While going through this weeks reading A theme I noticed is that Christopher Columbus, Bartolome De Las Casa, and the Queen and King of Spain all have different opinions on Indian enslavement. In 1415 Las Casa freed his Indian slaves and began to preach against the injustices of Spanish rule. When Christopher Columbus landed on Hispaniola in 1492 he met natives. When he seen the natives he thought about how they could be potential servants. “They ought to be good servants of good intelligence”. Christopher Columbus could have also been involved in the slave trade on the African coast too. He wrote about how the Indians were “fit to be ordered about and made to work, to sow and do everything else that may be needed.... all that they are ordered to do, they will do. Without opposition”. Columbus initiated the practice of tribute. Each Indian male was required to gather and turn in a certain amount of gold every 90 days if not they would get the death penalty. Indians were required to work and accept Christianity. They could be forced to work without technically being enslaved. Christopher Columbus resorted to selling slaves also for more profit, he used the money to buy cattle and supplies, but wasn’t making as much as he thought he would. The queen and king of Spain disagreed with the enslavement of Indians. When reported to Queen Isabella of Spain she said they were to be treated humanely. By the beginning of the 16th century enslaving Indians became difficult, so they exploited slaves from West Africa. They were a cheaper source of labor and the ocean currents made it easier to transport Africans to the Carribeans.
Indian Slaves
https://iloveancestry.com/rarely-told-history-of-native-american-indian-slavery/
Bibliography:
“Columbus Controversy” by History.com Editors
https://www.history.com/topics/exploration/columbus-controversy
“How Columbus created slave trade that changed world economy” by James C. Clark
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1992-05-17-9205160196-story.html
Hi Shatavia, I like how your blog is simple and straight to the point it is very short and sweet. I like how you go over some main points and talk about Christopher Columbus and what happened when he discovered this new scenery. I love how you gave me some information that I didn't even know about. Good Job!
ReplyDeleteHey Shatavia! I thought it was unfair that Columbus just walked into the Indian's land and forced them into slavery. It makes me sad knowing that they were just minding their business and then BOOM! You're a slave now. I think that if the Queen and King of Spain really disagreed, they should have stopped using slave labor all together.
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