34 thoughts on “A People’s History of the US”
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Latin America: A Survey of History and Culture – Fall 2021
A Blogs@Baruch site
Latin America: A Survey of History and Culture – Fall 2021
A Blogs@Baruch site
Comments are closed.
A People’s History of the United States Notes 10/3/21 Randy Huynh
-Covers1492-> Present
-Published in 1999.
-Completely reversed perspectives/lens of how people read/write U.S. History
-Zinn writes history from the perspective of the people who had no influence in the state. In other words, from the perspectives of the people who were victimized by the states
-Book starts off with the hospitality of the natives contrasted with the opportunism/cruelty of Spaniards.
-Gap between two civilizations
-There was a rivalry between the courts of Spain and Portugal over finding new routes to Asia.
-Two huge barriers: Western coast of Africa and the Atlantic Ocean.
-Portuguese travel down coast of spain and eventually circle Africa to reach Asia
-There was really no idea of a peaceful approach to the natives from the Spaniards.
-The start of slavery in America is just two years after Columbus “discovers” America
-Las Casa’s account on the Native women and the strangeness of polygamy. The strangeness of this towards the Spaniards was seen as an invitation of violence for these people because their behaviors were seen as inferior
-Driven by Zealotry, fundamentalist version of christianity. The ideological framework can be used to explain some of the cruelties.
Commentary:
Reading and hearing about the cruelties and genocide brought to the Natives by the Spaniards makes me think about another time where this happened. I connected this to the Holocaust from the 1930’s till the end of WWII. In both scenarios, the main justification used for killing and oppressing the victims was this ideological framework where one viewed a certain group of peoples to be inferior. The Spaniards thought that the Natives were inferior because of the way they lived back then and how much it contrasted with Christianity or their perspective on the world. The example that can be used to support this is Las Casas accounts and how he describes the social life/structure of the natives. The Spaniards viewed this as inferiority and twisted it into their own sense of zealotry. It was almost like a crusade was being enacted on these people. Similarly in the Holocaust there was a systematic prejudice put into place for the Jewish because the Nazi Party sought to use them as scapegoats in advance for their own worldview. The antisemitism at the time can be attributed to the fear and post-war turmoil felt at the time, leading to the eventual systematic genocide of these people because they were seen as inferior in the eyes of the Nazi Party. The common thing here is that in cases like this there always seems to be a group that views itself as the superior and views the other one as inferior. The social and cultural gap between the two groups ties in well with the narrow minded ideological framework that is enforced in situations like this.
By Alan Tupac
Notes:
-When the book a people’s history of the US came out it shocked the nation because it was something never seen before because American history has always been written from the perspective of the victor and never the reverse.
-the author writes history from the perspective of the people who had no role or influence in any state.
-He book is from the accountants of the dispossessed and marginalized people who were victimized by the state.
-The book begins from Columbus’s time when he first discovered America to the end of the 20th century.
-The book posses this contrarian viewpoint and when reading about American history we should take into account this book as well.
-The book begins when the story of the natives welcoming the new Spanish arrivals from the sea and this was a stark contrast from how the Spanish perceived the event
-While the natives demonstrated hospitality towards the Spaniards, the Spaniards saw an opportunity and they inflected their cruelty onto the natives.
-The passage from Europe to Asia was blocked after the fall of Constantinople which denied them an opportunity for commerce and wealth so they decided to find new routes to Asia.
-Due to Portugal and Spain living in the most western part of Europe and sitting right on the Atlantic, they proposed that they could find a new route to Asia by sailing west.
-There was a rivalry between Spain and Portugal over finding a new route towards Asia because they only reached the western coast of Africa and they knew if they continued to sail south they would eventually reach the other side of the continent where they could finally get to Asia.
-The two routes the Iberians thought of were sailing over all of Africa to reach Asia or to sail west into the unknown where they thought Asia was.
-The Portuguese managed to circle the whole of Africa and head northward to Asia.
-There was no peaceful approach to the natives by the Spaniards.
-As early as 1495 they started the process of slavery by Enslaving the natives and bringing them back to Spain to be servants.
-Slavery was an integral part of the Americas before the Europeans decided to bring enslaved Africans to the continent.
-Slavery started with the natives Americans being taken in ships to Europe and in resulted in Africans being taken to the Americas.
-After 20 years of European colonization the natives realized that the Europeans were there for the gold and human livestock.
-The natives became violent because they knew that the Europeans were there to plunder and kill.
-The book expresses the idea that the natives were dying people because after the arrival of Columbus an island that had a population that was over a hundred thousand changed into one that consisted of only 500 people in two decades.
-The priest wrote about the native women and how they were very different from the woman in Europe because the native women didn’t mind nudity and covering themselves up wasn’t the main priority in their society, unlike Europe at the time which had a strict patriarchal structure.
-The Spaniards saw the nakedness of the natives as an insult and this was an invitation for violence according to their eyes.
-The Spaniards ideology allowed them to dispose of the native population until they were extinct.
-Some cruelty the Spaniards showed was the beheading of children and the slicing of the natives by the colonists to see if their blades were sharp enough.
-Because of the way the natives lived and how their societies were put together, this caused the Spaniards to see the natives as subhuman and as animals.
-The Spaniards treated the natives with the same cruelty that was reserved for animals.
Comments:
After watching the video it was very interesting to find out about how much of a problem the Spanish had with nudity because I do didn’t realize that the native’s type of clothing was very revealing compared to those of Europe. I was also surprised to learn that the Spaniards saw the natives not only as inferior to them but as subhumans who were seen more as animals than people. In addition, I was shocked that the Spanish not only demonstrated their cruelty when fighting the natives but also in their everyday routine by beheading multiple native children and by stabbing the natives to test the sharpness of their weapons. Lastly hearing about all the cruel things the Spaniards committed helped emphasized the idea that the Spaniards were never good, to begin with, and that if they showed a little bit more hospitality as the natives did, maybe they could have avoided all the wars and problems they had to face during their colonial rule.
