sailors, the Arawak people wanted to learn more about them. They were simply fascinated by these men with glittering and sharp objects that they had never seen before. The Arawak people had no intention of harming the Europeans, they only wished to learn, study, and befriend the interesting “men” that came upon their shore. Needless to say, the treatment the Europeans evoked upon the Arawak people was unpredictable. Columbus and his men had taken the Arawaks by surprise. The curiosity of the Arawaks overtook their common sense and they trusted to Europeans too easily.
    Crazed with power and glory, Columbus used his authority to dehumanize the Arawak people. The treatment of the Arawak people was beyond brutal as described by Las Casas, “…husbands died in the mines, wives died at work, and children died from lack of milk and in a short time this land which was so great, so powerful and fertile was depopulated. My eyes have seen these acts so foreign to human nature, and now I tremble as I write” (Paragraph 28). The cruelty Columbus acted upon is demonstrated in this quote. Columbus forced the Arawak people to live through hell. He mentally and physically broke them and forced them to do his bidding. The fear instilled upon the Arawak people forced them to not rebel and instead caused them to prostrate in front of the Europeans. Christopher Columbus Day is associated with positivity and has gained support only because it does not explain the torture he forced the Arawak people to endure.

    Reply
    1. Mary Jane

      I think that you had great quotes and was very descriptive. I agree with what you were saying and think you used good grammar and punctuation.

      Reply
    2. Sarai P.

      Sarai Polanco
      Ms. Keeble
      AP English
      2 October

      Amacalli, I find the way you write very descriptive and educated on the subject. You bring to light valid points, all proven with the facts presented in the excerpt. Your thoughts are very well presented and organized. Good Job! Four for you, you go glen coco 🙂

      Reply
    3. Abrianna

      Abrianna

      Ms.Keeble

      AP English 11

      October 2 2012

      I agree with what Amacalli had to say. We all see Christopher Columbus as such a good man that did good things in this country when honestly all he did was torture the people that where all ready here. I like the quotes you used and the way you explained them. You did a really good job.

      Reply
  10. Joelynn D.

    Joelynn D

    Ms. Keeble

    02 October 2012 – 2nd period

    1) “In the year 1495, they went on a great slave raid, rounded up fifteen hundred Arawak men, women, and children, put them in pens guarded by Spaniards and dogs, then picked the five hundred best specimens to load onto ships.”

    2) “They ‘rode the backs of Indians if they were in a hurry’ or were carried on hammocks by Indians running in relays. ‘In this case they also had Indians carry large leaves to shade them from the sun and others to fan them with goose wings.'”

    I think that both of these quotes show how harshly and cruelty Columbus and the Spaniards treated the Arawaks. Even though Columbus tried to downplay the harshness of his actions, through these quotes it can be seen how torturous and rude Columbus and his men were.

    The first quote shows how little the Spaniards cared for the Arawaks because they treated them like objects and gathered them as slaves without a second though. Even though the Arawaks greeted the Spaniards with open arms, Columbus still took advantage of them and rounded them up as slaves.

    In the second quote, it can also be seen how rudely the Spaniards treated the Arawaks. It seemed like they were being nice at first but after getting what they wanted, the Spaniards used them like tools. This shows that in no way were the Spaniards treating the Arawaks as nicely or as fairly as many others had stated. Instead, they were cruel and disrespectful towards the Arawaks.

    Reply
    1. Amacalli

      I highly agree with your perspective on how Columbus attempted to downplay his cruelty towards the Arawak people. The acts of Columbus are considered genocide; however, many people are not aware of it. Columbus used the Arawak people for his own advantage and like you said, “played them like a tool.” Good job! Keep up the good work!

      Reply
    2. Andrea O

      Andrea O.
      Ms.Keeble
      AP English 11 Per.2
      2 October 2012
      I agree with your opinion that Columbus was attempting to downplay his cruelty towards the Arawak people . The quotes you chose really do evoke the reality of the Arawak’s experience with Columbus and his men. It is sad to see that the Europeans considered and treated the Natives as if they were nothing more than animals. The second quote you chose also evokes the reality as it tells of how the natives turned into the Europeans’ own person slaves.

      Reply
  11. niauni

    Niauni Hill
    Ms. Keeble
    AP English, Period 1
    Response
    01 October 2012

    “These Arawaks of the Bahama Islands were much like Indians on the mainland, who were remarkable (European observers were to say again and again) for their hospitality, their belief in sharing. These traits did not stand out in the Europe of the Renaissance, dominated as it was by the religion of popes, the government of kings, the frenzy for money that marked Western civilization and its first messenger to the Americas, Christopher Columbus.” (paragraph 3)

    This quote emphasizes how Arawaks acted towards other people and what they did to satisfy other people’s needs. The Arawaks went above and behind to please everyone or those of their liking. They felt it was the positive and right thing to do.

    “Women in Indian society were treated so well as to startle the Spaniards.” (paragraph 19) The natives treated women well. They put the women on a pedal stool, instead of treated them less than worthy. The Spaniards on the other hand, treated their women like trash, as if they were nothing. The natives cared about others, while the Spaniards were selfish and self satisfying.

    Reply
    1. Harrison Nguyen

      I admire your creativity that you used in your response. Another thing I like about your response is that you’re so direct and strongly worded. Keep up the good work.
      -H

      Reply
  12. David Martinez

    David Martinez
    Mrs. Keeble
    AP English 11
    October 1 2012
    The story of Columbus and what he did when he first arrived in the new found land of Haiti is quite astounding. The Arawak people were one of the first victims of European exploration. Columbus set up base and took advantage of the Arawak people. To be honest no human being should ever endure or commit such atrocities. Columbus committed genocide of the Arawak people and yet still we celebrate him. The Europeans destroyed these people, and yet we celebrate the name of Columbus and his amazing discovery. The Arawak people faced unimaginable punishment that Bartolome de las Casas speaks of in his journals and says, “Thus husbands and wives were together only once every eight or ten months and when they met they were so exhausted and depressed on both sides … they ceased to procreate. As for the newly born, they died early because their mothers, overworked and famished, had no milk to nurse them, and for this reason, while I was in Cuba, 7000 children died in three months. Some mothers even drowned their babies from sheer desperation…. hi this way, husbands died in the mines, wives died at work, and children died from lack of milk . .. and in a short time this land which was so great, so powerful and fertile … was depopulated. … My eyes have seen these acts so foreign to human nature, and now I tremble as I write. …” (Paragraph 33)
    These people were deprived of their family and of the will to live. The Arawaks suffered fates worse than death. They had to drown their babies and watch as their loved ones were killed by labor that was forced upon them. They realized how utterly hopeless the babies futures are and how the only way to save them is kill them. These Europeans had no heart for the natives. They did not care for their young or the people; instead they were interested in their greed and dominance. The natives killed their newly born babies and thus destroying the future of the Arawak people. The Europeans were not easily moved by these tragedies. They continued their quest to find riches and take advantage of these people even more. The Arawak people had to face many hardships and killing their own children is something no human being should ever endure. They were turned into slaves even after the Europeans were offered gifts from these people. It was obvious that the Arawak people were nothing but slaves to the Europeans.
    The Arawak people didn’t just give in to these foreign people from distant lands. They tried to rebel, but sadly they were stopped and their punishment was severe. The passage states, “Trying to put together an army of resistance, the Arawaks faced Spaniards who had armor, muskets, swords, horses. When the Spaniards took prisoners they hanged them or burned them to death. Among the Arawaks, mass suicides began, with cassava poison. Infants were killed to save them from the Spaniards. In two years, through murder, mutilation, or suicide, half of the 250,000 Indians on Haiti were dead.
    When it became clear that there was no gold left, the Indians were taken as slave labor on huge estates, known later as encomiendas. They were worked at a ferocious pace, and died by the thousands. By the year 1515, there were perhaps fifty thousand Indians left. By 1550, there were five hundred. A report of the year 1650 shows none of the original Arawaks or their descendants left on the island.” (Paragraph 21-22) The Arawak people were certainly butchered and did not stand a chance against the weapons of the European forces. Europeans spared no one and even made examples of these traitors. Fear is a big component for the Europeans to keep the Arawak people in place. However, fear also lead to suicides for those whose hope started slip away completely like a dying flame. These people were driven to the point of suicide in order to save themselves and their loved from the pain the Europeans inflicted upon them. To the Arawak’s who had lost hope death was an escape and perhaps it was the best choice for them. The Europeans certainly made it clear that the Arawaks were going to be in terrible agony while they were there. No matter what gifts or treasures they bring none of these people would ever be safe. The Arawaks were forced into slavery and butchered for fun. The Europeans were not forgiving and thought so little of these people.
    The Europeans completed genocide on the Arawak people and now there are no traces of them on Haiti. To this day we celebrate Columbus and his discovery of new lands, a discovery that led to the enslavement and genocide of the Arawak people. Columbus was part of this; in fact he started the idea of enslaving the people and taking advantage of them. Perhaps one day people will know the truth about Columbus and also show a greater appreciation of the Natives of Haiti and the Caribbean Islands.

    Reply
  13. Yarelli Lopez

    Yarelli Lopez
    Ms. Keeble
    AP English Language & Composition
    1 October 2012

    I remember learning about Christopher Columbus, but I do not recall any bad speech about him. This post describes him as a terrifying monster that only brings death and sadness in to the Indian people lives. As in this quote demonstrates, “When it became clear that there was no gold left, the Indians were taken as slave labor on huge estates, known later as encomiendas. They were worked at a ferocious pace, and died by the thousands. By the year 1515, there were perhaps fifty thousand Indians left. By 1550, there were five hundred. A report of the year 1650 shows none of the original Arawaks or their descendants left on the island” (Paragraph 19). Columbus was only interested in taking away the gold from this newly “discovered world”. He wanted to pay back the money that he had asked for from his king and queen to go on this quest. In return to his awful ideas of how to treat Indians; many of them were severely punished and brutally killed with no explanation what so ever. Their race was damaged in such ways that there was no longer hope for future reparations.
    The Indian women were perhaps treated worse than dogs. They were forced to give sexual pleasures to the men and if they became pregnant; they could either choose abortion or keep the baby. This provides a clearer understanding of my words, “Marriage laws are non-existent men and women alike choose their mates and leave them as they please, without offense, jealousy or anger. They multiply in great abundance; pregnant women work to the last minute and give birth almost painlessly; up the next day, they bathe in the river and are as clean and healthy as before giving birth. If they tire of their men, they give themselves abortions with herbs that force stillbirths, covering their shameful parts with leaves or cotton cloth; although on the whole, Indian men and women look upon total nakedness with as much casualness as we look upon a man’s head or at his hands” (Paragraph 21). Las Casas tries to explain how the Spaniards grew with ignorance and did as they pleased.

