Zinn Chapter #1

In chapter 1 of “A Peoples History of the United States” Howard Zinn details the early part of the era of exploration, specifically the events surrounding Christopher Columbus. Zinn puts forth that contemporary history is a revised history, and provides details to support his thesis.

Chapter 1 starts out with Columbus soliciting Spanish royalty for an expedition that would yield gold and spices. The first case of a revision to true history is noted when Columbus takes credit for sighting land when a member of his crew named Rodrigo was in fact first to lay eyes on the new world. Upon landing in what is now known as Hispaniola, Columbus encounters a race of natives called the Arawaks. Columbus takes advantage of the native custom of unadulterated sharing of possessions and pillages the countryside of gold and valuable items. Zinn states that Columbus feels obligated to bring back valuables back to Spain in order to satisfy the investors in the expedition. A sort time later Columbus returns to Hispaniola with a much larger expedition after claiming he would deliver much more than he possibly could. He began to round up Arawaks and ship them back to Spain as slaves. He also embarks on a campaign of unspeakable brutality toward the natives. In time the Europeans had totally corrupted the native culture and by 1650 none of the original natives were left on the island (pg 7). Zinn goes on to note more examples of historical brutality being passed off as something else, but the story of Columbus and the Arawaks the real core of the chapter.

Zinn states on page 9 that “One can lie outright about the past, or one can omit facts which might lead to unacceptable conclusions.” This is the real theme that permeates the entire chapter. Zinn feels much more comfortable describing history in terms of the oppressed. He mentions a wide variety of downtrodden groups on page 11. He also makes an integral point that he is also interested in how the oppresses groups treat each other. This point did not come though the first time I read the material. Zinn points out what should be obvious to contemporary history that Columbus called the Arawaks Indians because he thought he was in India, but contemporary history never corrected the mistake. Zinn shows some real integrity when he states outright that he is interested in the other side of history.

At first I was quite turned off by Zinn’s chapter 1, but after some time to think about the chapter I can see clearly now what Zinn was trying to get across. I originally thought Zinn was just another capitalist hating Michael Moore type, but I can see that he is really just interested in getting history right. I think he went a little overboard in his bashing of capitalism. He also made no real attempt to put into perspective how other systems stack up against capitalism’s track record of oppression. I am quite sure communism has a real history of brutality. Zinn’s vision for a balanced approached or unbiased take on history is admirable and something we need more of. It is a real shame we do not get to learn more about Native American culture, and I strongly feel it is imperative for the average person to know the brutality and genocide committed by European settlers. Our civilization is impressive from a historical perspective and we have made great steps toward racial and ethnic tolerance, but it is very important not to forget what we have come from. I look forward to reading more of Zinn’s work.