Bridget Campanelli
Notes
Covers 1492-present (1999)
Reversed perspective of how people saw history of US
Wrote from perspective of people who had no influence
Hospitality of natives contrasts cruelty of Spaniards
Highlights cultural gap between two civilizations
Passage from Europe to Asia was blocked after fall of Constantinople
Columbus traveled down coast of South America and north towards Asia
Explains why natives had to resort to violence against Spaniards
They were unable to take a peaceful approach
Slavery started 2 years after Columbus arrived in America
Shows how warped Diaz’s account was
Natives lived through massacres and people coming for gold and slaves for 20 years
Populations drastically dropped after Columbus arrived
Discussed how polygamy and nakedness was natural and had no shame
Native woman had a huge role in society compared to the patriarchy in Europe
Explains why Spaniards were offended by openness from natives because it was a culture shock; was an invitation for violence
Author is trying to bring small facts to the surface and show the importance
Comment
The reading from this week really opened my eyes to how warped different perspectives of history are. For example, in last week’s reading, Diaz documented how they were immediately attacked by the Natives and treated with cruel violence. In this week’s reading, Zinn exposed the true reason why the Natives reacted so violently. They had been living through massacres for 20 years. They saw people being taken as slaves and their land being destroyed for gold by the Spaniards for so long that they knew they couldn’t trust them. Diaz’s reading makes it seem like the Natives are these violent, animalistic people when really they just want to be prepared for them to attack. This also describes why the Spaniards saw the Natives as below them. In Europe, the culture was very closed minded and modest. Women were below men since it was a patriarchal society and any form of nudity was shamed and looked down upon. When they came to America and saw women with such a prominent role in society and people living with no shame over nudity or polygamy, they thought they were these barbaric creatures that were behind the rest of the world, which in their minds justified the wiping out of the population.
Clarissa Reynolds
-When the book came out the perspective of the history of the US was reversed
-He wrote history as if it is the memory of the people who had no role/influence
-The people who were victimized
-Starting from Columbus time-present time
-Shows the cultural gap between civilizations
-Columbus was trying to get to Asia
-Slavery started 2 years after Columbus “discovered” the Americas
-Book showed how warped other accounts of the events were
-nakedness was taboo to Spaniards
-because of this they were easily able to reduce the
importance of these people and just look at them as
bodies; treated them like animals
I think it is admirable that Howard Zinn didn’t write history the same as every other account you will read. I like that he writes as if it was the memory of the people who were victimized because it gets you to really think and makes you look at it from a different perspective. It makes you rethink everything you have learned about history and see it from other perspectives. In textbooks they in a way glorify Christopher Columbus and give him the credit for finding this land when in reality there were already people there who had their own lives. They had their own way of living and Columbus basically erased it. The book shows you what his thoughts were in those moments which make you realize that he is not the person he was painted to be.
Ke Han Yu – Week of 10/4/2021 (People’s history of US)
– The natives were portrayed as much more friendly and welcoming compared to the opportunistic Spaniards
– The Spanish and Portuguese were sort of colonial rivals. Both tried to find a way to Asia first
– Portugal sought to go around Africa, which wasn’t fully discovered back then. They didn’t know where the end of Africa was
– Spain sought to go across the Atlantic, which led to Asia
– Spain didn’t really give the Natives an option for peace. They were conquering and enslaving everyone, so it didn’t matter
– An island went from millions of people to only a couple hundred thousand.
– There was a huge cultural difference between the natives and the Spaniards
– For example, Natives didn’t see being naked as anything wrong.
– Furthermore, Natives put women really highly in their social structure, while women in Europe treated the best.
Comments: Unlike the previous two reads, this read approaches everything through a modern lens. It focuses equally on both the Spaniards and the Natives. I felt that it was a refreshing and objective wrap up of what we’ve experienced for the past two weeks.
Addon to comments: I also want to mention how I found it interesting that women were treated very well in most Native cultures. I wonder what is the reason for that. Is it because of religion? Does Christianity have a role to play? Whatever the reason is, the fact that women can be dominant in a human society indicates that male dominant society isn’t based off of human instincts or genetics, rather because of countless generations of culture
-By Howard Zinn
-Completely different type of writing in US history at the time.
-The path from Asia to Europe was blocked after the fall of Constantinople .
-Denied the opportunity for commerce and wealth.
-Ottomans and Persian empires ruled over the Silk Road.
-Rivalry in Spain and Portugal about finding a new route to Asia.
-There was no peaceful approach to the natives by the Spaniards .
-By the second time Columbus started going to America the slavery already started.
-The natives weren’t ashamed by any part of their body.
-Nakedness was a taboo for the society of the Europeans.
I’m surprised that the Natives weren’t ashamed of their bodies. I understand that they don’t wear that many clothes, but I didn’t think that they weren’t completely fine with it. Especially since they also wear so many accessories like earrings. The Europeans are so cruel though with how they killed the slaves so easily. Like they have no bother for any human life. Even the children killed other children just for the sake of stealing their parrots. Like how did they convince children that you can just kill the natives to get what you want. You know that they’re evil if even the children are copying their evil deeds.
A People’s History of the United States – Akiva Tarnow-Fine:
– Reversed the perspective of how we view the “discovery” of the U.S.
– Writes history in terms of the people who were victimized
– Because they were denied access to Asia by the Persian Empire, the Europeans looked for other ways to access Asia such as going West to reach the East
– Rivalry between Spain and Portugal on finding a new route to Asia
– Hadn’t reached the bottom of Africa yet, so they did not know how long it will take to get around it
– Portugal managed to circle Africa and reach Asia
– Slavery had begun even before the enslavement of Africans
– Bernard Daiz’ account was wrong as they had already been under attack for 20 years, explains why they were hostile when they met
– Polygamy was part of the nature of the Natives
– The Natives walked around naked as part of their society, taboo in Europe
– The Spanish were offended by the naked nature of the Natives
– Driven by a fundamental view of Christianity which allowed them to exercise extreme violence for their G-d
Comments: The comparison you made between the Spanish and terrorist groups like Isis really stood out to me. The use of religion as an excuse for unacceptable actions has always been around, and this is a perfect example. The genocide of the native peoples of the America’s in the name of the church is just an excuse to make the Spanish feel morally correct about their actions. I also found it interesting how you highlight the fact that other authors of books based on this period have been very pro-Columbus, and how even those who describe the killing as a genocide care more about the false accomplishments of a single man rather than the hundreds of thousands killed.
By Alvin Liu:
Notes on A People’s History of the U.S:
-Zinn writes history from the perspective of the people, not the state. Rejected Kissenger’s views that history is written from the state’s perspective.
-Rivalries between the Spanish and Portuguese Crown over finding a new sea route to Asia.
-The Portuguese managed to sail around Africa to find a way to India.
