BY ALONSO J, RODRIGUEZ
As a lover of history and especially of Spanish history, I consider that it is not fair in the 21st century to judge the acts of a society that lived in another cultural context, had a different moral, and less knowledge than nowadays. Anyways, it is usual to find articles about history that are just going to explain the anecdotes (because are easy to memorize), instead of describing the good and the bad things that happened in an objective way. Fortunately for some, and unfortunately for others, Christopher Columbus will continue to have a lot of prominence in history, since on October 12, the Hispanic Day is celebrated by millions of people, and on that same date was the first landing of Columbus and his crew in America.
First part: Conquest.
During the conquest and evangelization, it is true that there were ill-treatment, exploitation, and murders against the natives as some notes and books written by priests and explorers of the time reflect. The figure of Bartolome de las Casas, a pioneer historical character in the declaration of human rights and defender of the natives during the conquest, is remarkable.
Maybe we could find in him the perfect balance between modernization and the beginning of international trade. Therefore, of globalization and the protective figure of the indigenous against the conquerors. Thanks to his notes and books, De Las Casas could show the Spanish court all of the negligences that were being committed. The royal family approved the laws of Burgos (1512), in which the Indians would be considered to be free men. Slavery and forced labor would be strictly prohibited. De Las Casas would become, thanks to his great work, a trusted advisor to Emperor Carlos V. One of the most important quotes from Bartolome De Las Casas says: “God is the one who always remembers those whom history has forgotten”.
Second Part: Culture.
In 1533 Spaniards founded the College of the Holy Cross in Tlatelolco (Mexico), the first higher education institution in all America. Since founding the first college Spaniards have founded 22 more, open to people of all races. An event of great cultural value, knowing that one of the first African-American people who graduated from the university was in 1965 (Vivian Malone Jones). Another thing to highlight from this period is how two indigenous languages grew during the Felipe II Kingdom: Nahuatl, and Quechua. They were languages of the Aztecs and Incas, and were protected and promoted to maintain the legacy of both cultures.
Third Part: Genocides.
Many people talk about the fact that during the conquest there were genocides, and this argument is false, since the objective of the genocides or destructive acts with the intention of eliminating an ethnic group, religion or race. The murders were part of a war for the conquest of a territory, not for hatred or the intention to eliminate a culture. In fact, many of the scorn missionaries and explorers denounced in their writings the existence of multiple human sacrifices and genocides by some indigenous tribes.
Fray Juan de Zumarraga reported that the Aztec people in Tenochtitlan alone sacrificed more than 20,000 people to the gods, and estimated that throughout the entire empire there could be 72,000 victims in total per year. In 1521 the crown put an end to these genocides with a new law.
Conclusion:
It is very important to have a critical mindset and not settle for what governments and institutions impose on us. It is important to give visibility to those who suffer and are weaker, but it is essential at the same time to be fully informed to have an impartial and respectable mentality. Obviously, during the conquest, indefendible events happened that if they happened today should be punished. That is why we cannot hide history, we must see these acts as their good parts and their bad parts to learn from them and not make the same mistakes in the future.