Three Day Weekend For Some

[cincygreg]

Columbus day is monday Oct 11th.

Anyone in here get that extra day off?

Just wondering.

[img]tongue.gif[/img] [img]cool.gif[/img] [img]smile.gif[/img]

[jumper69]

And African Americans can thank a Spanish priest for the notion of enslaving them in the first place. He objected to the Native Americans being harshly treated and enslaved by their conquerers so he suggested as an alternative to go to Africa and capture "sub-human" Africans for use in the slave trade. Father Pedro de las Casas.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Actually, wasn't it the Dutch who initially "introduced" african americans to jamestown...or was it Plymouth?? Can't remember.

The "settlers" also used those who immigrated with them but were without titles and land as indetured servants. Eventually they became too expensive and potentially rebelious. African Americans were more easily controlled since they were out of their home country, less likely to have friends and relatives rescue them etc.

[Cagliostro]

The Dutch, English and French came years after the Spanish and Portuguese. It wasn't until Henry VII that England got into the act (Henry VIII's father) and so little importance was attached to it that it wasn't until Elizabeth I was in open conflict with Spain (under her half sister Mary's widower husband Phillip II) that England began colonizing the Americas in earnst. Even then it wasn't until the Pilgrims in the 1600s that England finally assumed a primary role. The French were attracted to Canada for the fur trade.

But it was Father Pedro de las Casas who came on one of the early Spanish expeditions in the early 1500s who introduced the notion of Africans for the slave trade.*

*I took a whole year of Latin American history in college. A good read I might suggest to you is "History of Latin America" by Hubert Herring. It was written in the 1960s and ends in that period as far as "current" history is concerned, but it's a must read for history of the region.

[Sluggo]

GL & Jumper - History was my least favorite subject in grade school and high school. I did not like it a bit.

Now I have to say "thank you" to the both of you. I learned more history, just from reading this thread than I did in my 12 years of schooling.

I thank you both! [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img] [img]wink.gif[/img] [img]cool.gif[/img]

[gae]

Proof that GL is right: (Who knew??)



That's the National Cathedral in Mexico City built upon the ruins of the Templo Mayor.

[jumper69]

Mexico City, AKA Tenochtitlan...

Sluggo, I could tell you stories about Cortes..... [img]graemlins/sleepy.gif[/img]

Actually GL, I'm not sure how you can blame de las casas for the black slaves. It's true he was a supporter of the importation of blacks but he wanted them as free laborers rather than slaves with the same rights and the indians.

Wasn't he known as the "Protector of the indians"?????

<font color="#000002" size="1">[ October 06, 2004 04:32 PM: Message edited by: Jumper69 ]</font>

[gae]

Sluggo, I could tell you stories about Cortes...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">How different would the world be if the touchy-feely PC crowd had been around back then.

[Cagliostro]

Apparently my office was going to be closed for it but since we had 3 free days off last week we have to work on Columbus Day now.

I object to Columbus Day even being a "holiday". Why? He and his conquistadore pals were nothing but brigands raping and pillaging Native Americans. They didn't "discover" the "New World" becuase it wasn't lost and it was only "new" to Europeans.

[Cagliostro]

But I'm taking Oct 15th off to have a 3 day weekend. No special significance, just payday and I want a 3 day weekend. I still have 8 vacation days left this year and might take a couple of Fridays off here and there.

[jumper69]

He and his conquistadore pals were nothing but brigands raping and pillaging Native Americans. They didn't "discover" the "New World" becuase it wasn't lost and it was only "new" to Europeans.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Actually, Columbus wasn't so much the "brigand" as Cortes and Pizarro were. Columbus initally wanted to befriend the natives so as to "free" them and convert them to Christianity. He gave them trinkets (glass beads, red caps) and other such insignificant items. The natives wore them proudly and actually befriended Columbus.

Contrast that with Cortes who basically kidnapped and killed Montezuma and then even attacked his own people when Spain sent another expedition to rein Cortes in as he was getting out of control....

Or something like that..

I like your point about discovering the new world. May I use that in my history class?? [img]wink.gif[/img]