-The Process of Slavery was already started when Columbus was sailing back to the Americas for the second time.
-The native Americans were already aware of the intentions that the Spaniards harbored, so they were violent towards them.
-Polygamy was accepted in the Indigenous people’s society
-Native women had more freedom than their European counterpart
While watching the video, I finally got to know what the Portuguese were up to during this time because I remember Spain wasn’t the only country that was trying to find a new sea route to Asia. I think the Portuguese would go on to find Indonesia and Malaysia while fighting the Ottomans for control over the Indian spice trade. I was also surprised too when I read about the roles that Indigenous women play in their community. Reading about how they will get an abortion if their males were too weak and them not being bound to one mate was really strange to me. Imagine if people were like that in real life, everybody would be freaking out, but I guess to them it was perfectly normal. In addition, the constant nakedness would be awkward as well.
I was also interested to see what the Portuguese were up to during this time as I never really thought to look at what other countries were doing at the same time that Christopher Columbus was trying to sail to Asia. I would also agree with you on how surprising it was to see the role Indigenous women played in society and how much power and freedom they had in their choices.
– Norbert Kopec
Anabel Fernandez
-A People’s History of the U.S. by Howard Zinn came out 23 years ago and was an earthquake in the historiography of the U.S. Its different style and school of writing had completely reversed the perspective and lens through which people write the history of the U.S. and read about it.
– He quotes Henry Kessinger’s famous passage that “History is the memory of state,” to which he strongly objects.
-Instead, he writes history as the memory of people who had no role or influence in any state. Zinn writes of the downtrodden, the disposed of, and the marginalized by the states.
-He gives an iconoclastic narrative of the U.S.
-There was rivalry between the courts of Spain and Portugal over finding new routes to Asia. there were two huge barriers on their side:
1) The western coast of Africa because they hadn’t gotten to the bottom of it yet with their ships.
2) Unknown expanse of the Atlantic Ocean, of which they thought Asia was on the other side of it.
Portuguese traveled down the coast of Spain and finally managed to circle America by passing along what is today known as South Africa and heading northward to Asia.
As the book A People’s History of the U.S. begins, it retells the story of the natives who swam into the sea to welcome the arrivals: Spaniards who had landed on their shores. Their hospitality is a stark contrast with the opportunism and cruelty of the Spaniards. Howard Zinn’s portrayal of the conquest differs from Bernal Diaz’s, Columbus’s, and Hernando Cortez’s because he writes the view from the victimizer’s instead of the perpetrator’s eyes. Thereby, he enlightens his readers with the nightmarish reality the Native Americans lived. Their own lives and their essence of it were at stake. Their formidable fear was their motive to attain tactics to combat the Spaniards’ violence with their own. The Natives had resorted to violence to save and protect themselves from the cruelty of the Europeans. Zinn surmises a clarity and explanation to why the indigenous people attacked Bernal Diaz in the 1520s (20 years after Columbus first arrived) wherever he landed. They already knew the Spaniard’s process and alternative motive to attain their gold and their bodies. Zinn points out that slavery was an integral part of U.S. history and started with the Native Americans, even before Africans became slaves in America, but instead were transported in the opposite direction: from America to Europe. Most historians who tell the story of U.S. history seem to overlook this fact and its significance. Native Americans deserve to be acknowledged, not demeaned of their part in our country, nor their sufferings. Instead, their tale should be highlighted and not buried under an overwhelming of additional facts surrounding it.
Stacy Keta
Notes:
– Covers 1492 to present.
– Howard Zinn changed the perspective of how people used to read and write; writes history as memory from people who had no role. This is the opposite of the ordinary view of writing which is from the victor’s view.
– Iconic narrative of the US; contrasting viewpoint.
– All readings sum up the dynamic.
– Zinn’s quoting of Columbus’ diaries was different.
– Native hospitality contrasts Spaniards cruelty; gap between civilizations.
– States of Europe denied commerce after Constantinople was blocked. They had to find a new route to Asia. Spain and Portugal were searching for said route.
– Columbus thought going westward would land in India.
– Rivalry between Spain and Portugal.
– None had searched South of the coast of Africa until Portugal circled around and landed in Asia while Columbus went westward.
– Spaniards had no idea what a peaceful approach was.
– 1495- Spaniards second trip (two years later) and they already started process of slavery.
– Natives had lived through the cruelty for years.
– Zinn focused on the one island; it went from a couple hundred thousand to 500 people in decades.
– Priest Casas wrote about the nature of Native society- treated nakedness like it was nothing. This offended the Spaniards as they saw it as an invitation for violence.
– This can be related to the Islam fundamentalists.
– Framework allowed them to reduce humans; children were getting beheaded, people were treated like animals. They viewed the natives as less than human.
– The story of genocide was overwhelmed and overlooked by other facts.
– Book offers a unique point of view; also mentions English cruelty and how the brutality against the Natives continued.
Comments:
I thought the approach this read took was informative. It focused on the Natives and Spaniards equally and was detailed. What I found interesting was the rivalry between Portugal and Spain. It made sense when hearing about that since they were both searching for a route to Asia. Reading about the Native culture, more specifically how they were comfortable with nakedness, was surprising but eye opening about their lifestyle. What stuck with me from the lecture was the comparison to modern day Isis. I hadn’t thought of that but the accuracy was on point. I also thought that the cruelty that continued against the natives was unjust and the fact that it was overlooked in history.
Notes
Larry Zinn completely reversed the perspective/the lens through which people used to read and write the history of the U.S.
He uses the quote “history is in the memory of states.” He takes the opposite direction by writing history through the memory of the people who had no role or influence in any state, which would be the history of the people victimized by the states.
He starts from Columbus’ time all the way to the 20th century. He gives an illuminating history of the U.S.
He starts off with the story of the natives that swam into the sea and how they welcomed the Spaniards with friendliness, which contrasts the brutality of the Europeans.
What was going on in Europe:
Passage to Asia was blocked, which denied the wealth of trade and commerce. They had to find ways to get around the Ottomans and the Persians that were ruling the silk road. In Spain and Portugal, for a long time, they entertained the idea of going around in order to get to Asia.
Most people knew the Earth was round. Columbus calculating the distance and if he traveled it westward he would end up in India.
