"The Vision of the Vanquished"

          The impact of the discovery and conquest of America on indigenous peoples and cultures was magnificent, breathtaking, painful to recall yet truly inspiring and meaningful to every life in this planet. Considering the new perspective referred to as, “The Vision of the Vanquished,” as seen by those who were dominated during the Age of Exploration, I feel honored to have known the precious past of the indigenous people of the Americas. What repercussions did Columbus’ voyages had on the lives of the ancient civilization?

Carib and Arawak people greeting Christopher Columbus on his arrival in the Caribbean

        After all, America was not an empty continent when the first Europeans arrived; its true “discoverers” were the people who had crossed over from Asia by way of the Bering Strait many thousands of years before. The indigenous peoples of America, see the discovery and conquest as a disaster. The voyages of Columbus later on resulted to the experience of new diseases which the natives had no immunity and they felt they were brutally exploited which was in fact the cause of social disorganization, and the loss of will to live among the people of the ancient civilization. This eventually led to the greatest demographic catastrophe in recorded history, with an estimated loss of between 90 and 95 percent of the native population between 1492 and 1575.

Altun Ha Mayan ruins in Belize City

        This was how the vanquished see the terror of American conquest:

“They ran in among the dancers, forcing their way to the place where the drums were played. They attacked the man who was drumming and cut off his arms. Then they cut off his head, and it rolled across the floor. They attacked all celebrants, stabbing them, spearing them, striking them with their swords…Others they beheaded: they cut off their heads, or split their heads to pieces…Some attempted to run away, but their intestines dragged as they ran…No matter how they tried to save themselves, they could find no escape…”

Spanish Invasion

        Another testimony from the Aztecs was:

“The stags came forward, carrying the soldiers on their backs. The soldiers were wearing cotton armor. They bore their leather shields and their iron spears in their hands, but their swords hung down from the necks of the stags…”

Spanish Conquerors

        Additionally, this is how King Moctezuma sees the coming of Hernan Cortes, another Spaniard conqueror inspired by Columbus:

“What will happen to us? Who will outlive it? Now, I have death in my heart! My heart burns and suffers, as if it were drowned in spices! But will our lord come here?” Obviously, the Aztec empire was in great fear of the conquerors who were seen as gods. They were all terrified of the Spanish soldiers even their own emperor. He was already conquered by despair and terror. This began the year of terror and continued for hundreds of years for all indigenous Americans.

Aztec Emperor

        Some of them lost will to live and found no meaning of their existence. While others continued to cling on to the hope that even though their civilization is gone, they can partake of a new image and identity as humans. Joel Martinez Hernandez, one of the native authors wrote about what is left of the indigenous people, he said, “…Why is that they want us to disappear? We do not have to contemplate this too long, because four hundred years have shown us the aim of the Coyotes. They are envious of our lands, our forests and rivers, our work, our sweat. The Coyotes want us living in the slums of their cities, naked and hungry, subject to their falsehoods and frauds. The Coyotes want us to work for them, they want us to abandon our communal lands, our labor, our endeavors and language, our ways of dressing and living, our reforms of thinking…They will deprive us of what is ours, the fruits of our labor…We must strengthen our hearts with one, two words, which will illuminate our eyes, so we can become fully conscious of it…We are scattered in 16 states and 808 municipalities…Truly we can assert that, although some of us want us to disappear, we continue to live, we continue to grow…”

Mountains and Inca ruins in Machu Picchu, Peru