    Reply
    1. Jonathan

      Jonathan
      ms.Keeble
      period 1
      2 October 2012

      Good job Yarelli. I liked your response and how you emphasized on how marriage was just a joke back then. Then the way you described how the Indian females were used as toys just to repopulate and then keep on following the process over the years. They wanted to just repopulate, and Christianly or religiously that was against their way of living, If i do remember good the history , the teacher told us that marriage bases were settled even before they came over to the new world. Weren’t they aware that where ever they were, there was a god looking at them?

      Reply
  14. Maribel Rodriguez

    Maribel Rodriguez
    Ms. Keeble
    AP English
    01 October 2012

    1) When Columbus and his sailors came ashore, carrying swords, speaking oddly, the Arawaks ran to greet them, brought them food, water, gifts.” (Paragraph 1)

    In this passage Zinn shows how the Arawaks treated Columbus and his men when they arrived to their land. These natives had no idea who they were and greeted them with kindness offering them their goods. Columbus and his men saw how kind the Arawaks were and took advantage of their nobelness.

    2)”The treatment of heroes (Columbus) and their victims (the Arawaks)-the quiet acceptance of conquest and murder in the name of progress-is only one aspect of a certain approach to history, in which the past is told from the point of view of governments, conquerors, diplomats, leaders.” (Paragraph 39)

    The author tells us how history can be told from many different points of views. With Columbus, for example, when we were younger we were tought that Columbus was a hero for discovering the Americas. In Zinn’s book he tells us how history really was and how Columbus treated the natives in their land. This tells us that history is not always the way we are told it is.

    Reply
    1. Angelica

      Your work is very impressive Maribel. I agree with what you said about Columbus taking advantage of the Arawaks. It is sad how the real world does some of the same things that you mention. People that do not have much, go out of their way to provide for others, yet people will take advantage. From your second response, you open my mind to new ideas that I never thought of before. What you said is so true, and it sucks how we are fooled by teachings, and believe them since we are innocent. Now that we are older we are told the truth, and realize that what we were taught as kids was not the complete story. You have such creative thoughts and I appreciate you sharing them with us. (:

      Reply
  15. Angelica N. Garcia

    Angelica N. Garcia
    Ms. Keeble
    AP English 11, Period 1
    2 October 2012
    After Columbus’ first expedition of taking the Arawak Indians as prisoners, and forcing them to lead him towards gold, he picks up more prisoners. Some begin to die because of sword encounters and because of cold weather. On Columbus’ second expedition he “was given seventeen ships and more than twelve hundred men… They went from island to island in the Carribean, taking Indians as captives… Of those five hundred, two hundred died en route.” Although, it is not specifically stated what causes the death of the Arawak Indians, it is clear that they did begin to die because of outside factors. Depending on such circumstances, the reader understands that the Arawak population began to decrease because of the deaths occured after the arrival of Columbus. Apart from the natives dieying because of cold weather conditions, Columbus continued his expeditions one after another, trying to reach the gold. Even after finding no gold fields the passage states, “they went on a great slave raid, rounded up fifteen hundred Arawak men, women, children, put them in pens… But too many of the slaves died in captivity.” As mentioned before, through the passage it seems as if the Arawak population died out slowly but surely, once Columbus hit Carribean shores. Tipically, this can happen when new settlers bring diseases that natives cannot handle, or, as in this case, when weather changes. There was murder mentioned in the passage which would hint deaths; another way the Arawaks could have vanished over time.

    Reply
  16. Gonzalo Haro

    Gonzalo Haro
    Ms. Keeble
    AP Lang. and Comp.
    October 2, 2012
    1st Period

    1)The Spaniards were mad thirsty for gold when they arrived to the new world. They were determined to get gold by any means possible, even if it meant enslaving thousands to get to it. The quote ” When he arrived on Hispaniola in 1508, Las Casas says, “there were 60,000 people living on this island, including the Indians; so that from 1494 to 1508, over three million people had perished from war, slavery, and the mines.” (p. 29) shows that millions died at the hands of the Spanish. Many people view Columbus day as something to celebrate, but I view it as something to look down upon. The natives were just doing their own thing when all of the sudden, strange people arrive and they start killing them and raping them and torturing them; all because of their greed and selfishness. The Native Americans must have felt absolutely horrible. Their land is not only being intruded, but they themselves are being treated like work animals.

    2)The Native Americans were being used as slaves to dig in the mines for gold. The Spanish were desperate to fill their boats up with something and it might as well be gold. The quote, “After each six or eight months’ work in the mines, which was the time required of each crew to dig enough gold for melting, up to a third of the men died.” (p. 27) shows that the Native Americans were severely abused by the Spaniards. Being worked to death for the sole purpose of getting gold for a king half a world away is atrocious. These people didn’t deserve any of this. They welcomed the Spanish with open arms and offered gifts to them, and in return, they get enslaved and killed by the millions. Columbus day should definitely be taken off the calendar because it marks the beginning of the genocide of an entire race.

    Reply
    1. Tresean M.

      Tresean Mitchell
      Ms. Keeble
      AP Lang. and Comp.
      October 2, 2012
      1st Period
      I believe what you said is pretty accurate to me the Spaniards were gold thirsty n that led to several probliems amoung the natives. It show how cold people can be for personal gain. i over all feel the natives deserve an apolgie for the Spaniards

      Reply
  17. Canyon R

    Canyon Riley
    Ms. Keeble
    AP English 11, Period 2
    1 October 2012

    1). After Columbus’ second voyage to Haiti, he noticed that a lot of his slaves were dying fast. This presented a problem for Columbus because the more slaves that he lost, the less gold he would accumulate. The passage states,” But too many of the slaves died in captivity. And so Columbus, desperate to pay back dividends …they ordered all persons fourteen years or older to collect a certain quantity of gold every three months. When they brought it, they were given copper tokens to hang around their necks. Indians found without a copper token had their hands cut off and bled to death.” (Zinn paragraph 16)
    The Arawaks were given a nearly impossible task considering that the only gold available to them was the gold dust found in the streams. For those who failed to complete this task, they had their hands chopped off so they could bleed to death. Many fled from Columbus, but were hunted down by Spanish dogs and were killed on the spot. Of course Columbus did not care for these people because he knew that if he did not bring back enough gold to Spain, he would be killed. Plus he thought that the Arawaks had plenty of gold in their possession. So that is why he would create such an impossible task.

    2). Columbus’ attitude towards the Arawaks paved a path for how the way other Spaniards should treat them. The passage states, “Las Casas tells how the Spaniards “grew more conceited every day” and after a while refused to walk any distance. They ‘rode the backs of Indians if they were in a hurry’ or were carried on hammocks by Indians running in relays. ‘In this case they also had Indians carry large leaves to shade them from the sun and others to fan them with goose wings.’ (Zinn paragraph 24).
    Spaniards had formed this ideology that these natives were inferior to them, just because the Arawaks were generous to the Spaniards when they met. After a while, the Arawaks carried out duties for the Spaniards, not out of generosity, but out of fear. The Arawaks were forced to do certain like carry the Spaniards, or be test dummies to see how sharp a blade is. If they did not comply, they were killed. But the way that they worked was enough to kill them over time.

    Reply
    1. Ryan

      Ryan
      Ms. Keeble
      10/2/12
      Ap English, Period 1
      The two quotes you picked were very good in corresponding with your response. The responses you have are very good in explaining and interpreting the hardships the natives had.

      Reply
    2. Bilguun

      Bilguun Batdorj

      Ms. Keeble

      AP English

      Oct 2, 2012

      The quotes you chose were of excellent quality good ole’ mate!! It shows an excellent amount of quality thinking. The response you did is very well written and I can easily tell that you put a long of thinking into this assignment.

      Reply
  18. Andrea O

    Andrea O.
    Ms.Keeble
    AP English 11
    1 October 2012
    1. “ In the providence of Cicao on Haiti, where he and his men imagined huge gold fields to exist, they ordered all persons fourteen years or older to collect a certain quantity of gold every three months. When they brought it, they were given copper tokens to hang around their necks. Indians found without a cooper token had their hands cut off and bled to death.
    The Indians had been given an impossible task . The only gold around was bits of dust garnered from the streams they fled, were hunted down with dogs and were killed.” (Zinn 4)

    I feel that this passage truly illustrates the gravity of the indigenous experience with the newly arrived Europeans because it reveals the struggles the Natives had to face. I was shocked to read that despite the fact that the task was impossible, the punishments for not coming up with enough gold were still upheld. It seems as if the inhumane ways in which these people were treated was unreal because of the cruelty of these acts. In addition, this passage truly lets the reader know how the Europeans saw no value in the lives of these people and were more than ready to let them go through a slow and painful death. It truly evokes the reality of the Native’s struggle because it tells readers that the lives of these people were less valuable to the Europeans than the gold they sought.

    2.”When the Spaniards took prisoners they hanged them or burned them to death. Among the Arawaks, mass suicides began, with cassava poison. Infants were killed to save them from the Spaniards. In two years, through murder, mutilation, or suicide , half of the 250,000 Indians on Haiti were dead.” (Zinn 4)

    I also feel that this passage evokes the reality of what happened to the Natives because it tells of the extreme ways in which people sought to free themselves of the torture they were facing . In my opinion , the fact that mothers who valued life more than anything else were willing to kill their babies tells of the severity of the situation. It is surreal that something so atrocious was allowed to occur and that more than 100,000 people died because of the greed of the Europeans. This passage highlights that faced with these situations, the Arawaks opted to take their lives away rather than keep living under the mercy of the Spaniards. If these people were pushed to take the decisions that the passage tells about , then one can only imagine how much suffering they were going thru.