There was a rivalry between the courts of Spain and Portugal in finding a route to Asia, but they had different ways of approaching it. There were two huge barriers: the coast of Africa- they hadn’t gotten to the bottom of it yet, but they knew it had to end at some point. It was an unknown part of the Atlantic Ocean: they thought Asia was on the other side but they ended up in the Americas.
They traveled down the coast of Spain and managed to circle Africa by passing along what is now the coast of South Africa.
You find here an obvious explanation of the violence shown by the Spainiards.
A general question that came up: why did the natives face the Spaniards with violence. The answer is that the Europeans did not show them kindness.
They enslaved Native Americans and brought them back to Spain.
Slavery has been such a big part of American history from the start of its history- 2 years after Columbus discovered the Americas.
It is obvious why the Native Americans faced them with violence- they knew the Europeans were there to plunder and kill.
In the excerpt, the decline in the population of a particular island is described after Columbus arrived.
The Native Americans did not treat nakedness like it was a bad thing. Women were also respected in Native American culture, in contrast with patriarchal Europe. The fundamentalist Spainarids were perhaps taken back and threatened by this.
They could be compared to Islamic Fundamentalists today- what the Europeans did and how they treated the people today, it is clear they were driven by zealotry. Their Christianity “allowed” them to treat people with violence. They reduced the people they met to basically nothing by slaughtering the Natives. There was a lot of unspeakable cruelty. This could be due to the ideological framework by which the Europeans were living by. They treated them with the cruelty that people treat animals with.
The story of genocide is not hidden, it is just overwhelmed with other facts in history. The point of the book is to bring the little facts to the surface that are otherwise surrounded by the good side of history.
Personal Thoughts:
In particular, I like the point made towards the end of the video about why this book was written in the first place and why this excerpt matters. Though the book revolves around the point of teaching what is left out of history textbooks or school lessons, not all of it is completely left out. It is just surrounded by pools of other facts that are written to seem more important instead of it being the focus. All facts of history should be the main focus and studied. While reading the excerpt, I found it interesting how the Europeans were threatened by ideas that were different from theirs, such as women being highly respected and nakedness being normalized, not looked down upon. They had such a superiority complex that they could not comprehend that the Natives could have new, different ideas that involved a different intellect and therefore treated them as less than human. It is an evident theme that fear can drive power, especially the fear of losing it. This is no excuse for doing inhumane things to others just because they have different practices or belong to a different, unknown culture. Similarly, religion is not a reason to hurt, slaughter, and kill the majority of a population. This excerpt made me realize how individual research is important involving history since much of the truth is left out.
Hi Julia,
I agree with your point that the Europeans had such a superiority complex that they couldn’t believe that the natives did something different to them and believed that it was the right thing to do so they used it as a reason to inflict violence upon them. These ideas so to say “threatened their masculinity” and made them feel uncomfortable.
Jennifer Lee Blog Notes:
-A people’s history of the US 1492-present (20th century) by Howard Zinn
-Novel was a shock to society because of the reversed perspective of the history
-There’s a gap between Spaniards and natives. Had to find new routes to Asia to get around ottomans and Persian empires who ruled over bulk of silk road.
-Rivalry between Spain and Portugal over new route to Asia and had different routes ideas. 2 barriers: 1) haven’t gotten bottom of western Africa through their ships. 2)knew massive land have to end at some point. Unkown expanse of Atlantic Ocean and thought Asia was other side but ended up in America
-Wherever Spaniard went, they were peaceful but the natives for hostile… Why? Bc they have come before with violence. Started with native American slaves to Europe; 2 years after Columbus discover America . 1495-2nd trip to Americas; restarted slavery
-Slavery is part of America. Natives lived through that 20 years already.
-Priest wrote about native women. Native treated nakedness as nothing. Europe had strict patriotic structure and nakedness was such a taboo with religious influences.
-Emphasis they remind of Islamic fundamentalist of today-isis. Zealotry; version of Christianity.. Allowed them to exercise extreme violence to please their god.
-Writing of history- believe genocide is overwhelmed of other facts; surrounded by chapters of praising of Columbus .
Response:
I never noticed the cultural difference between Europeans and Native Americans when it came to the idea of nakedness until you mentioned it. Such small details have an impact on the difference of mentality both have. The except had high emphasis on telling historic events through the point of view of the disadvantaged side, instead of heroic side, that has always been told from in history. This can be refreshing due to the one sided story our textbooks always present.
Joseph Guedalia
A People’s History of the US 10/3
Notes:
The book covers 1492-present
Changed the perspective of how people perceive US history
Was written by those who didn’t have influence on society
The very stark contrast between the cultures of the natives vs the Spaniards, Natives were so welcoming but the Spaniards were greedy for gold
The goal was to get around the ottoman empire to Asia happened to go another way
The way from Europe to Asia couldn’t be accessed because Constantinople had been taken over
The Portuguese went to the coast of South Africa and north headed to Asia
Columbus however did the same but ended in America
The natives resorted to violence because they really didn’t have a choice the Spaniards were strictly about gold and slaves no peace to be had
They were being enslaved just 2 years after Columbus arrived in America
Zin only focussing on 1 island and how large of a tragedy helped show that it was just a small microcosm of the large tragedy that existed
The Natives had to live through these assaults and massacres and greedy Europeans coming for gold and slaves for almost 20 years
The Populations of the natives declined by an extremely large margin once Columbus arrived
In Native culture polygamy and being naked was very natural and they had no shame
Native woman had a major role in society which was a large contrast to the patriarchy in Europe
That helps to explain why the Spaniards were so offended by the openness from natives because it was such a major shock to the European state of mind; was practically an invitation for violence
The author is trying to bring small facts to the surface and show the importance
Comments:
I thought it was very interesting that Zinn chose to write about just one island. Although you may think that limits the amount of information, I actually think it’s the opposite. It shows as a microcosm exactly what was going on. I also found it interesting to think about the major cultural difference between the Spaniards and the natives. Not that that forgives what the Spanish did but at least there is a reason for all the madness. It will help me sleep at night that these Spaniards were not just crazy violent lunatics. They were crazy violent lunatics with the motive of money and cultural correctness.
-When the book “A People’s History of the U.S” came out it astonished people because he changed the perspective in which history was told mainly all the American history was mainly told in the victor point of view.
-He writes history as if he was telling the memories of the people who had no role or any kind of influence in the state.
-The book starts from the beginning of Columbus’ time period and comes to the present. He wraps it up to the 20th century.
