Hist135ObjectiveA

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Andrew Leahey

October 11, 2007

History 135

OBJECTIVE A PAPER

The material in the textbook Nation of Nations, gives a grim account of

the effect that settlers in North America had on the natives. The effects are

predominantly the spread of disease, whereas in the Zinn essay, the disease

takes a backseat to the genocide they allegedly perpetrated.

In the textbook, Nation of Nations, the picture painted of Native

Americans is one of many small, often complex, societies. They had

complicated forms of government, hunted, and lived off the land. Tools for

their tilling of the soil, harvesting of crops, hunting and fishing. Yet, the

Howard Zinn essay tells us they were not knowledgeable of a weapon as

primitive and simple as a sword.

The atrocities spoken of in the Zinn essay are hard to fathom, essentially

requiring you be untaught everything you had learned about Columbus in

grade school. While I do believe the encounters between the Native

Americans and the invaders lead by Columbus were devastating in the

long-term for the Natives, I also believe Howard Zinn is very likely

sensationalizing and embellishing the accounts.

Some of Howard Zinn's sources are questionable at best. Zinn quotes

Christopher Columbus-authored documents a number of times, but notes his

exaggerations in the latter part of the essay. This, in my opinion, would



render Columbus a less-than-credible source. If we accept he exaggerated

his claims of the abundance of gold, why is it not possible he is exaggerating

the simplicity, or complicity, of the Native Americans? It should be noted,

also, that Zinn mentions the only source in many cases of what happened on

the islands after Columbus' landing was Bartolome de Las Casas a

"vehement critic of Spanish cruelty" [Zinn, 35]. It is never good form to rely

on a single source for the accurate retelling of an event, especially one you

have already described as a "vehement critic".

Zinn, through quotes from Columbus paints the Natives as open-armednaves, willing to share any and all of their possessions with the newcomers.

Conversely, he paints Columbus' men as greedy, blood thirsty savages who

would stop at nothing to further their own fortunes, or satisfy their most

primitive desires. Columbus reports that the natives "are so naive and so

free with their possessions that no one who has not witnessed them would

believe it. When you ask for something they have, they never say no."

[Zinn, 34]. Why then was it necessary to run two Indians through with

swords, when they refused to trade for the number of bows and arrows

Columbus wanted? If the natives were such primitive savages, without

culture or craft, why would Columbus even need to trade for their weapons?

In a way, Zinn does not do the American Indians any favors. In his portrayal

of them as the hapless victims, unable or unwilling to help themselves, he

deprives them of the dignity they would have earned in attempts at

rebellion.

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, the textbook Nation of

Nations portrays Columbus as the fearless adventurer, and almost a tragic



figure, discovering new lands but dying in 1506 "rich in titles, treasure, and

tales -- everything but recognition" [NoN, 11]. It tells of how smoothly his

first voyage across the Atlantic was, and how he must have assumed he was

"destiny's darling". The textbook makes no mention of any of the atrocities

listed in the Zinn essay, and speaks of the traditionally-taught Columbus,

the courageous explorer. The quotes from Columbus included are carefully

chosen, and do not include any mention of Native American slaves or

genocide.

It has been my experience that, in history, nothing is ever as cut and dryas right and wrong, or good and evil. Zinn very clearly does not agree, and

has chosen to paint Columbus and his men as the "bad guys", and the

Native Americans as the "good guys". The textbook on the other hand

portrays Columbus as a fearless explorer, whose intentions may be riches,

but he is not nearly as driven by them as Zinn's Columbus. It is my opinion

that the truth of the early encounters between the European explorers and

the Native Americans likely falls somewhere in between the content

contained in the textbook and the content in the Zinn essay. In either

situation, the encounters were obviously not a profitable prospect for Native

Americans. By disease or by the sword, millions of them were to die.

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Hist135ObjectiveA