    Reply
  19. Haley Rosano

    Haley R.
    Ms. Keeble
    AP English per. 2
    1 October 2012

    1)”They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane… They would make fine servants…. With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want” (Columbus, paragraph 2).
    The Arawaks know nothing about man-made tools, or goods. Columbus felt that it would be okay to try and manipulate these native people. The Arawaks are so ignorant to these new ideas, that they are willing to go through with the change. Little do they know they will be going through a whole life change.
    2)”It is the manner amongst us Indians, that if any such accident happen, wee doe redeeme the life of a man that is so slaine, with a 100 armes length of Beades and since that you are heere strangers, and come into our Countrey, you should rather conform yourselves to the Customes of our Countrey, than impose yours upon us….” (Arawaks, Paragraph 45)
    The Arawaks are no longer ignorant; they know what the Europeans want. They no longer want to go along with what they are told because they know that it’s bad (not their form of life). War against the Europeans is now a bit more predictable. Now that the Arawaks are more informed, why do the Europeans want to fight against them? Arawaks have thier weapons, as well as an idea of how to get the “White man’s tools.”

    Reply
    1. Hannah R.

      Hannah Reddy

      I enjoyed reading how you compared how the Arawaks fro, how thy used to be, to how they became aware of the Europeans and what they were up to.

      Reply
  20. Kiloni D.

    Kiloni Driskell
    October 1, 2012
    AP English, Period 2
    Ms.Keeble

    When the Arawaks seen Columbus they greeted them with respect; the Arawaks traded several items with them. Columbus looked at the Arawaks as weak and too friendly, so he thought it would be best to take the Arawaks as slaves to help him find gold.They found no gold fields, but had to fill up the ships returning to Spain with some kind of dividend. “In the year 1495, they went on a great slave raid, rounded up fifteen hundred Arawak men, women, and children, put them in pens guarded by Spaniards and dogs, then picked the five hundred best specimens to load onto ships.”(paragraph 15). Since they couldn’t find any gold, they sold the Arawaks as slavers for sex labor to make money.

    The Arawaks was tired of the Spanard treating them with so much cruelty. They wanted to take action and that is what they did, but there plan really didn’t go as planned. Eventually most of all Arawaks died and there was no gold left.”When the Spaniards took prisoners they hanged them or burned them to death. Among the Arawaks, mass suicides began, with cassava poison. Infants were killed to save them from the Spaniards. In two years, through murder, mutilation, or suicide, half of the 250,000 Indians on Haiti were dead.” (paragraph 18).

    Reply
    1. Arileni N

      Arileni N
      MsKeeble
      AP Eng 11 Per:5
      Oct 2,2012

      Good job kiloni! very well detailed also the quote you used about the Spaniards was very well detailed and i could also picture the tortures that the Spaniards did to the Arawaks.

      Reply
  21. Heather H.

    Heather House
    Ms. Keeble
    AP English 11- Period 2
    01 October 2012

    The treatment of the Arawaks by the Spaniards once Columbus hit the Caribbean shores was absolutely horrific. In Chapter 1, “Columbians, the Indians, and Human Progress”, of Howard Zinn’s book A People’s History of the United States, the devastating abuse is clearly stated. Take, for example:

    Las Casas tells how the Spaniards “grew more conceited every day” and after a while refused to walk any distance. They “rode the backs of Indians if they were in a hurry” or were carried on hammocks by Indians running in relays. “In this case they also had Indians carry large leaves to shade them from the sun and others to fan them with goose wings.”.

    The Spaniards were not hesitant to use the Indians for labor as soon as they claimed the land as their own. However, the disrespect and abuse grew over time, as the Spaniards grew more confident that there would be no repercussions for their actions. The Spaniards saw themselves as better than the natives, and treated them as lower beings. The way the Spaniards on the backs of the natives is absolutely disgusting, it shows that they viewed them as nothing more than animals.

    Another quote that shows the mistreatment of the Indians by the Spaniards is as follows:

    After each six or eight months’ work in the mines, which was the time required of each crew to dig enough gold for melting, up to a third of the men died.
    While the men were sent many miles away to the mines, the wives remained to work the soil, forced into the excruciating job of digging and making thousands of hills for cassava plants.

    Not only did a whole third of the men die from the extensive labor, but the women were also worked to their breaking point. The fact that it only took six to eight months of work for the Indians to die is an indicator of just how hard the natives were worked. Simple labor will not kill you in that amount of time. The women in the natives’ culture were well respected among their own, and they were also forced to work for the Spaniards. This shows an utter lack of respect for the natives by the Spaniards.

    In conclusion, the Europeans were not respectful of the natives of the land that they snatched as soon as they landed. In fact, the Spaniards were abusive, laboring the natives to death in addition to humiliating and degrading them.

    Reply
    1. Ross H

      Heather, I think that you had a very nice word choice. I think that your choice on quotes was nice. Your reply to the prompt was insightful and thoughtful. =)

      Reply
  22. Abraham N.

    Abraham N.
    Ms.Keeble
    Period 5
    AP English 11
    1 October 2012

    1) The Indians, Columbus reported, “are so naive and so free with their possessions that no one who has not witnessed them would believe it. When you ask for something they have, they never say no. To the contrary, they offer to share with anyone….” He concluded his report by asking for a little help from their Majesties, and in return he would bring them from his next voyage “as much gold as they need … and as many slaves as they ask.” He was full of religious talk: “Thus the eternal God, our Lord, gives victory to those who follow His way over apparent impossibilities.” (Paragraph 12)

    Christopher Columbus was amazed from how nice the Arawaks was, and how inviting they were. Instead of treating them nice like they were doing to him, he began to walk all over them and took their kindness for weakness, then he enslaved and threaten them to find out where the gold was located. I felt that the Natives and the Europeans are very different because while the Arawaks are all about mother nature and living off the land, the Europeans was all about conquering and taking over. I picked the quote above because it is a direct quote from Columbus and the objective of the response is to find out what happened to the Arawaks.

    2) “Marriage laws are non-existent men and women alike choose their mates and leave them as they please, without offense, jealousy or anger. They multiply in great abundance; pregnant women work to the last minute and give birth almost painlessly; up the next day, they bathe in the river and are as clean and healthy as before giving birth. If they tire of their men, they give themselves abortions with herbs that force stillbirths, covering their shameful parts with leaves or cotton cloth; although on the whole, Indian men and women look upon total nakedness with as much casualness as we look upon a man’s head or at his hands” (Paragraph 20)

    I picked this quote because it’s just another example of the differences that the Natives and the Europeans had between each other because, the Spaniards believed that women shouldn’t of had any rights and they should just stay in the house while the Natives didn’t have any marriage laws at all and the women could just move onto the next person without having a commitment. I thought this was kind of crazy and unheard of since in the United States, marriage is a prevalent thing among a male and a female.

    Reply
    1. DaJohn W (Post author)

      I find it interesting how my fellow colleague choose one of my quotes. He had the same opinion as I did when it came to how Columbus saw it as “fun” to take advantage of the natives. His second response was very intriguing. His comparison between modern day times, native’s beliefs, and European’s beliefs gave me a visual image. I enjoyed reading his responses.

      Reply
    2. Caleb

      Caleb M.
      Ms. Keeble,
      AP English, Period 2
      October 1, 2012

      I think your first quote was a great example. I like how you explained the interpreted Columbus’ perception of the Arawaks and went into it in greater detail. You also did a good job on comparing and contrasted the Europeans and Natives in both of your quotes. However, work on your placement of “was” in some of your sentences. Other than that, keep up the good work.

      Reply
    3. Destiny B

      Hey AB! I definitely agree with your quotes you’ve used to support your opinion on how Columbus was first amazed by the Natives and then took advantage of their sincerity. Nice job

      Reply
  23. Areli S

    Areli Sanchez
    Ms. Keeble
    October 1, 2012
    AP English, 2

    Upon the arrival of Colombus, the Arawak’s were too naive to realize the horrors they would soon face from the arrival of these men. It was a matter of time before the Arawaks recieved inhumane treatment from the Spanish. On the passage in page 4, the books describes of the slavery that occured, and the tasks the natives were given otherwise if disobeyed would have their hands chopped off, and left to bleed out to death. The passage continues onto page 5, in which it discusses the massive suicides occuring in the Arawak community, “When the Spaniards took prisoners……250,000 Indians on Haiti were dead.” This quote is of great significance because it exposes the horrors of the Arawak struggle when Colombus arrived on the Carribean islands.

    Insight of the Arawak people is provided by Las Casas, who was there as a missioner described the growing cruelty of the Spaniards. On page eight, the passage, “Total control led to total cruetly….. boys,” describes how Spaniars through high of themselves and very low of the natives. Many times the Spanish would torment and kill the natives for fun, thus representing how much respect they had for them.

    Reply
    1. Sidney period 1

      Good job Areli! I like the quote you used, showing how many people were enslaved in the island of Haiti.

      Reply
  24. Jhoann B.

    Jhoann B.
    Ms. Keeble
    AP English 11 Period 2
    1 October 2012

    1. It was the year 1492 and Christopher arrived on the island of Hispaniola with his men from Spain. Columbus came with the purpose of finding trade routes that would benefit the monarchy of Spain. In the process of expanding Spanish influence, the Arawaks of Hispaniola experienced great tribulation. “Trying to put together an army of resistance, the Arawaks faced Spaniards who had armor, muskets, swords, horses. When the Spaniards took prisoners they hanged them or burned them to death. Among the Arawaks, mass suicides began, with cassava poison. Infants were killed to save them from the Spaniards. In two years, through murder, mutilation, or suicide, half of the 250,000 Indians on Haiti were dead.” (Zinn Paragraph 18)
    This passage highlights the damages inflicted upon the Arawak culture as a result of the arrival of the Spaniards in the New World. The conditions of the time got so bad for the Arawak people that parents resorted to killing their own infants to save them from the cruelty of the Spaniards. In history classes, the barbaric treatment of Native Americans during the early exploration of the New World is often omitted, and European explorers, like Columbus, are expressed as praiseworthy heroes. In this chapter regarding Columbus and his encounter with the Arawak Indians of Hispaniola, Zinn attempts to present history in a way that is not biased so readers can draw their own conclusions about Columbus and his controversial “accomplishments.”

