Colonization Contact with the Americas

 When I was in my primary education, the education covered only the Colonization onward of our country.  There was a short period where one teacher I had covered the Native Americans and of course there was my personal studies from when I was home schooled and did a report on Aztecs.  Like many young Americans in our country we were only taught from the standpoint of the British colonization and of that only the ideals that make the history albeit conflict oriented a bright and shining point of human history.

Attending an University History class was something i didn't care to do, but I expected much of the same and it is for the most part, but I was pleasantly surprised in that they covered pre-contact history of the Americas and stated plausible reason for lack of technology and such.  I find it a very refreshing view point and some of the facts mentioned I had not been aware of. 

Unfortunately the view point as refreshing as it is still has some of the glorifying edge to it that I do not approve of.  With the few new facts I now have an even darker image of that time period and of humanity in general.

The events that led to the Colonization of the Americas appear much like a series of unfortunate coincidences. It is simply incredible how the events unfold.

Roman Empire changed much of the way the conquered lands thought with rigid social structures and culture. It even brought to many cultures the ideal of creating an Empirical culture of such vastness and ended the relative isolation of the European cultures.

With the rise of plagues and mass death, culture took on a morbid turn. The people would be more self concerned giving rise to grasping, greedy, and other negative traits in people. Only those people so concerned would have a better chance of survival due to possible less contact with other persons (such as not staying with a family afflicted), thuggish attributes (dominating weaker persons and theft), and lack of elite (nobles) concern.

With a population filled with those who have survived both plagues and harsh treatments it would be reasonable to assume that they would have lost many prior plague culture values. The population in essence would be very hardened mentally and have accepted negative trait value as a culture.

It is not surprising then to see a coincidence with the rise of violent measures taken in the after plague prosperity. Inquisitors, Catholic influence, Slavery, and such can easily have been the result of the accepted mindset of the culture. This is not to say that there are no benevolent value mindsets within the population.

Those personalities that could not accept the negative traits that arose had reached a breaking point, so to speak, and this opened the way to the mindset that created the schism within the Catholic influence. It is unfortunate for the Native Americans that this schism only hardened the focus of the culture of the time.

Desperate people do desperate things and with the Christian religion schism it made it more palatable for the public and widened its influence. Christian culture at the time was very barbaric in that there was no room for anything but Christianity. If you had a different faith and refused to change you died.

It was because of the Christian mentality that people were provided an excuse for rapid Colonization. Granted the money and resources from a closed continent provided a desirable format, but it was belief that fueled the conquering of innocent peoples and the destruction of their culture. It also could have been assisted by many peoples wishing to leave an environment that has suffered so much calamity for one that is unknown to them.

The Spaniards of that time were despicable people and among the worst of them were the Conquistadors many of whom were possibly involved with the Reconquista of the Muslim held lands. Glory, fame, and the right to murder was their mentality and I find it disgusting.

The English were not much better having first practiced on Ireland's civilizing project before heading out to Colonize. That they tried working with the local peoples was only due to tactical logic and not idyllic logic.

The things Humans have done and do again and again.