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Christopher Columbus and Guaman Poma

Posted by: feedwordpress

“In Nomine Domini Nostri Jesu Christli” meaning in the name of our Jesus Christ; Christopher Columbus wrote his petition of exploring the “Indias” to the King and Queen of Spain; at this time the whole crown didn’t have enough gold to purchase his journey, but it was simply his religious speech which is very interesting […] read full post >>
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Week 2 readings response

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It was great reading two different accounts of the discovery of America by the Spaniards, as it allows for comparison and contrast of both texts. It was interesting to see how both texts would point out certain things, while sometimes one text would leave something out, an example being the violent acts being left out at the beginning of Columbus's journal.

Both texts, Columbus's and Guaman Poma’s single out the hunger for gold and silver they set out to, as they had heard incredible stories of the riches in the americas. I thought it to be disturbing to read that the mistreatment of the “Indians” was all in the name of gold and silver, even though I new this before it was a completely different reading it in primary source. It is crazy to think that the joining of two worlds was because one was in search of riches. Also, Poma’s text goes even further in stating that the spaniards had told the Indigenous people that they ate gold and silver, which I thought to be mischievous. Every time gold and riches were mentioned in the texts, I thought to the time when I visited Peru. I remember hearing a story from a tour guide saying that the spaniards would exchange shoe laces for bits of gold.


What was also striking from Guaman Poma’s text was how he described the killing of indians by the spaniards, as if they were “ants”. His imagery made it seem as if the spaniards were someones foot and the indigenous people were an ant colony, being squashed upon mercilessly. Also singled out in Poma’s text is how the indigenous people were forced into Christianity although they believed in their own god, the sun. 
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Week 2 readings response

Posted by: feedwordpress

It was great reading two different accounts of the discovery of America by the Spaniards, as it allows for comparison and contrast of both texts. It was interesting to see how both texts would point out certain things, while sometimes one text would leave something out, an example being the violent acts being left out at the beginning of Columbus's journal.

Both texts, Columbus's and Guaman Poma’s single out the hunger for gold and silver they set out to, as they had heard incredible stories of the riches in the americas. I thought it to be disturbing to read that the mistreatment of the “Indians” was all in the name of gold and silver, even though I new this before it was a completely different reading it in primary source. It is crazy to think that the joining of two worlds was because one was in search of riches. Also, Poma’s text goes even further in stating that the spaniards had told the Indigenous people that they ate gold and silver, which I thought to be mischievous. Every time gold and riches were mentioned in the texts, I thought to the time when I visited Peru. I remember hearing a story from a tour guide saying that the spaniards would exchange shoe laces for bits of gold.


What was also striking from Guaman Poma’s text was how he described the killing of indians by the spaniards, as if they were “ants”. His imagery made it seem as if the spaniards were someones foot and the indigenous people were an ant colony, being squashed upon mercilessly. Also singled out in Poma’s text is how the indigenous people were forced into Christianity although they believed in their own god, the sun. 
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Week 2 readings response

Posted by: Anonymous

It was great reading two different accounts of the discovery of America by the Spaniards, as it allows for comparison and contrast of both texts. It was interesting to see how both texts would point out certain things, while sometimes one text would l... read full post >>
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Myth and Massacre: Week 2 Reading

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Reading the first source was a rehash of some research I had done in the past on my own. Growing up in the United States, Columbus Day was a holiday more important for its long weekend potential than its historical significance, but it nonetheless has ... read full post >>
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Hello, LAST 2014-09-08 17:48:00

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Hello. . .

My name is Thomas McEvoy. I am twenty years old and a second year in UBC.  My 

father is from England and my mother is from Guatemala. I lived my whole life in Latin America, up 

to the age of sixteen. During those years of my life, I lived in Paraguay (where I was born), Panama, 

Guayaquil (Ecuador), Honduras, and lastly the capital of Ecuador for 7 years before moving to Asia. 

love South America and I'm excited to learn more about my roots and deepening my understanding 

of the region which I call home. read full post >>
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Hello, LAST 2014-09-08 17:48:00

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Hello. . . My name is Thomas McEvoy. I am twenty years old and a second year in UBC.  My  father is from England and my mother is from Guatemala. I lived my whole life in Latin America, up  to the age of sixteen. During&nbs... read full post >>
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Hello, LAST 2014-09-08 17:48:00

Posted by: feedwordpress

Hello. . .My name is Thomas McEvoy. I am twenty years old and a second year in UBC.  My father is from England and my mother is from Guatemala. I lived my whole life in Latin America, up to the age of sixteen. During those... read full post >>
Posted in: Blogs, Week 1
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Myth and Massacre: Week 2 Reading

Posted by: feedwordpress

Reading the first source was a rehash of some research I had done in the past on my own. Growing up in the United States, Columbus Day was a holiday more important for its long weekend potential than its historical significance, but it nonetheless has always disturbed me how casually my friends and family accepted the whitewashed mythology surrounding the notorious Genoese navigator. Reading his account, which contains numerous falsehoods regarding the mineral wealth of Hispaniola and how open the native population was to "conversion to the Holy Faith", I was reminded how his misrepresentations led to a mad rush of would-be conquistadors to begin searching for riches whose brutality would characterize the Spanish colonial regime in Latin America. Also, in the statement regarding the Arawak's willingness to convert, he mentions how that would be better accomplished "by love than by coercion", which is ironic in light of how he almost immediately enslaved the natives upon his return in order to search for the fabled goldfields. Beyond the immediate particulars of Columbus' brutal governorship of Hispaniola, ending when a ship arrived with orders to bring him back to Spain in chains, his exaggerations and promises of easily claimed gold inspired the massive population of fighting men in the newly formed Spanish kingdom to carve a bloody swathe through the islands of the Caribbean and ultimately the mainland of the Americas.

The second source, the account by Guaman Poma, was interesting from the beginning with its system of dating by the reigns of European monarchs and popes. To me this undermines the early colonial notion of indigenous people being incapable of engaging with Western society because he clearly understands the concept of kingship and being the top of a religious hierarchy. Within his own Inca cultural context, they have a rich state tradition with a sovereign who leads both the religious hierarchy and the secular government. Towards the end, he describes an important historical scene: the meeting of two well-established social traditions, both attempting to be diplomatic and cordial, with each party beginning by flattering the other's apparent power. But once the Spanish issue an ultimatum to worship no god but theirs, Atagualpa must refuse. Incan emperors were said to be descendants of the sun gods, so to renounce those gods would be political suicide. It's tantamount in absurdity to insisting that the Pope convert and being affronted when he refuses. The ensuing battle at Cajamarca is used alongside the conquest of the Aztec Empire in many historical narratives as a demonstration of European superiority in martial encounters even with large, settled Mesoamerican states. I see both more as demonstrations of the shortsighted barbarism that undergirds the conquistador mindset, making unreasonable demands for submission and reacting with righteous indignation to the respectful dismissal of their own presumptuous behaviour. This is a constant through-line in the story of European encounters across the New World, an inflated sense of European self-importance met with graciousness and generosity on the part of their indigenous hosts that ultimately led to the latter's undoing.

1st source: https://last100.arts.ubc.ca/files/2014/09/cummins_columbus2.pdf
2nd source: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~dfrye/guaman.htm read full post >>
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Christopher Columbus + Guaman Poma

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The voyage of Christopher Columbus was an extensive journey leading way to the development of a new world. In connection to his voyage was the Guaman Poma, The First New Chronicle. These historical events mark a significant change to the known world, the first interactions between Latin Americas and Europeans. While, reading Christopher Columbus’s journey […] read full post >>
Posted in: Blogs, Week 2
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