    2. Las Casas, a spanish priest that was upset with the Spaniards’ maltreatment of Native Americans, wrote in his accounts of Spanish conquest of the America’s, “Thus husbands and wives were together only once every eight or ten months and when they met they were so exhausted and depressed on both sides … they ceased to procreate. As for the newly born, they died early because their mothers, overworked and famished, had no milk to nurse them, and for this reason, while I was in Cuba, 7000 children died in three months. Some mothers even drowned their babies from sheer desperation…. this way, husbands died in the mines, wives died at work, and children died from lack of milk . .. and in a short time this land which was so great, so powerful and fertile … was depopulated. … My eyes have seen these acts so foreign to human nature, and now I tremble as I write…” (Zinn Paragraph 27)
    In this passage, Las Casas exhibits the harsh conditions Native Americans had to endure under Spanish rule. The Spaniards mistreated Native Americans in order to satisfy their own imperial interests and a multitude of Native Americans died as a result. The Spanish were able to become one of the most powerful European powers of the time, but the Native American culture were the ones forced to suffer in exchange for the success of the Spaniards. Many European nations were able to successfully establish themselves in the New World; however, European expansion in the New World for the acquisition of power is not a worthy justification for the suffering of numerous Native Americans.

    Reply
    1. Dominique N.

      Jhoann, I really liked the two quotes you compared and analyzed. I also really liked your responses, they were very complex and detailed, I think you went above and beyond. Your choice of grammar was very intelligent and it made the responses seem more simple to understand. I agree with your responses, I also think that the Natives were treated very unfairly. Good job!

      Reply
  25. Merritt W.

    Merritt Walker
    Ms. Keeble
    AP English
    1 October 2012

    1. Christopher Columbus came to the New World in 1492. He came to Haiti in search of gold. “When it became clear that there was no gold left, the Indians were taken as slave labor on huge estates, known later as encomiendas. They were worked at a ferocious pace, and died by the thousands” (Paragraph 18).
    Christopher Columbus worked the Arawak Indians until they couldn’t work anymore. He forced them to find gold that wasn’t even there. Male Indians were forced to work in the mines miles away from their families. In elementary school, we were never told that the Native Americans were forved into labor. We were told that Christopher Columbus was a good guy.

    2.”Las Casas tells how the Spaniards “grew more conceited every day” and after a while refused to walk any distance. They “rode the backs of Indians if they were in a hurry” or were carried on hammocks by Indians running in relays. “In this case they also had Indians carry large leaves to shade them from the sun and others to fan them with goose wings .” (Paragraph 24).
    The Spaniards treated the Native Americans horribly. The Arawalks didn’t appreciate being treated this bad, but they couldn’t do anything becasue the Spaniars had all the power. The Native Americans, specifically the Arawaks welcomed the Spaniards to their land with open arms. Instead of being nice to them they treated them horribly and killed a lot of them. We weren’t told the true story of the Native Americans or Christopher Columbus, but now we know.

    Reply
    1. Rachael B. Period 2

      I agree with your opinion and I liked the way you responded to the piece on how the Arawaks were treated by the Spaniards. They did not treat them respectively, and they did not care for anything else but their own welfare and benefit.

      Reply
    2. Caitlin H.

      Your quotes and responses were very good. I agree with what you say about how the Natives were treated. Your analysis was very descriptive and well written. It was very easy to read and not complicated. Doing that made me understand about how you feel.

      Reply
  26. David D.

    David Delgado
    Ms.Keeble
    October 1, 2012
    Period 2
    1) When Christopher Columbus arrived in Haiti all he wanted was to get the gold that was there. As this quote states “But too many of the slaves died in captivity. And so Columbus, desperate to pay back dividends to those who had invested, had to make good his promise to fill the ships with gold. In the province of Cicao on Haiti, where he and his men imagined huge gold fields to exist, they ordered all persons fourteen years or older to collect a certain quantity of gold every three months. When they brought it, they were given copper tokens to hang around their necks. Indians found without a copper token had their hands cut off and bled to death.” (paragraph 16)
    The Arawak Indians were very nice people, and they meant no harm towards the Spaniards. Since Columbus saw they had no real weapons to defend themselves he used that to his advantage and made them his slaves; they helped get some gold but it wasn’t very much. Columbus was also planning to take the slaves back to Spain since he wasn’t getting as much gold as he wanted. Columbus acted real cruelly towards the Arawak Indians, and they did nothing wrong. They greeted him with gifts when he arrived and they get repaid by being enslaved. It’s kind of messed up what Columbus did to the; the most devastating part was that many of died due to Columbus’s actions.
    2) At some point in the passage it is written that the Arawaks try to rebel against the Spaniards as it says here, “Trying to put together an army of resistance, the Arawaks faced Spaniards who had armor, muskets, swords, horses. When the Spaniards took prisoners they hanged them or burned them to death. Among the Arawaks, mass suicides began, with cassava poison. Infants were killed to save them from the Spaniards. In two years, through murder, mutilation, or suicide, half of the 250,000 Indians on Haiti were dead. (paragraph 18)
    It was pretty obvious to the Arawaks that they were being treated unfairly so they formed a resistance against Columbus and his men. Apparently they were defeated and even from the start the Arawaks knew they were going to lose but they weren’t going down without a fight. Many of the Arawaks died in battle and the ones that were captured were also killed.

    Reply
  27. Ryan Chu

    Ryan Chu
    Ms. Keeble
    Ap English period 1
    10/1/12

    1. “But too many of the slaves died in captivity. And so Columbus, desperate to pay back dividends to those who had invested, had to make good his promise to fill the ships with gold. In the province of Cicao on Haiti, where he and his men imagined huge gold fields to exist, they ordered all persons fourteen years or older to collect a certain quantity of gold every three months. When they brought it, they were given copper tokens to hang around their necks. Indians found without a copper token had their hands cut off and bled to death.” (Paragraph 17)

    They ran out of slaves because they died. So he moved on to the young to go mine for gold. They made sure that everyone was looking for gold because of this copper coin, and killed those that didn’t have the copper coin. that means they didn’t work. this shows a lot of what those people went through. this shows how Columbus weighed the life of his men and the Natives.

    2. Total control led to total cruelty. The Spaniards “thought nothing of knifing Indians by tens and twenties and of cutting slices off them to test the sharpness of their blades.” Las Casas tells how “two of these so-called Christians met two Indian boys one day, each carrying a parrot; they took the parrots and for fun beheaded the boys. (Paragraph 19)

    The Europeans were in full power. They used the natives to test out there blades and killed them for fun. this shows the hardships of the natives forced labor and their torture.

    Reply
    1. Gonzalo Haro

      The two quotes that you chose were very good. They are very important within the text and are very descriptive. Your responses were a little bit short but they got right to the point. You cited the quotes accordingly, but you didn’t capitalize some of the words.

      Reply
    2. Tanzeel H.

      Tanzeel H.
      AP English
      Ms. Keeble
      2 October 2012

      I think Ryan chose excellent quotes that summed up the chapter we read really well. I believe that responses could have been a little longer, but I totally see what he was talking about and I agree with what he said. The Europeans were in total control and were conquering, which did lead to extreme levels of cruelty.

      Reply
    3. Abraham N.

      I also agree with Gonzalo that the two quotes you chose were good and informative. I like how you didn’t sugar coat anything and wrote what you felt about the quotes. The only critique I have for you is that you should of really went into detail about the quote.

      Reply
    4. Abraham N.

      I also agree with Gonzalo that the two quotes you chose were good and informative. I like how you didn’t sugar coat anything.

      Reply
  28. Rachel N.

    Rachel N.
    Ms. Keeble
    AP English Language & Composition
    2 October 2012

    In the article, “Columbus, The Indians, and Human Progress,” the author goes into concrete detail of what actually took place when Columbus discovered America. As Columbus meets with the Arawaks he thinking process starts to lean crookedly when he sees his strengths compared to their weaknesses. The author writes, “…cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane.They would make fine servants… With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want” (Columbus 1). This quote displays that Columbus wanted to take advantage of the Arawaks, make them inferior, and enslave them. Usually we look to Columbus in admiration and respect that he founded America, but clearly his thinking was to use them and treat them like worthless trash.
    Moreover, we can think that the Indians were just told to move and none of them were enslaved or treated as grossly as those were treated in the Holocaust. Although, the tragedy of the American Indians was much graver. The author says, “The rest arrived alive in Spain and were put up for sale by the archdeacon of the town, who reported that, although the slaves were ‘naked as the day they were born,’ they showed ‘no more embarrassment than animals.’ Columbus later wrote: ‘Let us in the name of the Holy Trinity go on sending all the slaves that can be sold'” (Columbus 1). Here, it says that they were not only forced to leave their homes, but that they were forced to serve people as if they were animals. Clearly, this is not something to just push under the rug, but to see that the Arawaks were severely mistreated and alienated.

    Reply
    1. Jhoann B.

      The quotes you chose are very good and accurately answer the prompt of this assignment. Your analysis of the passages you chose are very thoughtful and insightful. I agree that people shouldn’t just ignore and forget about the fact that the Arawaks were mistreated when Columbus arrived on the island of Hispaniola. Overall, I really like your response.

      Reply
    2. Jessica A

      Rachel, the points you have made were clear and vivid. I agree that Columbus’ name is outstretched to admiration when it shouldn’t be, because he treated the enslaved Indians in an unjustly manner. Your response was well-organized and your justifications were valid. Great work! 😀

      Reply
  29. Desiree N.

    Desiree N.

    Ms. Keeble

    AP English 11

    1 October 2012

    1)The Indians, Columbus reported, “are so naive and so free with their possessions that no one who has not witnessed them would believe it. When you ask for something they have, they never say no. To the contrary, they offer to share with anyone….” He concluded his report by asking for a little help from their Majesties, and in return he would bring them from his next voyage “as much gold as they need … and as many slaves as they ask.” He was full of religious talk: “Thus the eternal God, our Lord, gives victory to those who follow His way over apparent impossibilities.” (paragraph 13)
    The Arawaks were very kind people who just wanted to welcome these new people to their land. They gave the Spaniards gifts and helped them. Columbus thinks they are naive and dumb. He told the king and queen of Spain that he can get almost anything they wanted. He used the Arawaks to get gold and used them as slaves.
    2) Trying to put together an army of resistance, the Arawaks faced Spaniards who had armor, muskets, swords, horses. When the Spaniards took prisoners they hanged them or burned them to death. Among the Arawaks, mass suicides began, with cassava poison. Infants were killed to save them from the Spaniards. In two years, through murder, mutilation, or suicide, half of the 250,000 Indians on Haiti were dead. (paragraph 18)
    This shows the unfair fight the Arawaks had against the Spainards. Of course stone and wood wouldn’t compare to steel weapons. The Arawaks had a slim chance at defending themselves. Some were also captured and tortured. The Arawaks were so afraid of the Spainards that they felt it was necessary to kill their own children so they wouldn’t have to face the evil ways of the Spainards. Indigenous experience with the Europeans was not a pleasant one.