-It is told from a contrarian viewpoint and it should be taken into account when you read the history.
-It starts with the story of the natives that welcome the Spaniards that arrive at their shore.
-Shows a contrast of the hospitality of the natives to the opportunism/cruelty of Spaniards.
-There was a rivalry between Spain and Portugal between finding a new route to Asia. They both had different ideas.
-Portugal had reached the western coast of Africa and if they continued on with their journey to the south then they would reach the other side of the continent in which they would eventually end up going to Asia.
-There was no idea of the peaceful approach that the Spaniards had towards the natives.
-In 1495, they had started the process of slavery. The enslavement of Native Americans and bringing them back to Spain.
-Slavery was an essential part of the Americas mainly because it was a constant in which native people would be taken back to European states.
-After 20 years of native people getting colonized, they knew that the Europeans were coming after them for gold and for their bodies.
-They started to become prepared with violence because they knew eventually these people were going to kill them.
-The priest, Las Casas ,wrote about the native woman and polygamy of something strange to them. Since the natives treated nakedness as of nothing and there was no source of shame for them. The role women had in this society was a contrast to the patriarchal society in Europe.
-The Spaniards were in a way offended and on how they treated nakedness. It was in a way an invitation for Spaniards to be violent to the natives.
-The Spaniards were driven by Zealotry in which it is a fundamentalist version of Christianity. It was an explanation they had for the cruel things they did.
-Children getting beheaded and slaughtered natives to see if their swords were sharp enough.
-It was an ideological framework behind the reason as to why they treated these people because of how the natives lived and on how their societies functions
-Since how the natives lived and the things they did, it made the Spaniards easier to think of them less as humans and more like animals.
Comment:
I do believe that individuals and students should read this book “A People’s History of the U.S” mainly because it helps show people a new perspective of how history is being told. Since history is always told by the conquers many people just take that into account and never usually try to think of the oppressors. What I liked about this book and learning about it was that it was something that shocked people because it was a different perspective of history that is not popular. Furthermore, I think the part that was the most shocking was that the reason behind Spaniards treating them cruelly and being compared to animals was mainly because of how the natives society was. They believed that since these people were naked that they were just welcoming themselves to this violence.I still can’t understand how they could be so cruel to the point where they would behead children and treat women equivalent to trash. This only further showed that the Spaniards were never right and they had always put their greed above others.
-Parneet Kaur
Hymie Israel
Notes:
1492-Present
History based off of the oppressed and victimized
Had to find new routes Asia, around the Persians and Ottomans
Spain and Portugal were competing for a new route to Asia
The Spaniards were not at all peaceful to the natives
The beginning of slavery in the Americas was two years after Columbus discovered America
There was no shame in nakedness back then and polygamy
The Spaniards used this nakedness as a reason for the violence that they inflicted on the natives
Comments:
Now I understand why the natives were so quick to attack the Spaniards because they had heard that they went to other lands and looted and plundered the land for gold and such, and even to kill. It’s also crazy how the population goes from hundred of thousands of people to about five hundred people just a couple of decades after Columbus’ arrival. I can’t imagine how it would even be possible to reduce the fact that they are humans and then be able to kill them and even behead the children.
Hey Hymie,
Yes, absolutely, after reading this chapter and listening to the lecture, you get to see the Native perspective even clearer. They attacked to defend themselves from being enslaved. It was more defensive rather than offensive.
-Nigya T.
Amanda Ng
Notes:
– Book covers from 1492-1999
– It was a shock to the U.S. because it was a reversed perspective of what was accepted
– Zinn wrote history as if it were from the memory of the people who had no role or influence
– The Portuguese traveled down the coast of Spain and circled Africa
– There was no peaceful approach to the natives by the Spaniards
– The start of slavery in America was just two years after Columbus arrived in America
– The Natives were prepared with violence because they knew that the Spaniards were there to kill them all
– The Spaniards were weirded out by the native’s polygamy
– Driven by zealotry and fundamentalism
– Differences in culture from the natives and Europe
– Spaniards must’ve seen the natives as less than human because of the cruelty that was written
Comment:
I am grateful that Howard Zinn wrote this book because it gave a real sense to the world about what actually happened. Instead of viewing it from the victor’s side, we got to see how the Spaniards really treated the natives. Viewing stories from both sides is so important when learning about history because those who have the upper hand will always make it seem like they are the heroes of the story, leaving the victim’s stories unheard. It’s also absurd that just because the Spaniards found their culture questionable, they assumed that they were inferior. The reading and video were both very eye-opening because although we know that much of history is overlooked or generally accepted as one way, it is surreal to read about what actually occurred to them.
Hey Amanda,
I completely agree with you. I think it is very important to see all perspectives of a story because sometimes it’s harder to differentiate between what is true and what is not true. I also think that some of what the Spanish did to the Natives could be related to modern times because, in a way, the Spanish were bullying the Natives for being different.
Alice Gonzalez
Notes:
-A people’s history of the United States by Howard Zinn
-When it came out it was an earthquake: to the historiography of the united states
-Reversed the perspective of the history of the US
-Wrote history as the memory of the people who had no role or influence in state
-People who were victimized by any state
-Zinn quotes Columbus
-Asia to Europe was blocked by the fall of Constantinople
-Newly formed states of Europe couldn’t commerce: have to find new routes to Asia
-The rivalry between Spain and Portugal on finding a new route to Asia
-Portuguese traveled down the coast of Spain: head to Asia
-Columbus ended up in America
-1495 started the process of slavery of natives
-The Eastern coast of America was aware of the dangers of Spaniards
-Las Casas: talked on native women, polygamy, nakedness, native women role in society
-Spaniards are driven by zealotry: fundamentalist form Christianity
Thoughts:
After watching this video I’ve learned how significant the perspective of history is when depicting the truth of the scenario. Seeing how the Spainards would question the violence being brought upon them when traveling to America. Yet leaving out their past travels where they would massacre and enslave the Natives. Additionally, the lack of open-minded thinking the Spainards had to the Native’s way of life endorses the narrative the Spaniards had no consideration for other cultures other than their own. Which led to their massacre of the Natives, due to the fact that the Spaniards viewed the Natives in a light where they were lesser than humans.
