People's+History,+chapter+1

=**Howard Zinn** - __//A People's History of the United States//__ - Chapter 1=

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1) The Beginning
- Columbus persuaded King and Queen of Spain to pay for the voyage.

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- Gold, silk and spices from the Indies and Asia. - Columbus realized that the world was round and that he could get to the far east by going west. - First man to spot land was to receive a reward. When a sailor spotted land on the morning of October 12th, Columbus claimed that he had seen a light the night before and he received the reward. - Greeted by the Arawak Indians whom wore small gold jewelry in their ears. - Columbus captured a few of the Arawak and demanded that they show him where they got the gold. - Columbus reported that the Indians, "are so naive and so free with their possessions that no one who has not witnessed them would believe it. When you ask for something they have, they never say no. To the contrary, they offer to share with anyone..."



2) Change of Plans
- Columbus now added a new promise to his list for Spain: Slaves. He promised to bring back as many slaves as they ask. - He went all over the islands in the Caribbean searching for slaves and gold. - He made a new order for all Indians 14 years old or older to collect a certain amount of gold every 3 months. They would then received a copper token that would be placed around their necks. - Any Indian found without a token around their neck would have their hands chopped off. They would then bleed to death.

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- Many of Columbus' men ravaged the Indian settlements and stole their goods and killed many - Says Bartolomé de las Casas, " But our work was to exasperate, ravage, kill, mangle and destroy;" - Las Casas also tells how, "Two of these so-called Christians met two Indian boys one day, each carrying a parrot; they took the parrots and for fun beheaded the boys."