    Reply
    1. Alexia from Period 1

      This is such a superior response Desiree! I admired your vocabulary and the way you worded your thoughts. The response is so simple, yet it gets straight to the point. I agree to your comparison between stone and wood versus a steel weapon fight. At that very moment, it was obvious who would win that battle. Great job at completing this task!

      Reply
  30. Adiam H

    Adiam Habtay
    Period 5
    October 1,2012

    1) Once Columbus arrived on Haiti and set up his base, he was ready to send slaves and gold back to Spain. The passage states, “In the year 1495, they went on a great slave raid, rounded up fifteen hundred Arawak men, women, and children, put them in pens guarded by Spaniards and dogs, then picked the five hundred best specimens to load onto ships. Of those five hundred, two hundred died en route. The rest arrived alive in Spain and were put up for sale by the archdeacon of the town…”(paragraph 15)

    It does not make sense,the Arawaks welcomed Columbus and his men to the their land.They were so kind and generous with the Spaniards. There was no such thing as “property” to them,they taught the Spaniards how to live in their land.Showered them with gifts,but the Spaniards decided to take complete advantage of the Arawak people.They enslaved the Arawak,only because they were in the needs for goods;gold. Not only did the Spaniards enslave them on their own land,they forced the Arawak to go to Spain to become slaves.The first batch was a shocking amount of 1,500 men,women,and children. And that was the only the beginning of the Europeans making 90% of the Natives population die.

    2) “When the Spaniards took prisoners they hanged them or burned them to death. Among the Arawaks, mass suicides began, with cassava poison. Infants were killed to save them from the Spaniards. In two years, through murder, mutilation, or suicide, half of the 250,000 Indians on Haiti were dead.”(paragraph 18)

    The Arawaks did not understand why the Spaniards were so cruel to them. They are unarmed and willing to give the Spaniards what they want if they ask.All the Arawaks want is peace,but the Spaniards simply are just immoral. Not only did they strip the natives rights form their own land,the treated the natives as if they were animals.That mothers would killed their own children so they won’t have to go through the pain of being under the Spanish power.

    Reply
    1. Kiloni D

      Adiam i am really confused too. I thought that the Arawaks welcomed the Spaniards and taught them the way they lived. I really like your response and keep up the good work. I heard something different that relates to this text. Are responses were nearly the same. The quotes you chose was important to the text. We both picked the same quotes and i agree with you. Great job on you response.

      Reply
    2. Rachel N.

      Rachel N
      Ms. Keeble
      AP English Language & Composition
      2 October 2012

      In Adiam Habtay’s response to the article, she spoke accurately and powerfully about what actually happened to the Arawaks when Columbus came to America. I competely agree with Habtay when she claims that the Arawaks were so hospital and loving towards Columbus and his men. This was the complete opposite opposed to how the Spaniards treated them. It reveals their true colors and Habtay caught on to that right away.
      In fact, Habtay pinpoints the deep rooted character within the Spaniards. How their immorality caused them to treat the Arawaks like pure animals. She was able to have empathy for the Arawaks that shows she connected right to the passage and tone of what the author was trying to portray.

      Reply
  31. Jonathan Victorio

    Jnathan Victorio
    Ms. Keeble
    Ap eng and comp
    1st period

    Columbus’ goal was clear to many around the world,but what about the real story where he wanted his supportesrs of the expedition to send him more ships and troops so he could suppossedly bring all the gold home. “Because of Columbuses exagerrated reports and promises, his second expedition was given seventeen ships and more than twelve hundred men. Their aim was clear, slaves and gold”(Paragraph 14). This explains to the reader that many of the false dilemas that Columbus did coiuld have bee avoided if he would have said the truth about his unfaithful ride to nothingness. His lies cost a lot of live, and many losses to many of the families that were innocent. His decision might have shaped the many others that followed up in his expedition but it left a lot of hatred and bad wishes everywhere he decided to get his greedy hands on.

    2)”Total control led to total cruelty. The Spaiards thought nothing of knifing indians by tens and twentiess cutting slices off them and testing the sharpness of their blades. Las Casas tell of a story of two Christian boys and two Indian boys carrying two parrots; they took the parrots and for fun beheaded the boys”(Paragraph 25). This explains a lot about how their religious beliefs helped them commit crimes. The Christian religion sure cleans up a lot of looses and but after all they are not supossed to have innocent blood in their hands. But yet again the religion was twisted, and if god told them that this was ok because thats how they were taught. All in all Columbus made a big impact in the world, and without him we would not live in this place we call home, but the price was paid even before the United States were actually United.

    Reply
    1. Johan

      Johan
      AP English
      Ms. Keeble
      2 October 2012

      Johnny my friend, you did very well. I do admit that you could have had taken a little more time. I think you were just trying to finish fast and you miss spelled many words. But over all you did very well. You chose one of my quotes is too, and you have a nice commentary so well done. Keep doing your work my friend your doing very well.

      Reply
    2. Veronica

      I like how you start out with what Columbus was trying to do and how you go straight to the point. I like how both of your paragraphs are well thought out and strong, only with minor errors. GREAT JOB JONNY!

      Reply
    3. Yarelli

      Yarelli Lopez
      Ms. Keeble
      AP English Language and Composition
      2 October, 2012

      This is a very good comment about what your read yesterday. There were a few spelling errors that made it tricky to clearly understand but overall it was good. I agree with you about the knowledge that we had of Columbus before we had read this article. We just heard the good stuff about him but never about all the evilness he brought to Indians. Good Job in clarifying that, Jonny!

      Reply
    4. Oscar Gonzalez

      Oscar G.
      Period 1
      Overall your response was good, as a your next step try working on your spelling. Then you can talk about how education has been blocking, or failed at giving us the complete information about history. Didn’t teachers say it is all or nothing when it came to sex-ed? So talk a little bit how educational systems might be censoring our education. Just a suggestion of course.

      Reply
  32. Tanzeel H.

    Tanzeel Hak
    AP English, Period 2
    Ms. Keeble
    1 October 2012
    1) “Because of Columbus’s exaggerated report and promises, his second expedition was given seventeen ships and more than twelve hundred men. The aim was clear: slaves and gold. They went from island to island in the Caribbean, taking Indians as captives. But as word spread of the Europeans’ intent they found more and more empty villages. On Haiti, they found that the sailors left behind at Fort Navidad had been killed in a battle with the Indians, after they had roamed the island in gangs looking for gold, taking women and children as slaves for sex and labor” (Zinn Paragraph 16).
    You can tell right off the bat that the Native Americans are going to get treated badly just like any other slaves. Their lives are about to change. Before they were the peaceful group of people that seemed to be to innocent, but now they are going to become more violent for the hopes for survival. The Natives Americans whole way of life is completely different. They treated the Europeans with the utmost respect and now are going to suffer through the life of misery. The Europeans are barging into the Native Americans’ lives beating people; taking women and children to sell for sex and labor.

    2) “Total control led to total cruelty. The Spaniards “thought nothing of knifing Indians by tens and twenties and of cutting slices off them to test the sharpness of their blades.” Las Casas tells how “two of these so-called Christians met two Indian boys one day, each carrying a parrot; they took the parrots and for fun beheaded the boys. The Indians’ attempts to defend themselves failed. And when they ran off into the hills they were found and killed. So, Las Casas reports, “they suffered and died in the mines and other labors in desperate silence, knowing not a soul in the world to whom they could turn for help.” He describes their work in the mines” (Zinn Paragraph 28).

    The Europeans are being as ruthless as possible. They are taking advantage of the Native American’s good nature and kindness. The Europeans are going around killing people for no reason at all, like when they killed two boys and kept their parrots for fun. They probably did not have any sympathy after doing so. Europeans are simply ruining the peace. They are pushing to the limit, until they die, as long as it makes the Europeans money they don’t care. The Natives are desperate and have no one to turn to. The Natives can not stand up for themselves. They do not have the weapons to overpower the Europeans, so they have no other choice, but to work for them, until their death.

    Reply
  33. maria fajardo

    Maria Fajardo
    Period 2
    AP ENG.11
    10/1/12

    Columbus wanted gold, he wanted to know where it was, where to find it. The people in spain knew it was in Asia. They told Columbus that they would give him a portion of what they get. “In return for bringing back gold and spices, they promised Columbus 10 percent of the profits, governorship over new-found lands, and the fame that would go with a new tide: Admiral of the Ocean Sea” (paragraph 7)

    Without the help of them, Columbus would have not made it. As he and his crew were sailing for about 35 days they started to see flocks of birds and branches. This showed that there was land near by.

    When they went to haiti they had seen that some other crew went and left a fort where they had seen that they were killed by indians. His crew got people and made them as slaves since the had to go back with something since they had found no gold or other goods.”Now, from his base on Haiti, Columbus sent expedition after expedition into the interior. They found no gold fields, but had to fill up the ships returning to Spain with some kind of dividend. In the year 1495, they went on a great slave raid, rounded up fifteen hundred Arawak men, women, and children, put them in pens guarded by Spaniards and dogs, then picked the five hundred best specimens to load onto ships”
    ( paragraph 17)

    Reply
  34. Caitlin H.

    Caitlin Huie
    Ms. Keeble
    AP English Per. 2
    1 October 2012

    1.) In the passage it states, “…they ordered all persons fourteen years or older to collect a certain quantity of gold every three months. When they brought it, they were given copper tokens to hang around their necks. Indians found without a copper token had their hands cut off and bled to death. The Indians had been given an impossible task. The only gold around was bits of dust garnered from the streams. So they fled, were hunted down with dogs, and were killed” (Zinn 16-17). The Indians had no way out of this torture from the Europeans. They were given a task that wasn’t possible and they were expected to do it or else they’d get punished. Before the Europeans came, the Indians had all the freedom in the world. No one was making them go anywhere or do anything. Now that the foreigners are there, their lives are dependent on their work for the Europeans. They were being taken control of from people that they just met.

