The Black Legend Research Paper

Europeans had different ideologies than indigenous peoples when it came to land in terms of who could own the land. As a result of European entitlement, they assumed that the land was available to be taken. The process of removing indigenous people from their land began, and the settlers were justifying it by suggesting that is was not necessarily “stealing” land, but rather it was “saving” the land from being misused by the savages that lived there previously (Sahlins 19). Mindsets such as these finalized the traumatic process of Native American invisibility as they were forced out of their land and their homes.

This section highlights that history has created a false narrative depicting the natives as a victimized people, which they were to some extent but only in the fashion that they did not possess the same technology for warfare, immunity of communal diseases transmitted, and they were not anticipating combat. All other factors considered, the natives stood to be a potential threat. In regards to knowledge obtained by Spaniards prior to arrival and knowledge gained from observation, it would be remiss had they not prepared for battle. This argument is not to be misconstrued in approving their actions; I do recognize colonization as an evil for both the reasons employed and its damaging effects, but rather to change the narrative surrounding that of the native people. While they did experience a tragedy, I feel that it is erroneous to write them into history as being incompetent resulting from their

Spanish Colonization- Beginning with the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492 Spanish Colonization continued for centuries. The Spanish Empire eventually would include half of South America, most of Central America, and a lot of North America. The Spanish used the Encomienda System to control and use Native Americans. Spaniards received grants of Native Americans from the Spanish government who they could take tribute from in the form of goods or labor as long as they tried to convert the Native Americans to Catholicism. This system worked out horribly for the Native Americans with many treated harshly and forced to do hard physical labor. The Natives were not willing slaves though and rebelled numerous times which contributed to African slave labor replacing the Encomienda System. The Spanish intermarried with the Native Americans leading

Many of the very first interactions between the natives and Europeans lead to the natives becoming brutally murdered or enslaved. The account from Bartolomé De Las Casas depicts the

Both had to be recognized and accepted by the other villages or communities. Since the land was a divided boundaries, Europeans had deeds for the land, records of ownership, that made it accessible to sell and buy land. Since the Indians thought of the land as free for anyone to use, nor did they have the need for money, therefore the Indians couldn’t buy land and Europeans believed that they were indigent.

As Document I shows Native Americans were being cheated out of their land, actually most of their land was being sold. In 1887, the Dawes Severalty Act was passed by congress. The Dawes act divided small plots for each family. But the farmers got their fill as well. On the reservation there were another 90 million acres which were fertile and was often sold to white settlers. As Native American lands went down White settlers land increased. As shown in Document B. Land trades and began to pop up all around the country.

Before Europeans ever ventured to North America, the land had been populated by Native American nations that had their own distinct cultures and social structures. Native Americans had trade routes and established complex relationships between tribes. They were not merely heathens waiting to be civilized by the Europeans. Yet, Europeans would use those justifications to lay claim on their land.

In the essay “The Meaning of Property,” C.B. Macpherson states the argument for how property is “a concept of rights (15),” not a thing that can be claimed. The Native Americans loosely used this idea of property in their lives. Their land was a recognized right by the surrounding communities and ownership rights within a territory usually meant what one had made with their own hands. The European colonists had the notion that “Indians seemed to live like paupers in a landscape of great natural wealth (Cronon 50).” Since the Indians utilize many resources from the land, and not totally dependent on farming, Colonists used this to justify taking the their land. Europeans observed how the Indians did not make a permanent, exclusive mark on the land as a “token not of their chosen way of life but of their laziness (Cronon 50).” John Winthrop claimed that the Indians didn’t actually own any land since they failed to inclose any land,“fences and livestock were thus pivotal elements in the English rationale for taking Indian lands (Cronon Fields 66).” The European way of thinking also saw property as a means of wealth, power, and social status. European treatment of nature can be reflected upon their culture. The culture they came from focused on capitalism, so they saw the new lands as a means of profit. Native American culture differed since they collected from the land what they needed. They had respect for the land and even realized the danger of over fishing salmon in the rivers. The Indians would make sure to only catch enough fish to feed themselves and then stopped fishing to let the fish go back upstream to reproduce. European culture on the other hand, depleted the natural resources they found, which could be seen through the depleted beaver population due to the high demand and profitable fur

William of Orange once stated, “Spain committed such horrible excesses that all the barbarities, cruelties, and tyrannies ever perpetrated before are only games in comparison to what happened to the poor Indians.” This statement is an example of an attempt to discredit the Spanish. Attempts such as these are known as the Black Legend. The Black Legend was the name given to the concept of cruelty and brutality spread by the Spanish during the 14th and 15th century. This legend demonizes Spain and specifically the Spanish empire in an effort to harm the reputation of them. It was through this propaganda that made other countries look down upon the Spanish empire. The Black Legend threw discredit upon the rule

For more than 300 years, since the days of Christopher Columbus and the Spanish Government, an attempt of genocide of the Native American Indian has existed. From mass brutal murders and destruction by Spanish and American armies, to self-annihilation through suicide, homicide, and alcohol induced deaths brought about because of failed internal colonialism and white racial framing. Early Explores used Indigenous inhabitants upon first arriving to the America’s to survive the New World and once they adapted, internal colonialism began with attempts to convert the Indians to Christianity, repressing their values and way of life, forcing them into slavery, and nearly exterminating an entire culture from existence.

The black legend was the name given to the concept of cruelty and brutality spread by the Spanish during the 14th and 15th century. It can be said to be an anti-Spanish movement, which was started due to political and religious torment done by the Spanish on the people. It was the dominance and control of the Spanish over Europe that lead to the black legend of the Spanish. It was through this particular propaganda that the people were able to understand how various European countries had fallen prey to Spanish cruelty and misconduct. They were being religiously and politically divided just because of the supreme power that the Spanish held at the time. They wanted to stand tall as a nation and wanted to develop and advance together. They

harbored a great respect for the land they were allowed to use . When the

A British traveler in 1784 said that the “white Americans have the most rancorous antipathy to the whole Indian race; and nothing is more common than to hear them talk of extirpating them totally from the face of the earth, men women, and children” (Lewy). A genocide that is given little attention in America’s textbooks is the American Indian Genocide, which was led by white settlers. America’s true colors were shown in their infamous actions, which spanned hundreds of years. Throughout this genocide, America showed a hypocritical side—along with a violent and twisted personality—that is not widely known.

The Mahele had many impacts on the natives. One of them is the land was suppose to be claimed by

The history of Americas is a debatable topic, many sources are unsure of what has exactly occurred. The sources that were read all show opposing viewpoints; the Europeans had mistreated the Native Americans, the Europeans were unaware of their actions, and the Native Americans were capable to fight off the Europeans. Although all sources provide key points, the third source shows evidence and strong points that prove to be reasonable. Though the history is uncertain, what is know about the Americas is that the Europeans had rediscovered the Americas which the Native Americans had been harboring and living off of the land before the Europeans even found the land. This had caused a conflict between both groups leading to the end of the Native Americans and Europeans taking over the Americas.