All for What?

Last week when we discussed our textbook and whether or not we thought it was a legitimate enough source for our class, someone commented saying the textbook is a recap to our high school world history class. I agree, and thank God. While I read on through the long pages most of the time I remember the events (of course not in detail, but the big picture), and then there were events I am amazed that I never knew about or if I knew of them I didn't know why they occurred. For instance the Spanish colonization in the Philippines. I knew the Spaniards conquered the islands and that's why many Filipinos have last names with a Latin flare. If I may permit myself to sound a little unworldly, I didn't know why they conquered the Philippines. Let me tell you something I learned: the Spanish came to this group of islands in search for spices. Instead of wanting to be a trading empire like the Portuguese they decided to just colonize the land. The Spanish king at the time was King Phillip II and so came the name Philippine Islands. Interesting.

The entire Part 4 of Way of the Worlds was a constant recap of what I learned years ago with added information that I either wasn't taught or I was to wrapped up in the social drama of high school to pay attention to my knowledgable teacher at the time. At any rate I developed a distaste for the European conquests in the Americas, their slave trading, their taking over of indigenous cultures and traditions and the fact they killed off many thousands of people all in the name of building an empire. Unless we study history we are left wondering why the world and the people living in it are where they are. We come to understand a few little facts and we accept them. Now, of course we cannot change history and so why get mad? Well, I think it is important to not make those hideous mistakes again and also compassion is a beautiful thing, why not celebrate it.

Reading about how the indigenous people of the Americas were almost all wiped out because of disease and killing. How is that the Europeans - let's say humans in general - can feel good about wiping out a race, a people that were already there? Nowadays you can't go into someone home and take over their kitchen and eventually kick them out of their house. Why would Europeans think they could take over someones home? The thought drives me crazy. When I was younger, learning world history, I think I was trying to memorize everything to I could pass the test instead of understanding what went on back then.

What has never sat well, but now more than ever, is the slave trading. I want to know the person who started the ugly rumor that black is bad. Who was that person that said black people are basically nothing so why not make them into slaves. What!? In middle school when we were learning about American history our teacher created a slave ship out of the room and we, the students, were to act as the Africans who had to ride in the ship across the Atlantic ocean. Our teacher turned up the heat in the room the night before so by the next day is was terribly hot in the room. He also lined dirty diapers next to the heaters so the stench was horrible. We had to lay on the floors chained to each other under desks all the while baking in the horrendous heat and engulfed in the smell and our teacher barked at us in some language we couldn't understand. Back then, my friends and I thought it was funny and didn't really comprehend the significance of the situation. Reading about the Atlantic slave trade this week makes my heart break. How can humans be treated like that? I wonder if any of the Europeans felt bad and decided they didn't want to be a part or were they too chicken? Or, did it never dawn on them that they were cruel?

During this period of time, 1450 - 1750 AD, religion was bigger and more a part of everyday life than it is nowadays. How is it that Christians - people of God and followers of Jesus Christ - treated human beings so cruel? They were constantly trying to spread Christianity and yet in the process they decided, "let's just kill anyone who doesn't want to convert." Great idea. Doesn't this go against the commandment, 'Thou Shall Not Kill?" Life wasn't fragile then. Lives of people that got in the way were simply speed bumps. I wonder if those that killed or wiped out civilizations or who were directly involved with the slave trade had nightmares? I wonder if they had anxiety about their own death and where they thought they were going? I wonder if they had wives that supported them or tried to persuade them their actions were wrong in the eyes of God. I'm not God and I can see it is wrong to take someones life or abuse a life to the point of dehumanizing.

History isn't always beautiful, I know this, but did it have to be so ugly?