    2.) The passage states, “When it became clear that there was no gold left, the Indians were taken as slave labor on huge estates, known later as encomiendas. They were worked at a ferocious pace, and died by the thousands. By the year 1515, there were perhaps fifty thousand Indians left. By 1550, there were five hundred. A report of the year 1650 shows none of the original Arawaks or their descendants left on the island” (Zinn 19). Because off all the hard labor the Arawaks had to go through, the population started to decrease. They were probably not expecting their tribe to suddenly disappear because of some foreigners. The Arawaks didn’t do any harm to the Europeans when they first got there. All of the sudden, they’re being forced to work as slaves. They weren’t the superior group at that island anymore. Unexpectedly, the Europeans were becoming the king of the island.

    Reply
  35. Veronica Valdezcia

    Veronica Valdez
    Ap English
    Ms. Keeble
    1st period

    Columbus only wanted to find gold since it was worth more than finding new land. He encountered the Arawaks in Haiti and convinced them to give him slaves in trade for a portion of the gold he finds. It was easy for him to convince them since they were really gullible and ‘”are so naive and so free with their possessions that no one who has not witnessed them would believe it. When you ask for something they have, they never say no. To the contrary, they offer to share with anyone….”‘ (paragraph 13).
    The Arawaks gave Columbus anything he asked for without thinking twice since they welcomed him with open arms. They greeted him as if he were one of them, but Columbus only used them in order to find gold and took advantage of them. The Spaniards treated the Arawaks as if they weren’t human while all the Arawaks did was greet them with gifts and peace. It’s pretty obvious that the Spaniards thought less of the natives since they treated them inhumane, shipped around 15,000 Arawaks to Spain. The Spaniards didn’t care about what harm they caused the natives because all they really cared about was wealth. The natives for sure didn’t appreciate the way they were being treated by the Spaniards and wasn’t the best way to show your new neighbor that you can’t be trusted.
    Later in the passage, the Spaniards took control over all of the native’s land, but, “Total control led to total cruelty. The Spaniards “thought nothing of knifing Indians by tens and twenties and of cutting slices off them to test the sharpness of their blades” (Paragraph 25).
    Since the Arawaks were sick of being mistreated, they tried to rebel, but that wasn’t a success since many died in the battles they endured. Many of the prisoners were brutally murdered which doesn’t go with the story we were told of Columbus coming to the Americas and being friendly with the natives.

    Reply
    1. dartise

      I think your response was very clear ,and well thought out. I like the way you got right to the point in the beginning of the sentence. I like the way you used your intuition to infer that the people from Haiti was naive, and gullible it was a very strong statement.

      Reply
  36. Oscar Gonzalez

    Oscar Gonzalez
    Ms. Keeble
    October 1, 2012
    AP English
    Period 1
    1) Columbus has settled, and he is totally abusing the ‘Indies’ for labor. “The cry of the poor is not always just, but if you don’t listen to it, you will never know what justice is.”(Paragraph 45)
    This indicates the new ideas of the Europeans was that all the Indies can do was work and guide them to Gold. At first it would sound like it was all fine and what not but, then once Columbus started getting out of had his expectations got out of hand. Then it all soon became slavery to the Indies. The reason behind the Indies listening to European orders was because they thought that they were part of the God they have been waiting for so long.
    2)Deeper into the passage the author writes how the Arawaks tried to put together a army of resistance, “The Arawaks faced Spaniards who had armor, muskets, swords, horses. When the Spaniards took prisoners they hanged them or burned them to death. Among the Arawaks, mass suicides began, with cassava poison. Infants were killed to save them from the Spaniards. In two years, through murder, mutilation, or suicide, half of the 250,000 Indians on Haiti were dead.”(paragraph 18) [Same quote as Efrain E.]
    Due to the Arawaks being unhappy with the way they were boing treated by the Europeans they had tried to go against their order, in other words rebel. The story I was told as well was not the one I have just read, supposedly Europeans never really had any brutal actions towards the Natives. But that was entirely not the case.

    Reply
    1. Efrain E.

      This is a great response Oscar. I noticed you mentioned that you used the same quote as me. Although it is not completely necessary, i appreciate the mention. I agree that this story is dramatically different to the one we were told as children. Maybe it is a conspiracy to keep the extinction of the rainbow unicorns at the hands of Columbus a secret? Keep up the great work Oscar!

      Reply
    2. Diana

      Diana
      AP English
      Ms. Keeble
      Period: 1

      I agree with Oscar when he states that this is not the story that we heard when we were younger. We heard a story about peace and tranquility between the the Europeans and the Indigenous, which was not at all the case, it was something much more brutal, way beyond our own beliefs.

      Reply
  37. Maria Martinez

    Maria Martinez
    Ms.Keeble
    AP English 11
    1 October 2012

    1) Columbus was well welcomed by the Arawaks when he arrived. “So, approaching land, they were met by the Arawak Indians, who swam out to greet them. The Arawaks lived in village communes, had a developed agriculture of corn, yams, cassava. They could spin and weave, but they had no horses or work animals. They had no iron, but they wore tiny gold ornaments in their ears.”
    Columbus was well greeted and welcomed to their place. When he got there their town was a great place to stay in, they had rarely any problems, but once Columbus got there many problems seemed to arrive days later. The Arawaks were greatful to see them and lended their hand to them. They helped them a lot.

    2) Columbus right away seemed to spot their gold and take advantage of their inginuity. “This was to have enormous consequences: it led Columbus to take some of them aboard ship as prisoners because he insisted that they guide him to the source of the gold. He then sailed to what is now Cuba, then to Hispaniola (the island which today consists of Haiti and the Dominican Republic). There, bits of visible gold in the rivers, and a gold mask presented to Columbus by a local Indian chief, led to wild visions of gold fields.”
    Columbus’ arrival did not seem to be as peaceful and greatful as they first thought it was going to be at first. he seemed to impact this town in a very precise way. He took away their peaceful lives, bringing violence and battles. Battles started and many Arawaks ended up dead. Columbus was not such a great hero at the end as he was tought to be.

    Reply
    1. Desiree Negrette

      Desiree N.

      Ms. Keeble

      AP English 11

      2 October 2012

      Your response was right to the point and thoughtful. I agreed with your second paragraph when you said Columbus’ arrival did not seem to be as peaceful as the first. I enjoyed reading your response.

      Reply
  38. Dominique N.

    Dominique N.
    AP English 11 Per. 2
    October 1, 2012

    In this passage, Zimmerman explains to us what really happened to the Native Americans on Columbus’s voyage. He doesn’t sugar-coat any little made up lies like we’ve been told our whole lives, he shares the truth.
    One of the passages I found that I would like to analyze is found in paragraph 16-17, which states,
    “In the province of Cicao on Haiti, where he and his men imagined huge gold fields to exist, they ordered all persons fourteen years or older to collect a certain quantity of gold every three months. When they brought it, they were given copper tokens to hang around their necks. Indians found without a copper token had their hands cut off and bled to death.
    The Indians had been given an impossible task. The only gold around was bits of dust garnered from the streams. So they fled, were hunted down with dogs, and were killed.”
    The Arawak Indians were no sort of harm towards the Columbus or the European colonists, they even welcomed them at first with open arms. Columbus ignored their kind gesture and took advantage of them and made them slaves (or killed them). He treated them very inhumane and cruel, and showed no mercy. In this specific snippet Zimmerman basically states that Columbus was a fool of thinking there were tons of gold on the land, but when the Indians could not find any he would blame them and kill them, for his own foolish mistake. From a Native perspective, it must have been the most terrible thing in life to see your loved ones killed right in front of you from a people unlike yourself.

    The second phrase I choose to analyze was found in paragraph 24 which states,
    “Las Casas tells how the Spaniards “grew more conceited every day” and after a while refused to walk any distance. They “rode the backs of Indians if they were in a hurry” or were carried on hammocks by Indians running in relays. “In this case they also had Indians carry large leaves to shade them from the sun and others to fan them with goose wings.”
    Not only did Columbus kill over 500,000 throughout his time being in America by diseases, murder, mutilation, etc, but he also embarrassed them by ripping away their rights as human beings. Columbus and his men rode these people like animals, just because they grew lazy and spoiled. They no longer had rights as human beings and were forced to work like mules. Having your family, culture, society, and overall life being away from you could not possibly seem to get any worse, but Columbus found a way to make it work. Both of these quotes definitely show what an evil villain Columbus and his men truly were, and how their voyage made a huge negative impact on one society forever and now today is practically extinct because of them.

    Reply
    1. Angela R. period 1

      Good Job Dominique! I really enjoyed reading your story and your opinion. Keep up the good work! 😀 <3

      Reply
  39. Brittany-Ann V. Dela Cruz

    Brittany-Ann V. Dela Cruz
    Keeble
    AP English
    1 October 2012

    1. Columbus’s goal was to set sail to the islands near the Caribbean Sea to find gold and goods to bring back to his home country of Spain. Anyone or anything that stood in his way were quickly harmed and taken care of. The quote, “They suffered and died in the mines and other labors in desperate silence, knowing not a soul in the world to whom they could turn for help,” demonstrated what actually happened to the Arawaks. (Paragraph 25)
    Columbus made the Natives suffer. There was absolutely nowhere to hide, nor nowhere to seek freedom. There was always a brutal consequence when things were not done that exceeded Columbus’s expectations. If there was not enough gold collected, he would behead them. If there was no gold at all, he would steal their goods and spices. There was no way to escape his hell hole.
    2. Columbus not only made the Arawaks suffer, he took advantage of their land and their body. “When it became clear that there was no gold left, the Indians were taken as slave labor on huge estates, known later as encomiendas. They were worked at a ferocious pace, and died by the thousands” (Paragraph 17)
    Columbus over worked the Natives until they could not work anymore. He used them as slaves and sex labor. He used every person as well as children to work for him. He worked them continuously day and night until they could not work anymore. The Natives only stopped until they no longer could endure the work and they laid there helplessly to die. The Arawaks had no choice but to be taken over by Columbus.

    Reply
    1. Adria W. period 2

      good response Britt! I agree with you on the things you said about Columbus and how he made the Arwaks suffer.

