Of the Arawak and Taino people who came to greet the sailors of the Niña, Pinta and Santa María that October day in the eastern Caribbean 522 years ago, Cristóbal Colón, as Columbus was known in Spain, would write:
They … brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks’ bells. They willingly traded everything they owned… . They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features. … They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane. … They would make fine servants. … With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want. […]
As soon as I arrived in the Indies, on the first Island which I found, I took some of the natives by force in order that they might learn and might give me information of whatever there is in these parts.
The information he wanted most was the location of the gold. He had good reason. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella had promised Columbus 10 percent of whatever of value he brought back. While the native people’s had no iron, many wore small gold ornaments in their ears. The misnamed, abducted and soon to be enslaved “Indians” led Columbus and his men to Hispaniola where they saw visible gold bits in the rivers. A gold mask was presented by one Indian leader. Before leaving, the expedition built La Navidad, the first Spanish military base in the “New World.” Columbus took the Niña and Pinta and headed back to Spain with a cargo that included as many as 25 Indians, all but seven of whom died on the trip. The Spanish nobility were impressed with the survivors and with promises from Columbus of “as much gold as they need … and as many slaves as they ask.”
On his second voyage and thereafter, Columbus and hundreds of Spanish fortune seekers subjugated Indians on various Caribbean islands, enslaving them, demanding they supply a certain amount of gold every three months, forcing the women into their beds, torturing and murdering them in a variety of ways, including hanging them from wide gibbets like the one in the engraving above. And that was just the beginning.
Blast from the Past. At Daily Kos on this date in 2012—Auto workers reach tentative deal with Chrysler:
| The UAW and Chrysler have announced a tentative contract deal. As expected, Chrysler workers make fewer gains than GM or Ford workers did in their recently announced agreements, given Chrysler’s relatively weaker profits. The UAW has made it a priority to secure commitments from the auto manufacturers to invest in American manufacturing and jobs, though, and Chrysler did agree to invest $4.5 billion and create around 2,100 new jobs in America, including new compact vehicles to be manufactured in Illinois and Michigan. All of these new jobs, though, will be at the second-tier pay rate, currently $14.65 an hour but rising to $19.28 through the four-year life of the contract; a cap on the percentage of second-tier workers Chrysler can employ would be eliminated under this contract, with Chrysler already employing a higher proportion of the lower-wage workers than GM or Ford.
The deal, which must be ratified by workers, also includes:
Additionally, “The tentative agreement returns to workers the Tuition Assistance Program they gave up during the economic downturn.” |
#ProTip : when a conservative politician asks “why isn’t this government program working,” the answer is usually “you cut the funding”— @WhySharksMatter
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