Columbus
...was somewhat of an extreme opposite to the area that the Europeans and Columbus had come from. Stannard goes through a very in depth and descriptive process of both the land that the Spaniards had came from and the land that they would eventually take over. To say that the natives of North and South America lived a peaceful and community based life is an extent of an understatement. These people supported themselves, their families and their communities on a very high level of agriculture, built there houses in very distinct fashions with designs and symbols plastered among the walls (Stannard, 2002, 49). These people were described as living in peace and amity (Stannard, 1992, 49). These ideas that are shown so distinctively by Stannard give the reader a general idea of the way that these people lived before the arrival of the Europeans in the late 1400’s. These descriptions given by the author give the reader utterly no justification for the events that occurred over the ‘American Holocaust’ time period; in fact it strongly supports the authors’ intentions of presenting the reader with the claim of these events being the worst demographic tragedy in history. Furthermore, David Stannard presents the idea of Christianity to the reader as the justification for the mass genocide that occurred. The Spaniards used key religious ideas to validate their actions towards the people of the Americas. The Europeans felt that they were put on a conquest by the lord to set forth the beliefs of Christianity towards the rest of the world. They felt as though the beliefs of their religion were to be spread across the world. Secondly Stannard notes that they believed that many people were to suffer in order to create a better world for the future of mankind. The following excerpt from the text clearly indicates the religious beliefs that were to be forced upon the indigenous people at this time. When the Spaniards entered into the new world they were required to read a statement that said: I certify to you that, with the help of God, we shall powerfully enter into your country and shall make war against you in all ways and manners that we can, and shall subject you to the yoke and obedience of the Church and of Their Highnesses. We shall take you and your wives and your children, and shall make slaves of them, and as such shall sell and dispose of them as Their Highnesses may command. And we shall take your goods, and shall do you all the mischief and damage that we can, as to vassals who do not obey and refuse to receive their lord and resist and contradict him (Stannard, 1992, 66). Through the introduction of the role that Christianity plays throughout this book, Stannard attempts to support the idea that not only did the events that occurred have a significant impact on the world at that particular point in time; it also was used as a means of expression and thought for future ideas such as “racism”. It is said that the idea of racism as we know it today, was created through events such as this. The overwhelming power that the Europeans conducted over the natives for centuries upon centuries was a key stepping stone to the creation of the idea of race and racism. Stannard states that “It is almost as though the pre-emptive conclusion that one's own group has suffered more than others is something of a horrible award of distinction that will be diminished if the true extent of another group's suffering is acknowledged” (Stannard, 1992, 150). Furthermore, Stannard indirectly suggests that the introduction of the mass destruction of a human race or “genocide” as is most commonly referred to, led to other key events in human history and most importantly the abolishment of the Jewish faith in Nazi Germany. The events that helped create an ideology of a ‘weaker’ race in the late 1400’s and later, served as a justification for other racial acts that have been committed throughout history. There is a common idea that the “Holocaust” occurred in Nazi Germany throughout the years of the Second World War. This generalization has given many people the total disregard for what David Stannard refers to as the “American Holocaust”. At this point I do believe that the title of this book holds much more meaning than most may consider. I do suppose that the title that was chosen for this text is fitting and perhaps significantly more important than even the actions that are ...