Chapter 14 started off interestingly enough with Winona La Duke, president of the Indigenous
Women's Network, who declared: "Columbus was a perpetrator of genocide..., a slave trader, a thief,
a pirate, and most certainly not a hero. To celebrate Columbus is to congratulate the process and
history of the invasion." Wow! Strong words. Empire building tends to have its casualties. I liked the
quote of one Spanish conquistador:"We came here to serve God and the King, and also to get rich."
That summed up what compelled many of the early Spanish settlers. It was very surprising to find
out just how devastating to the indigenous people decease was, brought over by the Europeans and
Africans. Native american people lost up to 90% of their population! To hear that many starved in
their beds due to being too sick is appalling. The labor shortage that followed made room for
immigrants who brought over their culture, plants, animals and made America what it is today. It was
interesting to read that the livestock brought over multiplied quickly due to a lack of natural
predators. The domesticated animals made ranching and cowboys possible. It was also interesting to
learn how North America developed a sharply defined racial system whereas Portuguese and Spanish
colonies had more mixed-race groups.
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