Steve James wrote:Giles wrote:Steve James wrote: Or, why is it that no one is taught the names of the people Columbus met when he discovered Hispanola?
Because they were quite soon dead as a result of nasty Spanish/European diseases or high-quality Spanish/European steel ?
That's if you read the stuff in English . There are plenty of stories and statues representing the opponents and victims all over this continent. But, mostly where Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Native languages are spoken.
My students were expected to know the names of the various peoples that Columbus met because Columbus wrote about them, himself. (In Cartas de la Relacion).
Secondly, millions of indigenous peoples were wiped out, but millions survived. The idea that they were killed off is what allows us to name stuff "after" them and claim that the land was vacant. (Not a criticism of you Giles, btw). And, since Europeans rarely brought females with them (though the governor of the DR brought his wife, as did some others), a population of "creole" peoples emerged. In Mexico, they're called Mexicans. Where are the Indians in Mexico? Hard to find, but you will find a town with a statue dedicated to a guy named Gaspar Yanga. Look him up.
the Lucayan, Taíno, and Arawak all had a rough time under Columbus, but things got much worse as the dizzy explorer continued to fail to meet expectations of the crown. Bobadilla recorded some of the atrocities at the time. Very horrendous stuff.
As for the death tolls, your implications are a bit generous, no? It's estimated that as many as 90% of the populations were wiped out. There is geological evidence for this too, with the drop in carbon emissions being significant enough that one of the two proposed start points for the Anthropocene coincides with the Oribis Spike (the other with either the industrial revolution or nuclear testing in the 60s).
Also, Columbus only became an American hero quite after the fact. We needed a symbol who wasn't British around the tricentennial and suddenly statues went up everywhere. Not really all that dissimilar from all the confederate statues that went up LONG after the defeat of the South. Invented traditions and all of that.