RedMarxist
28th August 2011, 16:08
I wrote this article for a school essay assignment in a history class. What do you think of it? is it good, bad? I'd love to see your opinions.
Capitalism And The New World
On September 24th 1493 Christopher Columbus left Castile for a second voyage to the New World. This time however he would not just be exploring new lands as he had before; This time around he would become not just an explorer, but a conqueror. In addition to vast fleet of seventeen ships, each ship when combined held in total numerous supplies, 1,200 colonists, and a bevy of soldiers armed to the teeth with weapons that the Native Americans could only dream of in their sleep.
Specifically speaking he was in the pursuit of not just new lands to further Castile's thirst for territory beyond its horizon, but also for riches of unimaginable abundance. And these riches materialized themselves in the form of gold and silver. In its never ending quest for profit, in my opinion, Capitalism was only just beginning to doom entire rich cultures and races.
Murder after murder would follow in every Caribbean island Columbus and his men touched. Like the mythical King Midas, Columbus's unsatisfiable quench for gold and silver would be met with little resistance. The natives, too few in number and not capable of matching the superiority of the soldiers weapons, swiftly fell before the onslaught against them.
And then, his second voyage would come to an end, in modern day Cuba. In all numerous islands would be claimed in the name of Castile, which would thus began the great European race for land in the New World a few years later. Dutch, British, Portuguese, French-It did not matter who colonized what and where. Every established colony would end in just more casualties for the Native population.
Capitalism, that system that seems so normal yet so twisted at the same time. One could argue that it is not Capitalism that caused the rape of the New World, but the individual. One could also argue the racist and the Darwinist climate of the time dictated the fate of the New World-after all slavery was the norm back than and Natives as well as slaves were not seen as human beings. But that analysis would seem premature, ignorant. For the root cause would materialize soon enough in the form of a specific variety of European imperialism.
Whereas Capitalism was merely the instrument, the tool for Europeans to commit such horrible crimes, imperialism was the hand that wielded the tool. The Native Americans stood in opposition to the average European's lust for wealth, and because there was not enough wealth to go around, of course they had to be eliminated. Crushed. Utterly and surely destroyed. Thus, the mantra for these future explores would be “Gold, God, and Glory”. Apparently they forgot the God part. For would God condone such wonton destruction, so much killing?
And so to preserve their waning prestige, the petty tyrants, the so called 'Divine Rulers' of Europe, paid for explorer after explorer to discover even more land. The process would thus go in this order usually. Find land, find gold, kill the local Natives, wash, rinse, and repeat. Imperialism was in its most naked form. Imperialism was rapidly raping the continent in order for Europe to acquire more profit, more surplus value as Karl Marx would dub it.
And in the end, democracy, civilization, and Christianity would be spread all across two enormous continents. Historical revisionists would say that it was necessary, that the result was grander then anything before it. The result of course being the modern day United States, our country. Apparently, 'our country' was worth the death of millions, the slavery of millions more, and the division of the two continents into countries.
This last point is a referral of course to the communal life style of Native Americans. They hunted, lived, and ate together as one unit. One big family. The perfect existence. Today, everything and everyone is too divided, the world too independent. No one shares, as no one cares. No one is there to support you if you lose your job. No one is there to look after you in your time of need. Because no one cares. They are all too busy doing what ever they do.
Imperialism destroyed an entire way of living. It may not have been the most advanced, but it was the most egalitarian society in existence up until that point in time. Capitalism and imperialism took it all away. As a young teen, all I can say is what a shame. What a shame that so much was lost in such a small time frame. Is it at all possible that we can go back to such a lifestyle-a life style free of pain and misery. One free of war and killing. I think so, if only people knew what they were missing. If only people had the vaguest clue that such a world had existed. If only people knew that there was a New World out there. A New World wherein everyone looked out for everyone, not just number one. If only they knew that they still had a world to win.
Capitalism And The New World
On September 24th 1493 Christopher Columbus left Castile for a second voyage to the New World. This time however he would not just be exploring new lands as he had before; This time around he would become not just an explorer, but a conqueror. In addition to vast fleet of seventeen ships, each ship when combined held in total numerous supplies, 1,200 colonists, and a bevy of soldiers armed to the teeth with weapons that the Native Americans could only dream of in their sleep.
Specifically speaking he was in the pursuit of not just new lands to further Castile's thirst for territory beyond its horizon, but also for riches of unimaginable abundance. And these riches materialized themselves in the form of gold and silver. In its never ending quest for profit, in my opinion, Capitalism was only just beginning to doom entire rich cultures and races.
Murder after murder would follow in every Caribbean island Columbus and his men touched. Like the mythical King Midas, Columbus's unsatisfiable quench for gold and silver would be met with little resistance. The natives, too few in number and not capable of matching the superiority of the soldiers weapons, swiftly fell before the onslaught against them.
And then, his second voyage would come to an end, in modern day Cuba. In all numerous islands would be claimed in the name of Castile, which would thus began the great European race for land in the New World a few years later. Dutch, British, Portuguese, French-It did not matter who colonized what and where. Every established colony would end in just more casualties for the Native population.
Capitalism, that system that seems so normal yet so twisted at the same time. One could argue that it is not Capitalism that caused the rape of the New World, but the individual. One could also argue the racist and the Darwinist climate of the time dictated the fate of the New World-after all slavery was the norm back than and Natives as well as slaves were not seen as human beings. But that analysis would seem premature, ignorant. For the root cause would materialize soon enough in the form of a specific variety of European imperialism.
Whereas Capitalism was merely the instrument, the tool for Europeans to commit such horrible crimes, imperialism was the hand that wielded the tool. The Native Americans stood in opposition to the average European's lust for wealth, and because there was not enough wealth to go around, of course they had to be eliminated. Crushed. Utterly and surely destroyed. Thus, the mantra for these future explores would be “Gold, God, and Glory”. Apparently they forgot the God part. For would God condone such wonton destruction, so much killing?
And so to preserve their waning prestige, the petty tyrants, the so called 'Divine Rulers' of Europe, paid for explorer after explorer to discover even more land. The process would thus go in this order usually. Find land, find gold, kill the local Natives, wash, rinse, and repeat. Imperialism was in its most naked form. Imperialism was rapidly raping the continent in order for Europe to acquire more profit, more surplus value as Karl Marx would dub it.
And in the end, democracy, civilization, and Christianity would be spread all across two enormous continents. Historical revisionists would say that it was necessary, that the result was grander then anything before it. The result of course being the modern day United States, our country. Apparently, 'our country' was worth the death of millions, the slavery of millions more, and the division of the two continents into countries.
This last point is a referral of course to the communal life style of Native Americans. They hunted, lived, and ate together as one unit. One big family. The perfect existence. Today, everything and everyone is too divided, the world too independent. No one shares, as no one cares. No one is there to support you if you lose your job. No one is there to look after you in your time of need. Because no one cares. They are all too busy doing what ever they do.
Imperialism destroyed an entire way of living. It may not have been the most advanced, but it was the most egalitarian society in existence up until that point in time. Capitalism and imperialism took it all away. As a young teen, all I can say is what a shame. What a shame that so much was lost in such a small time frame. Is it at all possible that we can go back to such a lifestyle-a life style free of pain and misery. One free of war and killing. I think so, if only people knew what they were missing. If only people had the vaguest clue that such a world had existed. If only people knew that there was a New World out there. A New World wherein everyone looked out for everyone, not just number one. If only they knew that they still had a world to win.