Untold
History
In Howard Zinns book “a people history of the United States”, Christopher Columbus had little to no intentions to integrate with the Native Americans. In the begining part of the chapter christopher columbus set sail for materials and to find new discoveries like new land countries and more. I feel the Spaniards main goal was to prove to the royalty back home that the islands were rich and loaded with resources so that they could contribute to there societys progress with these findings.
Columbus took some Natives back to show the Queen sadly they passed away on the way to spain, and when he came back with many more men and many more ships, they began a regimented system of slavery and punishment on the natives of the West Indies. All reports speak of the friendliness of the Arawaks, of their genuine kindness and hospitality, and of their generosity.
On columbus second voyage back home, he took 500 slaves to Spain, saying in a letter, 'Let us in the name of the Holy Trinity go on sending all the slaves that can be sold (Zinn, 1)'; two-hundred died en route.Columbus and his men were excited over the gold earrings some of the Arawaks wore. This is what escalated the rapid, excited rich hungry people for gold in the islands they had to make money for Spanish investors. The men took slaves and enforced mandatory mining on the natives, who, if found without the proper coin around their necks to prove they had brought in enough gold, were then murdered.
Trying to put together an army of resistance, the Arawaks faced Spaniards who had armor, muskets, swords, horses. When the Spaniards took prisoners they hanged them or burned them to death. Among the Arawaks, mass suicides began, with cassava poison. Infants were killed to save them from the Spaniards. In two years, through murder, mutilation, or suicide, half of the 250,000 Indians on Haiti were dead.When it became clear that there was no gold left, the Indians were taken as slave labor...