      Reply
    2. Phuong-My N.

      Phuong-My N.
      Keeble
      AP English, Per. 2
      2 October 2012

      Response

      I like the two quotes you chose because it summarized what the chapter was about. I like the way you explained the quotes as well. You have a way with words that makes it easy to read and understand. Good job, wife! 🙂

      Reply
    3. Maliko P.

      Maliko P.
      Keeble
      AP per.2
      2 October 2012

      Response

      Good job Brittany-Ann! I really enjoyed reading you response, it was very descriptive and easy to comprehend.

      Reply
    4. Haley R.

      Haley R.
      Ms. Keeble
      AP English Per. 2
      2 October 2012

      I love how Brittany had compassion is everything that she wrote. Brittany also stated all of her facts in a way that didn’t favor the Arawaks, but told their struggles and how Columbus tried to treat them. Overall it’s a great response.

      Reply
  40. Natasha R.

    Natasha R.
    Keeble
    1 Oct,2012
    period 5

    As Colombus stumbbled upon the Indies he had found a group of natives inhabiting the place.After a short time of being there, he began mistreating the welcoming Natives, because of his desperate search for gold. “This was to have enormous consequences: it led Columbus to take some of them aboard ship as prisoners because he insisted that they guide him to the source of the gold.” This demonstrates that colombus had no intentions of having good relations with the Natives,he purposely would take them from villages or family so that the gold he was looking for can be achived. Also another piece of evidence on how the Spanish destroyed the land , people, and culture of the natives is when the Arawaks wanted to creat an army to be against the Spanish,”Trying to put together an army of resistance, the Arawaks faced Spaniards who had armor, muskets, swords, horses. When the Spaniards took prisoners they hanged them or burned them to death. Among the Arawaks, mass suicides began, with cassava poison. Infants were killed to save them from the Spaniards. In two years, through murder, mutilation, or suicide, half of the 250,000 Indians on Haiti were dead. ” Here, it clearly states the overall consequences and affects of the Spanish showing up in the Americas, they obvioulsy pushed the Natives to the state that they didn’t want to live anymore and were murdered by this so called “civilized people” and they had no chance of beating them or pushing them out of theri lands. When growing, we were told that this so called heroic man named Christopher Colombus, was a man who befriended the natives and discovered America when in reality he was a mutilator to these gentle people.This comes to ptove that only one side of a story is mostly told in the perspective of the victor and the ones who died were never had their vocies heard.

    Reply
    1. Mercedes G.

      I enjoyed reading your response because it does have important details to it, and it kept me interested the whole time. The part that I really liked was the ending because it shows that we only have one side of the story to read about.

      Reply
  41. Alicia

    Alicia Oseguera
    Ms.Keeble
    October 1,2012
    1st Period

    1) While in there stay in Haiti, Columbus was desperate to send back to Europe gold since he had send a letter which said positive results. To prove that what he said was the truth an action was taken,” In the province of Cicao on Haiti, where he and his men imagined huge gold fields to exist, they ordered all persons fourteen years or older to collect a certain quantity of gold every three months. When they brought it, they were given copper tokens to hang around their necks. Indians found without a copper token had their hands cut off and bled to death. The Indians had been given an impossible task..”(paragraph 16-17)
    Columbus after having the Arawaks welcome them in a nice and peaceful way, he and his men respond to the peaceful welcoming of the Arawaks by using them in their advantage. The Spaniards took advantage of the kidness of the Arawaks. The Arawaks were treated in a way for the Spaniards to get credit from Europe. The Spaniards knew that to find gold was impossible but even though they knew this, the Arawaks were forced to give them gold every three months. Through this passage it is very visible to see that the Spaniards saw the Arawaks as their tools to use them to get what they wanted. They didn’t feel like looking for gold because they knew it was impossible but they still ordered the Arawaks to search for gold or else they will be killed. I am sure that for the Arawaks this was just very unjustice, it is not fair to be given a task that it is known that it is impossible to accomplish. The worse part is that the Arawaks had to accomplish what they were ordered because their life was at risk.
    2) Furthermore on the passage, the author eplains the testimonies of Las Casas, ” The Spaniards ‘thought nothing of knifing Indians by tens and twenties and of cutting slices off them to test the sharpness of their blades.’ Las Casas tells how ‘two of these so-called Christians met two Indian boys one day, each carryinga parrot; they took the parrots and for fun beheaded the boys.” ( paragraph 25)
    The Spaniards treated the Arawaks as a source of entertainment and used them to test their tools not seeing their life as something valuable. In many cases just like pointed out in this passage Arawaks didn’t even do anything that was considered bad but they were still killed because the Spaniards felt like it. The Spaniards were not able to treat The Arawaks were treated in a way that they did not deserve it because they never did anything to the Spaniads. It is unbelievable that when we were little I was taught that Columbus was a hero when in reality he was resoonsible for the many terrible deaths of these people.

    Reply
    1. Areli

      Your response to the passage and your insights are really good, and I definitely agree with you. I really like your concluding sentence, because I too believed that Columbus was a hero when in reality he was not.

      Reply
  42. Thomas Tran

    Thomas Tran

    Keeble

    Ap Eng Period 1

    1 October 2012

    1) The arrival of Columbus and
    discovering the Arawak people was no
    blessing; it was a curse in disguise. “The aim was clear: slaves and gold. They went from island to island in the Caribbean, taking Indians as captives. But as word spread of the Europeans’ intent they found more and more empty villages.” (Paragraph 14)
    It was clear to the Arawak people that the Europeans were not to be trusted after their betrayal by Columbus.

    2)The Spaniards treated the Arawak people in a cruel form of slavery. The ongoing enslavement of the Arawak was so cruel they had to hang and burn themselves to be saved the time of being tortured. Columbus had other ideas on his agenda; enslave the people to acquire gold than look for it himself. “And so Columbus, desperate to pay back dividends to those who had invested, had to make good his promise to fill the ships with gold. In the province of Cicao on Haiti, where he and his men imagined huge gold fields to exist, they ordered all persons fourteen years or older to collect a certain quantity of gold every three months. When they brought it, they were given copper tokens to hang around their necks. Indians found without a copper token had their hands cut off and bled to death.” (Paragraph 16)

    Reply
    1. Aaron C

      @ Thomas Tran

      We describe the actions of Columbus and similar conquerors as “cruel”, but can we really attack the actions of past people? We judge them with our own modern day standards, but these standards are completely different from the standards of the people from the past. If we think hard enough about it, slavery was an acceptable and common practice throughout history until the 19th century, and it still goes on even now. The work of Columbus required some form of labor, and he had promises to some very rich and powerful people to fulfill, lest his own life be at stake. Indeed, even the observations of the people from the past such as Casas have been able to identify the “cruelty” of Columbus, but that is a form of perspective. Without the work of Columbus and other explorers, the world would have been set back in its discoveries by an unprecedented amount of time. As it was stated in the original text, we cannot simply judge the actions of the past because these were overshadowed by the contributions that were made to society, even if unnecessary blood was shed for that purpose.

      Reply
    2. Canyon R

      I enjoyed reading your responses on this subject. When I was in elementary, Columbus was portrayed as a hero for discovering new lands and how he made friends with the natives. I am glad that now I know what really happened so I don’t grow up with an ignorant mindset.

      Reply
  43. Alexia George

    Alexia George 
    Keeble
    AP English 11
    1 October 2012

    1.) Stigall, Rebecca. “Christopher Columbus and the Arawak.” EzineArticles. 29 March 2010. Web. 1 October 2012

    2.) Rohrich, Klaus. “Christopher Columbus Didn’t Really Discover America. So What?” Canada Free Press. 9 May 2005. Web. 1 October 2012.

    The two sources stated above are slightly different but both have the same idea. It is obvious that Christopher Columbus was not the first person on the the New Lands of America. The biggest controversial argument that exists today is whether he should have his own day to be honored. In my opinion he shouldn’t be. Where he went wrong was when he claimed to discover a land which people were already living on. The indigenous people there must have felt invaded by him. 
    The first passage explains how Christopher went to the Bahamas and took over. He enslaved the people who were willing to share anything and everything with him. This passage is similar to the link given that I read first. The second passage explains more about the people there before Columbus claimed it as his own discovery. It goes further back to the Vikings, which were way before the Arawak Indians. Either way, all three passages make it apparent that Christopher Columbus was not first to set foot on the Americas. 

    Reply
  44. Rachael B.

    Rachael B.
    Ms. Keeble
    AP English 11, Per. 2
    1 October 2012

    As Europeans came to the Americas, the Arawaks did not know what they were up against. After a while of these strange people being on the land, their goals became prominent. Europeans under Columbus’s rule were in search of gold that was not going to be found in that area. The Europeans did not have any consideration for the Natives, but their goals of finding gold for Spain so they used the Arawaks in their advantage to find it. Their disregard of the Natives ran through most of the passage.”Trying to put together an army of resistance, the Arawaks faced Spaniards who had armor, muskets, swords, horses. When the Spaniards took prisoners they hanged them or burned them to death. Among the Arawaks, mass suicides began, with cassava poison. Infants were killed to save them from the Spaniards. In two years, through murder, mutilation, orsuicide, half of the 250,000 Indians on Haiti were dead” (Paragraph 18) showed that the Arawaks created resistance because they did not like the fact that the Spaniards used them. In result, the Spaniards still dominated over the Natives and to avoid that problem, Natives killed themselves which led to a lot of them being dead. The Natives seemed to have no way choice out but to die. Life for them was hard when they were forced to work for people did not even know so they looked for their opinions of ways out. Another example showed the degree of carelessness that the Spaniards felt of the Natives that they killed the people for their version of fun. “Total control led to total cruelty. The Spaniards ‘thought nothing of knifing Indians by tens and twenties and of cutting slices off them to test the sharpness of their blades.’ Las Casas tells how ‘two of these so-called Christians met two Indian boys one day, each carrying a parrot; they took the parrots and for fun beheaded the boys.'” (Paragraph 24). Natives faced every degree of cruelty because they were thought to be worth less of the Spaniards who came in search of gold and wealth. Their lives were not cared for as long as the dominant group found what they came for.

    Reply
    1. Merritt W. Period 2 (Post author)

      Merritt W.

