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Columbus not the first to import violence to New World

Thursday, October 18 at 12:00 AM

This Speakout has not been edited.

By J. Bradford Churchill

It is Columbus’ Day as I write this. We celebrate Columbus because he was the modern herald of a new age, who unwittingly introduced Europeans to a New World.

But this is the age of vilification. Some individuals who consider themselves heirs of those Columbus destroyed either directly or indirectly, intentionally or unwittingly, consider it their duty to point up every negative allegation about every white European who ever sullied this land with his allegedly fascistic presence. The “noble savage” was destroyed by the greedy white man, according to the simplistic modern interpretation of an extraordinarily complex historical reality.

When Columbus discovered America, many natives were already hard at work hating and destroying each other. The difference now was simple: those who dealt with Europeans dealt on an uneven technological plane that left the natives at a significant disadvantage when it came to warfare.

Let me take the example of a locally well-known group that is usually regarded as peaceful, thought by many to be innocent victims of U.S. imperialism: In 1837, a group of Cheyenne raiders went deep into the territory of a group they were about to make one of their bitterest enemies, the Kiowas. Their aim was to steal horses. Unfortunately for them the raiders were discovered before they could succeed in their mission, and the Kiowas, correctly assuming they were up to no good, surrounded them and killed them all. The Cheyenne were angry and planned revenge. The following summer they sent out warriors for a sneak attack on the Kiowas.

One group of Cheyenne tricked and massacred a group of Kiowa men who were out hunting buffalo and unprepared for war. Another group murdered a dozen defenseless women who had been caught out digging roots, and in the invasion of the village the Cheyenne cut down fleeing women alongside the men.

Among these Cheyenne was Black Kettle, a young man who would later be a chief. His sympathetic biographer, Thom Hatch, wrote these things of his band in a panegyric called Black Kettle: The Cheyenne Chief who Sought Peace but Found War.

Hatch also wrote of a series of raids into Mexico in the early 1850’s. The Cheyenne went far to the south to attack Mexicans who had done them no harm, hoping to enslave them and take their livestock. The first raid went poorly and this touched off another round of hostilities. The United States stepped in and brokered a treaty to end hostilities.

After an incident in which two Cheyenne were found dead in a camp formerly occupied by Mexicans, Black Kettle himself (the Cheyenne chief who sought peace) agitated for war, abrogating the treaty brokered by the United States, and led a small band of raiders deep into Mexico, where he did successfully steal livestock and enslave some human beings. On their way back Black Kettles party was beset by Utes. Black Kettle was gravely wounded and lost his wife and many of the rest of his party, along with his slaves and stolen livestock.

As a chief, leading his people during a brewing war between the United States and many hostile tribes in 1864, the best Black Kettle could do was to beg indulgence for his inability to prevent young members of his band from engaging in terrorism, depredations, and murder. The Peace Chief could not produce evidence of peace.

Columbus did not import violent death to the Americas. The Cheyenne were engineers of unprovoked attacks, murderers of defenseless women, takers and keepers of slaves, and perpetrators of surprise attacks on villages of unsuspecting victims before they ever ran afoul of the United States military. There were both European and native liars, cheats, brigands, and murderers, and there were others who were innocent and strove for something better. It behooves us to consider the facts from both sides carefully before we lay too much blame on one side or the other.

J. Bradford Churchill is a resident of Longmont.

READER COMMENTS

And I remember that Cortez' expedition got a good deal of help against the Aztecs from local groups aggrieved by their treatment at the Aztecs' hands.Sorta like the French Resistance giving the rest of the Allies a little help against you-know-who.

Posted by Jimminy on October 18, 2007 11:13 PM

And some folks simply hate America. They are angry, mad, foaming at the mouth, rabid, injured, bleeding, pissed of and are victims. Life is miserable for these folks, they can't stand this country, its wealth, its success and its prosperity. And they are envious of everyone who makes a dime more than they make. And they are MAD.

Most of these angry folks are also liberal democrats.

Posted by Hank on October 18, 2007 10:44 AM

A minor history factoid - COLUMBUS DID NOT DISCOVER AMERICA! He discovered the Caribbean Islands. And for those who are so hell-bent on blaming him for what happened to those natives, kindly remember that (1) he was funded by SPAIN which at the time was intent on conquering the world, (2) most of his crew was Spanish, (3) SPAIN allowed the taking of slaves & (4) most of the carnage occured when he was in Spain "showing off" what he found & his men were attacked by natives attempting to protect their homeland. In addition, whle the French & English settlers (who managed to actually make it to the North American continent) to some degree attempted to have some form of peace with the natives (although, yes, they too, chose to "steal" land which the natives as a rule tended to believe belonged to ALL the inhabitants - as hunter gatherers instead of farmers, city residents, etc) - the Spaniards came for conquest & looking for treasures. It never ceases to amaze me how the natives choose to place all the blame on Columbus without looking at the history of the age he lived it - and choose to ignore the source of the problem. Interestingly enough, the TRUE discoverers of North America, the Vikings, seem to have basically lived in peace with the natives unless THEY were attacked.

Posted by Mary on October 18, 2007 04:36 AM