Columbus Trial Argument

Amin Megherhi

Mr. Barga

5/12/16

Cultural Literacy

Columbus Trial Argument

        An empire is something resembling a political empire. An empire is something such as, an enterprise under a single domination or a singular control (Meriam Webster). They created an empire where property is viewed over people, the more property you owned, the safer you were they thought; if you were poor you could starve, die, anything really, but the Tainos, they were all equal, no money, no property; they shared everything. They justified kidnapping, rape, murder; genocide, by saying that they weren’t Christian, so they could control anything of theirs, including them; they valued property over land and gold over that. The System of Empire is completely at fault, they raised all Spanish Christians that anyone that isn’t Christian deserves to be hurt, they were raised to love property more than they love people, and love gold more than that, they were taught to do whatever it takes to get that property, to get that gold; including genocide.

        The System of Empire created an entire empire on the view that property is more important than people, they were taught that the more property that you owned, the more money you had, you would be safer. Poor people, with little to no property ended up starving, or even dying because they couldn’t do anything since they had no money or land. Taino Indians were taught to be equal, to share, to be good people, they all shared everything; their homes, their land, everything. They had nothing to threaten them until Columbus and his men, everything was safe, everything was theirs; together. “If you were poor, you could starve. The Tainos were not perfect, but they had no “poor” and no one starved. Indians commented that Europeans love for gold was like a disease” (Zinn 5). They were much safer, happier, and everything was clearer to them because they weren’t fighting each other for money, they weren’t hurting each other for land. They had what they needed and most everyone shared. The System of Empire is at fault for making a place where no one feels safe until they have things they don’t need, like land they’ll never use and gold they’ll give to Queen Isabella and Kind Ferdinand anyway.

        The System of Empire created a place where they only counted a person that was Christian as a real person, they didn’t care who they were; they used this mindset to justify the kidnapping, rape, murder; genocide of anywhere from thousands to millions of Taino Indians. They saw their gold, they saw that they were unusually happy and trusting people, and they took advantage of that. That took advantage of who they were and what they were to enslave them and find their gold, because they thought if they weren’t Christian they could control anything of theirs, including themselves; they valued property of people and gold over property. “They justified all this by telling themselves that the Tainos weren’t Christian, so “we” can control “their” land and labor. The European system saw only white Christians as full human beings. It was life in a system that valued private property, and approved of violence against foreigners and non-Christians to get it, that made Columbus and his men enslave and kill. Sane people do not kill hundreds of human beings. It was a rotten, insane system that led Columbus and the others to behave the way they did” (Zinn 5). They didn’t understand that people aren’t all going to be Christian and that people aren’t all the same growing up in a system where people are allowed to kill to get what they want. They didn’t mind murder to get closer to their goals of rich and poor and pain. The System of Empire is the one and only thing to blame for the genocide of millions of Taino Indians.