Julie Guo
Notes
– Written by Howard Zinn
– When the book came out it was an earthquake
– Completely reversed the perspective through which people use to write the history of the US and read about it
– Columbus times to 20th Century
– There was a rivalry between the courts of Spain and Portugal over finding a new route to Asia
– Two big barriers: Coast of Africa (hadn’t gotten to the bottom of it yet) and unknown expanse of the Atlantic Ocean
– No peaceful approach to the natives by the Spaniards in the book — explains the violence in Broken Spears
– Slavery has been there from the start of America
– Population of Native Americans decreased drastically
– Role of Native women was extremely different than women in Europe
– Nudity was taboo in Europe versus in the Americas, the Native Americans did not see it as an issue
Comments:
A People’s History of the US really did show/explain the violence in Broken Spears. In the beginning, the Native Americans showed nothing but kindness but were treated cruelly by the Spaniards. The violence that the Native Americans showed in Broken Spears definitely makes more sense now after reading A People’s History of the US. I found it interesting when you mentioned the whole thing about nudity in the Americas vs in Europe. It made me curious as to why it wasn’t a big deal with the Native Americans but it was a huge deal in Europe. Does it have to do with religion?
Nur Rahman
Notes
-The book covers from 1492 to the present, 20th century
-Reversed the perspective of the way people saw US history because he wrote from the perspective of the people who had no influence in the state, the people who were victimized
-The rivalry between the courts of Spain and Portugal over finding a new route to Asia because of the fall of Constantinople
-There wasn’t a peaceful approach to the Natives by the Spaniards. Natives had to become violent because they knew the Europeans are here for gold and slaves and they would plunder and kill
-Slavery began two years after Columbus ‘discovered’ America
-Natives have been living through 20 years of slavery
-The priest wrote about natives treated nakedness as nothing and had no shame for it, in Europe, there was a strict patriarchal structure where men were the heads of the family and nakedness was a taboo
-People were driven by Christianity to please their god (extreme violence) emphasizes on Islamic fundamentalist of isis
-The story of genocide is overwhelmed with other facts but not hidden.
Comment:
I found it interesting how the Europeans reacted to the nakedness of the Natives being a social norm whereas, in Europe, nakedness was considered a taboo. The level of extreme they would go to kill so many people because of that is also very interesting because the Europeans did it for god. The reason they allowed themselves to treat others with violence is disappointing. I also feel like they used religion to blame it but it was greed for resources and slaves. They treated the Natives as if they were not even people and this now makes sense as to why the natives were so quick to defend themselves by attacking. The Europeans never had any good intentions towards the natives.
Norbert Kopec
A People’s History of the US notes:
– Howard Zinn wrote from the perspective of the people who had no influence on the states. Those who were victimized by the states.
– The book ranges from 1492 to the present which means it covers topics from Columbus’s time all the way to the end of the twentieth century.
– The book starts off by showing a good contrast in the hospitality of the natives to the opportunism and cruelty of the Spaniards.
– There was a rivalry between Spain and Portugal over finding new routes to Asia.
– There were two huge barriers on their side.
– One barrier was that they hadn’t yet gotten to the bottom of the western coast of Africa with their ships. They knew the land had to at one point end and then you could go around to Asia, but no one had done it yet.
– The other barrier was the Atlantic Ocean. They assumed that on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean would be Asia.
– The Portuguese traveled down the coast of Spain and eventually circled around the bottom of Africa to Asia.
– Natives had to act violently as a response to what the Spaniard’s were doing to them and how they treated them.
– Spaniard’s ideological mindset made them devalue and treat the Natives in the way that they did.
– Spaniards must’ve seen the Natives as less than human or less than animal seeing how horribly and brutally they treated them.
– Zinn tries to emphasize the facts that are generally overlooked by other facts in other accounts in his book.
Comment:
Building on a point that was mentioned, I now see why the natives had to act violently against the Spaniards. Rather than the natives simply being violent with no motivation, they were motivated by the horrible and brutal acts being committed on them by the Spaniards. There was seemingly no way for them to try and live-in unity with the Spaniards. I’d also mention that I like the fact that Howard Zinn chooses to emphasize facts that are generally overlooked by other topics in other accounts in his book. Most accounts fail to mention how the events that occurred were a genocide. Whether that is because some accounts choose to glorify the victory of the Spaniards or whether the accounts feel that the word is too strong for what happened, the events were undoubtedly a genocide. Despite my objection to the events that occurred, I am glad that Howard Zinn wrote about the horrible and brutal acts that were performed on the natives. Children in the American school system tend to be taught that Christopher Columbus is a hero but never mention how his men tested the sharpness of their blades on the natives or beheaded little boys for fun.
Nigya Thapa
Professor Amir Ahmadi
LTS 1003
4 October 2021
Blog #4
NOTES:
The Book, A People’s History of the US, came out in 1999, 23 years ago….. It was an earthquake since it was a different type of style of writing and perspective on the U.S.
He writes the history of the memory of the people who had no influence on the United States…. The victims of the United States
He starts from the Columbus time period…. It comes all the way to Kissinger’s time (present time period)
It is important to be aware of the viewpoint being presented
These pages were selected to read because these pages sum up the dynamic of the other readings
Howard Zinn quotes Columbus diary…. The story of the Natives… welcomed the Spaniards onto their shores… the hospitality of the Natives is contrasted throughout the readings
There is a gap between these two civilizations… in the beginning, it is brief, but it’s important context…. He discusses the blocking of the path to Asia
In Spain and Portugal, they entertained the idea of going around to get to Asia, at this time, most people knew the earth was round, Columbus felt if he traveled westward, he would reach India
There was a rivalry between Portugal and Spain on getting to Asia… there were 2 barriers…..
The first barrier was Africa… No ship had gotten to the bottom of Africa, they felt it had to end at one point, and at some point, someone had to turn around but no one had done it yet
The Portuguese traveled down the coast of Spain and reached the tip of Africa…. Columbus traveled westward thinking it was Asia… Zinn discusses this for a bit
There is a glimpse of violence as well just like in Bernal’s account
According to Diaz, the Spanish tried to be peaceful but the Natives attacked them
The Natives felt the need to attack because there was no notion of peace between the Spanish for the Natives…. The Spanish had already started the idea of slavery
Slavery is a very integral part of it… the middle passage even perceives this… The Natives were enslaved from the beginning…. The start of slavery in America is 2 years after Columbus made his “discovery”
The Natives had already lived with 20 years of slavery
The Natives already knew that the Spanish were there to enslave them so they had already been prepared to attack
The priest wrote about native women, the polygamy was not a “thing”, it was something natural for them
Being naked was nothing to the Native Americans…. No part of the body was something shameful or something that should be hidden
The role of women was very agile in the Native culture… the Spanish may have been offended by the way nakedness was treated by the Natives
COMMENTS:
The idea of a different system seemed to scare the Spanish. The cultural shock the Spanish faced may have influenced a lot more damage than imagined. The Native culture was very different from the Spanish so they may have, in a way, punished the Natives for being different from them. I also felt that they may have felt scared that Native culture could possibly become a trend in Europe that could’ve changed the religion and culture that was followed. In other words, the Spanish wanted complete control over perspective, culture, and religion… if the Natives were embraced by the Spanish, it would’ve influenced Europe to have cultural diversity and I believe that the Spanish did not want this to happen at all.
