Entry for week of September 23
As I have started reading Townsends book "Fifth Sun" for Professor Starks class, it has been very informational on how the Indigenous lived before the Europeans came in. So far from what I have read, I understand how civilized these people really were. It explains all of the history of different rulers and how they came to power. Also how it explains the way that power over the kingdom shifted in a sort of swinging pendulum between the two families of Huitzilihuitl and Itzcoatl showed how organized these people were and how determined they were to keep peace. Relating to Professor Serrata's class, when we read the letter from Columbus, it puts into perspective how naïve the Europeans were to think these Natives were uncivilized. In the letter, Columbus portrays the people of the land as being somewhat lazy and gullible and implies that they were willing to hand everything over to the Spaniards. Learning the history of the Indigenous puts into perspective how these Natives were the victims of the story. Columbus and his men came in and took advantage of their willingness to trade and took over their homeland after all the fight and time it took these Natives to make a civilized peaceful community.
Thank you, Olivia, for the post. I like the discussion of Townsend and how power shifted between noble families and our view of the indigenous as backward is mistaken. A nice link made to Professor Serrata's part of the class and how the indigenous were viewed or depicted by Columbus as backward to justify Spanish occupation and possession.
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