Chapter 12d –Mesoamerica – Part 4
Chapter 12d – Mesoamerica – Part 4
The arrival of Christopher Columbus
Everyone knows
that Christopher Columbus travelled west of Europe looking to find India
and China using the Western route but instead discovered the “New World”,
the “Americas” in 1492. The Portuguese (Vasco Da Gama) on the
other hand with Portuguese trading posts already at Ghana, travelled East
around South Africa and reached India in 1498.
“On October
12, 1492, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus made landfall in what is now
the Bahamas. Columbus and his ships landed on an island that the native Lucayan
people called Guanahani. Columbus renamed it San Salvador.” https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/columbus-makes-landfall-caribbean/
After the
Bahamas, he traveled to Cuba and to Hispaniola (Haiti/Dominican Republic). Columbus
was still looking for Asia going the West direction. (There was this huge
continent of North America and South America that Columbus totally missed so
far.)
“Columbus
spent little time at the Bahamas, being anxious to press on to Cipango,
or Cipangu (Japan). He thought that he had found it in Cuba,
where he landed on October 28, but he convinced himself by November 1 that Cuba
was the Cathay mainland itself, though he had yet to see evidence of
great cities. Thus, on December 5, he turned back southeastward to search for
the fabled city of Zaiton (Quanzhou, China), missing
through this decision his sole chance of setting foot on Florida soil.”
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Christopher-Columbus/The-first-voyage
Columbus then established
a colony in Hispaniola on the Haiti side. (“Called Ayti (Haiti) by its Taino inhabitants; on December 6 Columbus renamed
it La Isla Española, or Hispaniola.”) https://www.britannica.com/biography/Christopher-Columbus/The-first-voyage
Columbus
captured some Indians/slaves and brought them back to Spain for show-and-tell
together with some Gold and Parrots and spices, I guess. (The British did
the same thing up north by Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1614. And also 1576,1584
and more - https://www.voanews.com/a/usa_abductees-emissaries-and-showmen-native-americans-england/6202278.html)
“The
gold, parrots, spices, and human captives Columbus displayed for his sovereigns
at Barcelona convinced all, of the need for a rapid second voyage. Columbus was
now at the height of his popularity, and he led at least 17 ships out from
Cádiz on September 25, 1493. Colonization and Christian evangelization
were openly included this time in the plans, and a group of friars shipped with
him. The presence of some 1,300 salaried men with perhaps 200 private investors
and a small troop of cavalry are testimony to the anticipations for the
expedition.” https://www.britannica.com/biography/Christopher-Columbus/The-first-voyage
So, the Noblemen,
the Rich and the Royal family were now excited to get more Gold! And they
funded 17 more ships and a small army for Columbus to go back and find more
Gold! The only thing here is did anyone ask how Columbus found/paid for the
Gold he brought?
Also, the
Evangelists got excited to also come to the new world to gain converts! Why
would one think that suddenly out of the blue, the people enslaved by the Europeans
will now be happy to also convert to the European religion? But conversion by
force?
Columbus went
on to discover/investigate Cuba, Jamaica, Trinidad, Venezuela, Honduras,
Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama but no Gold so far. So, he continued forcing the
Taino tribe in Haiti to mine for the only Gold reserves he found so far. He created a quota system forcing the enslaved
Indians to supply sufficient Gold per capita for him to take back to Europe.
The Spanish Inquisition – The Moors
Spain was
conquered by the Muslim Moors (a combination of Berbers, North Africans and
Iberian Peninsula people) in the year 711 and remained conquered for almost 800
years.
The
Moors ruled much of Spain for almost 400 years from 711 to 1086, before they
were driven south and continued their rule of southern Spain and the Kingdom of
Granada for a further 400 more until 1492. https://www.thelocal.es/20220428/what-did-the-moors-ever-do-for-us-how-spain-was-shaped-by-arab-culture#:~:text=The%20Moors%20ruled%20much%20of,further%20400%20more%20until%201492.
The Moors of
course forced the Christians in Spain to convert to Islam or fear death or
super high taxation (which was almost as bad as death).
Eventually the
Spanish was able to fight the Moors and drive them down to the southern most
areas of Spain in 1086 (400 years later). And completely drive them out
after another 400 more years for a total of 800 years of Muslim rule. Compare
this to USA’s birthday in 2023 as only 247 years old. 800 years is an
incredibly long time Spain was invaded.
*** Happy Birthday USA ***
(FYI: You
might meet some Spanish people and some Mexicans with the last name – Matamoros.
Do you know what this last name means? Mata means kill and Moros means Moors. So,
this last name was given to the Spanish who fought the Moors in Spain. One more
thing, there is a city in Mexico named Matamoros in the state of Tamaulipas.
Interesting huh?)
By the 1480s Spain
started the Spanish Inquisition. Basically, to clean up Spain and return
to what it was religiously before the Muslims attacked Spain in 711.
Well Spain was
originally Catholic, so anyone not Catholic was to convert or leave Spain. The
people affected were not just Muslims but also Protestants and Jews!
Torture until conversion for those who
did not leave Spain
The Spanish Inquisition – Columbus
So, because of
the Spanish Inquisition, the Jews for example either converted, was tortured or
left Spain. (Many of the Jews moved to North Africa and other European countries
and, also all the way to India in the State of Kerala – BTW: This is where the East
Indian ancient Maya people lives.)
Christopher
Columbus was secretly Jewish and that he hid his true faith to
survive the Spanish Inquisition. In a further revelation, historians believe
the real motive behind his historic quest was to find a new homeland for
the Jews who were persecuted and run out of Spain.
As
well as his legendary status as an explorer, Columbus has also been described
as a deeply religious man who was committed to the cause of liberating
Jerusalem from the Muslims.
Jews
were the target of a brutal and systematic ethnic cleansing during the lifetime
of Columbus. As part of fanatical, religious persecution it was proclaimed by
Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand in March 1492 that all Jews should be
expelled from Spain. This move was particularly aimed at the 800,000
Jews who refused to convert to Catholicism and were given just
four months to leave the country.
The
remaining Jews in Spain fell into two groups: The 'Conversos' - converts
who embraced Catholicism and renounced Judaism - and the 'Marranos', meaning
swine, who feigned conversion but secretly continued with their own
religious practices.
So boys and girls!
- Columbus was a Jew hiding his religion from the Spanish.
- Columbus was either a ‘Conversos’ (convert) or 'Marranos' (or swine).
- Columbus was looking for new land that maybe his Jewish community could move to.
- The Noblemen and the Rich who gave Columbus even more money (than Queen Isabella) to discover the New World, were also Jews hoping for new land!!!
Columbus died on May 20,1506 at the age of 55 and just 14
years after discovering the Americas. This was not the end of the story for the
Americas though. What was to come next for the Americas was the worst thing the
native Indians was going to face.
Pretty cool
history lesson they don’t teach you in school don’t you think?
***
End of Part 4 ***
*** To
Be Continued ***
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