Ricky Chen
-The people’s history of the united states came out around 23 years ago and was a reversal of the way people viewed the history of the United States
-Zinn wrote the story from the side of those who had no role or influence over history, those who were victimized
-The book starts from Columbus’ voyage all the way to the present times and gives a counter viewpoint to history
-The natives welcomed the Spaniards with hospitality as opposed to the Spaniards who claimed that the natives were hostile towards them
-There was a rivalry between Spain and Portugal over finding the route to Asia, the Portuguese believed in sailing past the Coast of Africa and around it
-By 1495, Columbus’ second voyage, they had started the process of slavery of Native Americans and sending them back to Spain
-The Native Americans began trying to defend themselves against the Spaniards
-The natives did not make anything about nakedness and there was no shame to it
-Women in Europe followed a strict patriarchal structure and there were strict religious practices so they were quickly opposed to the Native American nakedness
-The Spaniards commitment to religious beliefs is what made them see the Natives as animals and not human as they were opposed to much of their way of life and societies
-The genocide that Columbus caused gets overshadow by his glorious achievements and facts
Comment
Howard Zinn and his book have truly opened my eyes to the way I view history. Most kids are simply taught history from a certain viewpoint to which we believe to be the correct and most just. However, the book expresses how there will always be two sides to every story. Growing up, we have praised Christopher Columbus for his voyage across the Ocean and discovering America and while there is slight mention of the violence that he caused, it is often not talked about enough. Zinn’s novel teaches people to not always blindly take every information they get but to always challenge it to see it from other viewpoints. This could even be applicable to the Spaniards at the time because rather than believing in one simple way of life if they chose to understand the Natives and what they were doing then maybe there would not be as much violence.
Noshin Ahmed
Notes:
– “The Peoples History of the United States, 1492- Present” by Howard Zinn, published in 1999.
-This book reversed the perspective in which people read and wrote history.
-Wrote history as if it were from the memories of the people (the victims) who had no role and influence in any state.
-Sums up the dynamic seen in The Conquest of the New Spain and The Broken Spears.
-Starts by showing the hospitality of the natives, contrasting the opportunism and cruelty of the Spaniards.
-Shows the gap between the two civilizations.
-Showed what was going on in Europe at that time as well, such as trade from Asia getting cut off because of the fall of Constantinople and having to find a new route to Asia.
-Rivalry between the courts of Spain and Portugal over finding a new route to Asia.
-They faced two barriers. One was that they had not gotten to the bottom of the Western coast of Africa. Another was that they didn’t know about the Atlantic Ocean.
– The Portuguese traveled down the coast of Spain and circled Africa and headed northward to Asia.
-Natives resorted to violence because the Spaniards did not consider a peaceful approach at all.
-Around the second trip Columbus made to the Americas they had already started the process of slavery with the Native Americans.
-Slavery in America started two years after Columbus discovered America.
-Shows how warped and inaccurate the perspective that Bernal Diaz presents is.
-Natives knew that they were dangerous, and they were ready to face violence.
-Shows how the population of an island plummeted a few decades after the arrival of Columbus.
-Las Casas wrote about the native women and the culture that surround them.
-Spaniards were offended by the native’s concept of nakedness and saw it as an invitation for violence.
-Spaniard fundamentalists are like the Islamic fundamentalists, like Isis.
-Natives were treated as disposable bodies and were faced with inhuman cruelty.
– Author is trying to bring other little facts to the surface and make them the center of his account.
Comments:
I found it very interesting how Howard Zinn was not trying to make genocide the center of his account, but instead, he used the small facts that are often overshadowed by genocide. This account really shows how the small facts are just as significant as the other facts. It’s interesting to see that some mentalities can last after so many years, even after so much of the culture has changed. The connection made between Isis and the Spaniards really shows the fundamentalist mentality still exists to this day. After watching this video, I understood why the natives were so prepared when Bernal Diaz was facing them.
Tercia Dobrzynski
A People’s History of the US
Notes;
– The author reversed the perspective through which people used to write/read about the history of the US
– He writes history as if he was a person who had no role or bias toward the US
– Historical context; There was rivalry between the courts of Spain and Portugal over finding the new route to Asia
– The two huge barriers were having not reaching the bottom of the Western coast of Africa, and the unknown expanse of the Atlantic Ocean
– The Portuguese traveled down the coast of Spain and managed to circle Africa to head northward to Asia
– There was no idea of peaceful approach to working with the natives at all
– By the second trip to the Americas, Columbus has already started the processor slavery
– The role of native women in society was in contrast to the strict patriarchal structure of the European culture
– The fundamentalist spaniards were offended by how nakedness was treated by the natives, how it was their invitation to violence
– Spaniards reduced the humans they saw into nothing, into disposable bodies
– These acts of unspeakable cruelty can only be explained by the ideological framework that these people were operating under
– The author points out that the story of genocide is overwhelmed by other facts that surrounded it
Comments;
The last note that you mentioned, how the author points out that the obvious genocide that occurred during these times is overwhelmed by other fast that surround it, is one that stood out to me. I think this can be related to a multitude of things that happen. Sometimes, it is easier for us to overlook the bad and focus on the points that are easier for our brain to handle/process. The author brings out a good point when mentioning this, it is important to push back the curtain and look at what happened during these events from a different perspective. Overall, I throughly enjoyed this piece and the perspective of the author.