      I like that you were very descriptive in your writing. You used a lot of details and evidence to support what you were saying. Your examples were very good. I liked your response. Good Job!

      Reply
  45. Ross H.

    \Ross H.
    Keeble
    Apeng 11 period 2
    October 1 2012
    When Columbus hit the shore of The Bahamas’ in 1492, he discovered a new kind of people that he called Indians. They were naked and different than his people. Columbus then started to ask them for gold. They gave him old. He asked for more gold. He kept asking until they had no more.
    Columbus then had a smart idea to take these men and enslave them. He made them work in mines till they could not work any more. From this power the Spanish thought they were so much better than them. “They “rode the backs of Indians if they were in a hurry” or were carried on hammocks by Indians running in relays. “In this case they also had Indians carry large leaves to shade them from the sun and others to fan them with goose wings.”” (zinn). They took them and turned them in their personal fans and cars. To think of what the natives were think would be horrible. they were demeaned and abused. They were striped of all there pride, and it was replaced by shame. Their normal everyday lives became stuff of horror. The Spanish made themselves rules of a land that was never part of their kingdom.
    They could not do anything about it, the Natives were out number and they were under armed to try to take out the Spanish “The Indians’ attempts to defend themselves failed. And when they ran off into the hills they were found and killed. So, Las Casas reports, “they suffered and died in the mines and other labors in desperate silence, knowing not a soul in the world to whom they could turn for help” (zinn) The Arawaks were kept away from other tribes they could not find help. They only had sticks and stones while the Spanish had steel and armor. The natives were just like lambs to the slaughter. Their experiences after the Spanish came became horrible. They were no longer a race of proud people they were just slaves. By the end of Columbus’ reign of terror 3 million of Arawaks were killed, and if they were not killed they would be sent to Spain to become slaves. The Columbus would go back to Spain and talk to the queen to have more people come to the Indies. This led to the final eradication of the Arawaks.

    Reply
    1. Heather H.

      Excellent choice of quotes! You use clear justification for your claims, and the tone of your writing is very strong. Brilliant job.

      Reply
  46. Jessica A

    Jessica A.
    Ms. Keeble
    AP English 11, Period 5
    1 October 2012

    What Columbus did to the Arawaks was also done to other groups of people, and the atrocities and the reason these atrocities were committed are similar. Because Zinn presents the information in his book in a non-deceptive way, he manages to exploit the severity of what the Arawak Indians had to endure by presenting examples of what other similar groups of people endured. “What Columbus did to the Arawaks of the Bahamas, Cortes did to the Aztecs of Mexico, Pizarro to the Incas of Peru, and the English settlers of Virginia and Massachusetts to the Powhatans and the Pequots” (Zinn)

    In his work, Zinn mentions that, “In Peru, that other Spanish conquistador Pizarro, used the same tactics, and for the same reasons- the frenzy in the early capitalist states of Europe for gold, for slaves, for products of the soil, to pay the bondholders and stockholders of the expeditions, to finance the monarchical bureaucracies rising in Western Europe, to spur the growth of the new money economy rising out of feudalism, to participate in what Karl Marx would later call “the primitive accumulation of capital.” These were the violent beginnings of an intricate system of technology, business, politics, and culture that would dominate the world for the next five centuries. ” (Zinn) The Spaniards invaded Peru in an effort to find slaves for gold, nearly the same reason Columbus invaded the Arawaks– using the indigenous people to find goods, spices, gold, etc. The tactics that the Spaniards used were deliberately thought out plans to turn each person against each other, to attack towns and lead death marches, and to overthrow the kings of queens of these lands. Columbus performed the same tactics on the Arawaks, which essentially resulted in a genocide of these people. Because many Spaniards took account of what was taking place, “All this is told in the Spaniards’ own accounts,” (Zinn) it’s much more acceptable to believe the Arawaks had to dwell under Columbus’s rule.

    Also, Zinn wrote about how Las Casas–a sixteenth century historian–took account of what was present between Columbus and his men and the Arawak Indians. Las Casas wrote, “Total control led to total cruelty. The Spaniards “thought nothing of knifing Indians by tens and twenties and of cutting slices off them to test the sharpness of their blades.” Las Casas tells how “two of these so-called Christians met two Indian boys one day, each carrying a parrot; they took the parrots and for fun beheaded the boys.”” (Zinn) This quote conveys the unjust behavior the Arawak Indians had to withstand. Columbus and his men not only used these innocent individuals as slaves, but he also humored himself and his men by mistreating the grown ups, aswell as the kids.

    Reply
    1. Elisha Hussain

      Your blog was very thoughtful and well worded. I liked how you used clear justifications for your quotes. It seemed as if you put a lot of thought and hard work into this blog. Keep up the good work:)

      Reply
  47. Efrain Enriquez

    Efrain Enriquez
    Ms. Keeble
    October 1, 2012
    1st period

    1) Once Columbus arrived on Haiti and set up his base, he was ready to send slaves and gold back to Spain. The passage states, “In the year 1495, they went on a great slave raid, rounded up fifteen hundred Arawak men, women, and children, put them in pens guarded by Spaniards and dogs, then picked the five hundred best specimens to load onto ships. Of those five hundred, two hundred died en route. The rest arrived alive in Spain and were put up for sale by the archdeacon of the town…”(paragraph 15)
    The Arawaks welcomed Columbus since the moment they saw him. They shared everything they had with him without thinking twice. In return, he enslaved the Arawaks and took advantage of them. The Spaniards treated the Arawaks as inhumanly as possible, and all the natives had done was offer peace and gifts. It is evident that the Spaniards thought very little of the natives, as they rounded up over 15,000 and were prepared to ship them all off to Spain. I am sure the natives weren’t very happy with the treatment they were receiving either. Having 500 of your friends taken from you and sent to a faraway country isn’t the best way to start a relationship with your new neighbors. The fact that half of them died on the way there makes it even more catastrophic.

    2) Later on in the passage, the author types Trying to put together an army of resistance, “The Arawaks faced Spaniards who had armor, muskets, swords, horses. When the Spaniards took prisoners they hanged them or burned them to death. Among the Arawaks, mass suicides began, with cassava poison. Infants were killed to save them from the Spaniards. In two years, through murder, mutilation, or suicide, half of the 250,000 Indians on Haiti were dead.”(paragraph 18)
    The Arawaks weren’t happy with the treatment they were receiving and attempted to rebel. Naturally, their attempts were unsuccessful and many of the Arawaks died in the battles that ensued. Even the prisoners captured by the Spaniards were brutally murdered. When we were children, we were taught that Columbus arrived in the Americas peacefully and got along with the natives. Obviously that was not the case, as the Arawaks even took to mass murdering their own people in an attempt to save them from the savagery of the Spaniards.

    Reply
    1. Alexis L.

      After reading Efrain’s response, i had a better understanding about the Spaniards and their cruelty towards the Arawaks. I like that his response was very descriptive, and how he showed concrete details about the Arawaks.

      Reply
    2. Raymond P

      Awesome choice of quotes. Your writing is very strong and clear. You used great uses of details and you kept it strong. God Job Bro.

      Reply
  48. Johan Ocegueda

    Johan Ocegueda
    Ms. Keeble
    AP English
    1 October 2012

    “Thus husbands and wives were together only once every nine or eight months and when they met they were so exhausted and depressed on both sides… they ceased to procreate. As for the early born, they died early because their mothers, overworked and famished, had no milk to nurse them, and for this reason, while I was in Cuba 7 thousand children died in three months. Some mothers even drowned their babies from sheer deperation…(Columbus quote 8) I chose this excerpt because it illustrates what horrible people Columbus and his men were. I know that in life it is nothing but killing to survive. Taking over new land by killing might be normal, but not the way they treated kids and females. They treated the kids and females very horribly, I dont know how they managed to sleep at night knowing they did what they would do. The Spanish took all of the respect that the natives had or them and just plainly threw it in the ground. The natives wanted nothing but to make new friends. They came to greet the new people and to show them that the new land is their home too. BUt the spnish, I cant believe that people actually think Columbus is a hero, he is just another heartless piece of s**t if you ask me. The indians, there something else, they are what you call good people they are willing to give their possesions to complete strangers. “They… brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things(Columbus quote 1).

    Reply
    1. brenda c

      brenda c

      the responses that i’ve read point out really interesting things that happened to the arawaks. the types of things that the responses point out are really good in my oppinion. Johans response really caugh my attention because he specifically mentions how the native families suffered and the horrible things they went through before they died; because of the poor condition they were living in and all the damage that was done to them. Women did not have enough milk to norture their babies and so they died.

      Reply
  49. Aaron C

    Aaron Chon
    AP English 11
    Ms. Keeble
    02 October 2012

    “But as word spread of the Europeans’ intent they found more and more empty villages.” (Zinn)

    ” The Indians’ attempts to defend themselves failed. And when they ran off into the hills they were found and killed. ” (Zinn)

    The passages that have been chosen above serve not as the initial reaction to the European arrival, but the aftermath that occurred. The Arawaks became aware too late that the intentions of the Spanish were not those of kinship, and as a result, they struggled in what ways that they were able to. Whether they were pacifists, knew that they could not overcome European weaponry and technology, or were cowards, the passages describe an attempt to escape from the situation that they found themselves in, which resulted in failure, and the extinction of the Arawak population. What had begun as a search for the Orient turned into a bloody massacre in the New World, all while the history that existed in the Americas began to fade under the European influence.

    Reply
    1. Thomas T.

      @Aaron Chon
      I agree that the Arawaks were too late to realize what was about to be done to their people. Although, when you use the term coward, what does that really mean? The Arawak people were cowards to fight against the Europeans? I agree that there may have been a possibility for the Arawak people to be pacifists, but calling them cowards may not be the best way to describe these people.

      Now I have to ask: Has anyone really been far even as decided want to do look more like?

      Reply
    2. Brittany-Ann from Period 1

      I agree with your response. It was short, but to the point. By referring to the tragedy of the Arawaks as the bloody massacre, it made a realization of what truly happened to the Arawaks. Your wording and your deep thinking caught my attention most. Great job Aaron.

      Reply
    3. Dan M.

      I like how your response shows an understanding of the subject without superfluous sentences. It also presents an opinion that is short and to the point, while backed by evidence, but only enough to support the thesis and not drag on.

      Reply

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