Sanduni Samarasinghe
Notes
– The book was written by Howard Zinn
– He writes history from the perspective of people who had no influence in any state
– The book starts off by showing the contrast between the hospitality that the natives showed and the cruelty the Spaniards showed
– There was a rivalry between Spain and Portugal in finding a new route to Asia
– The Portuguese traveled down the coast of Spain and managed to circle Africa
– As early as 1495 Columbus already started slavery, 2 years after Columbus “found” America
– The life of the Natives werent progressive and they found no shame in any part of their body was so different from what was going on in Europe
– There were so many differences between the Spaniards and the Natives and they were kind of up hauled and offended by it
– Many of them were driven by zealotry, extreme violence = pleasing their good
-This ideology made it easier for them to dispose of many of the natives without really feeling anything because they thought everything was for god
-What Columbus did was a genocide but it is overwhelmed by other things glorifying what he did
Comments:
I though that this read was definitely interesting. It was different from the other texts that we had read. It gave so much perspective on how the Natives were being treated and why they acted the way that they did. I remember in elementary school when we learned about Columbus he was glorified into being such an amazing person who set sail to find new land, but we never learned all of this. To say that the population went from there being thousands of people to just five hundred in a matter of a couple decades is insane. It just goes to show how much of a Genocide Columbus committed towards the natives. I definitely think its important for us to learn about these things because they happened and these events should be glorified or sugar coated.
Jhonathan Mizhquiri
notes :
– “The Peoples history of The United States” was written by Howard Zinn and Published in 1999
– Natives swam into the sea to meet the new arrivals and they showed them hospitality
– Massive gap between the two civilizations advancement wise
– Newly formed states of Europe had to find routes to Asia because they were blocked after the fall of Constantinople
– Had to get around the Persian and Ottoman empires who were ruling majority of the silk road.
– Most people knew the earth was round so Columbus believed if he traveled westward he would end up in India.
-Rivalry between the courts of Spain and Portugal over finding a route to Asia.
– The Portuguese make it to the tip of Africa and head northward to Asia
– Christopher Columbus ended up in America.
-Spaniards made no attempt to peacefully approach the natives and treat them as equals.
– In 1495, during Columbus’s second trip to the America’s the enslavement of the natives had began.
-natives we prepared to deal with violence during the Diaz era because of the violence they faced during the Columbus era.
When I read “The Conquest of New Spain” I was confused to why the Native Americans resorted to violence after given the opportunity to make peace. After reading “A People’s History of the United States” I can clearly see why they acted the way they did. Columbus and his people enslaved the natives, killed children, raped women and did it many times without justification. The passage tells many gruesome details and it amazes me that the history of our country began with this bloodshed. The text was very different to what we have read and shows the side of the Natives which is massively overlooked by the majority of people who glorify Columbus and his journey. It was quite literally a massacre and a whole civilization was almost completely wiped from existence.
Alejandro Romero
Notes:
– Introduced a new perspective from which history was viewed
– Was now seen through the people’s view (oppressed) and not from the state’s memory
– Covers since the arrival of Columbus in the Americas all the way to present day (20th century)
– First pages of the book do a great job of encapsulating the hospitality of the Natives in contrast to the advantageous nature of the Europeans
– Many European states had no access to Asian trade routes due to the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans
– This was the catalyst in pushing many of these states to find a new route to Asia
– From very early on (1495) Europeans began the enslavement of Natives and did not engage peacefully with them
– By the time of Bernal’s accounts roughly 20 years had passed since their arrival and Natives were prepared to fight them as they knew of the horrors they would face if captured
– The Natives nudity was a shock for the Spaniards as they saw it as very taboo and offensive
– Many parallels between European conquistadors and modern day Islamic extremists
– By degrading the Natives to such a low extent it was an excuse for them to treat them with such cruelty
Comments:
After reading the few pages from “A People’s History of the US” it definitely made a lot of things clear to me that I hadn’t comprehended. I wasn’t so sure as to why many of the initial encounters between the Natives and Europeans always seemed to immediately turn violent. Having now read about the intent with which Europeans had when they took control of these people it was obvious that the Natives aggression was understandable. They knew from the very beginning that they were to face a life of torture and slavery if captured so fighting back was their only option and peace between them was never going to be realistic.
Omar Malik
10/5/21
Notes:
-Passage from Asia to Europe was a block after the fall of Constantinople
-New routes to Asia were deemed necessary
-Columbus calculated the distance of his eventual destination
-Spain and Portugal had a rivalry when it came to courts
-The Native Americans tried to be peaceful when meeting the Spaniards, but were unfortunately met with violence in exchange
-Christopher Columbus was a power hungry person driven by physical force in order to gain power
-Slavery of Native Americans was common by the Spaniards
-The book is from 1492 all the way 500 years later
-The Native Americans sensed the idea that Europeans were coming to take their land’s gold as well as their bodies
-Nakedness was considered normal
Comments:
I am actually really intrigued at the fact that this book is from 1492 all the way until the present. I find that to be a sign of extreme dedication towards a certain work. Additionally, the topic of trade routes interested me as well (how there was a block back then) because trade was extremely important when it came to marketing back then. I will say, thought, that I just keep on disliking the Europeans back then more and more because of how cruel they were simply for their own financial and personal satisfaction.
– A People’s History of the US is a book by Howard Zinn
– the black sheep of American historical literature
– exposed lots of misconceptions taught in US/global history textbooks
– instead of glorifying the colonizers, Zinn gave voice to those were victims of colonialism
– highlighted the disparity between Spaniards and Natives— had to find a new route to Asia
– Spain and Portugal were searching for said route— both were rivals
– neither had went past the middle of the coast of Africa
– Portugal had first landed in Asia while Columbus went westward, landing in the Americas
– Spaniards had intentions on being ruthless
– by 1495 the Spaniards already started process of slavery
– populations of the natives declined once Columbus arrived
– native woman had a major role in society which was a large contrast to the patriarchy in Europe
– often the Spanish took offense to the indigenous culture “culture shocks”— their ignorance led them to violence against the indigenous
– for ex, Priest Las Casas wrote about polygamy within indigenous culture, trying to shame the natives for their culture
It was refreshing to learn about Zinn’s courageous book. His book presented a genuine sense to the world with regards to what really occurred. Rather than taking account from the colonizer’s side, we had the opportunity to perceive how the Spaniards truly treated the locals. Analyzing stories from the both sides is significant when finding out history. With doing this, it gives light of the fact that the individuals who have the advantage will consistently cause it to appear as though they are the legends of the story, leaving the casualty’s accounts unheard.