they treated them (I speak of things which I was an Eye Witness of, without the least fallacy) not as Beasts, which I cordially wished they would, but as the most abject dung and filth of the Earth;
Las Casas shows how the Spaniards viewed the Indigenous people as worthless. This helped us understand why they were so extremely cruel and violent.
hat of Three Millions of Persons, which lived in Hispaniola itself, there is at present but the inconsiderable remnant of scarce Three Hundred.
This shows that almost the entire population was wided out because of the Spanish's violence and abuse to the Native people.
The Spaniards first assaulted the innocent Sheep, so qualified by the Almighty, like most cruel tigers, wolves, and lions, hunger-starved, studying nothing, for the space of Forty Years, after their first landing, but the Massacre of these Wretches,
Las Casas says that the Native people were peaceful. They also said that the Spaniards attacked them badly like they were wild animals.
The Spaniards attacked the musicians first, slashing at their hands and faces until they had killed all of them. The singers-and even the spectators- were also killed. This slaughter in the Sacred Patio went on for three hours.
Helps show me the brutal massacre that was done by the Spanish. Knowing that the Aztecs were unarmed and participating in religious celebrations makes it even worse.
You have come back to us; you have come down from the sky.
The Aztecs used to view Cortès with amazement. People would even say he is Godly figure which helped impact the Spanish's influence.
You have come to your city, Mexico.
You can see that Montezuma is welcoming Cortès as a ruler.
They afterward determined to establish themselves there for the winter, and they accordingly built a large house
This help me see that Leif's crew saw the land that they discovered and viewed it as livable and resourceful. This helped me think that they saw this land as a place worthy of settling and not just exploring.
This was a level wooded land; and there were broad stretches of white sand where they went, and the land was level by the sea. Then said Leif, “This land shall have a name after its nature; and we will call it Markland [land of forests].”
It is crazy to see how Lief Erikson and his crew identified and named new lands based on the lands natural features.
There was now much talk about voyages of discovery.
This helps show me how much of a major focus exploration was for Greenland and Iceland society. They help motivate people like Leif Erikson to pursue new lands.
Natives of North America also settled in complex societies in various regions, based mainly on the cultivation of corn, wild rice, squash, and pumpkins and on managing the environment to promote the success of game animals. The traditional U.S. and Canadian Thanksgiving dinner celebrates the native foods of North America, including the turkey.
It is cool to see where most of our Thanksgiving dishes came from. Like the reason we have all of these dishes was because of the Native of North America and the things they found and ate.
By comparison, Chinese intensive rice farming, the most successful agricultural technique known in Europe and Asia, supported only about one person per acre at the same time.
I would not have guessed that the Chinese rice farming would be the most successful agricultural technique known to Europe and Asia. I thought it would have been something with Europe and their potatoes.
Even today, typical histories of America tend to consider the moment of Columbus’ landing on October 12, 1492, to be a significant starting point. Some continue to consider Columbus to have been a heroic explorer while others regard him as a monster and accuse him of deliberate genocide.
I have heard both sides of this story. I don't really know which one I believe the most, I do still consider the moment of Columbus' landing to be significant starting point of America. While discussion him either being a hero or a monster people have argued for years.
This practice is the origin of the myth of El Dorado, the “Golden Man” sought by the Spanish in their early explorations. Over time, Spaniards such as Coronado came to believe they were searching for a city of gold, which they never found.
This is where they got the ritual of the king dusting himself in gold and diving into the waters as a purification ritual of the God's. I have heard of the name El Dorado before and I knew a little bit about it. I think it is cool that the practice of this was how the myth of El Dorado started.
there should not be any trade of slaves nor outlet for them
Afonso clearly rejects the slave trade and was going to try to assert his authority.
merchants are taking every day our natives, sons of the land and the sons of our noblemen and vassals and our relatives, because the thieves and men of bad conscience grab them wishing to have the things and wares of this kingdom which they are ambitious of; they grab them and get them to be sold; and so great, Sir, is the corruption and licentiousness that our country is being completely depopulate
Afonso helps warn that the slave trade is emptying his kingdom of its people. He does this by showing his people how destructive Portuguese involvement had become.
They even imagine that a priest can never be anything but a priest--that is, he can never become a layman.
Humans invention think that priest can never become a layman after they have been a priest and Luther doesn't agree with that and agree with what the scripture says.
Therefore the bishop's consecration is just as if in the name of the whole congregation he took one person out of the community, each member of which has equal power, and commanded him to exercise this power for the rest; just as if ten brothers, co-heirs as king's sons, were to choose one from among them to rule over their inheritance, they would all of them still remain kings and have equal power, although one is appointed to govern.
Luther does not agree with how the bishop's consecration. Luther thinks that everyone had the same amount of power and everything and yet he just picked one person out of those multiple that have all the same abilities.
we are all one body, though each member does its own work so as to serve the others.
This is a cool line to think about. Through God we are all his followers or one body. And through each member we are doing our own work to help serve the others and spread the work of God.
Now may God help us, and give us one of those trumpets that overthrew the walls of Jericho, so that we may blow down these walls of straw and paper, and that we may have a chance to use Christian rods for the chastisement of sin, and expose the craft and deceit of the devil; thus we may amend ourselves by punishment and again obtain God's favor.
Luther is asking for God to help them to give them a trumpet to help overthrew the wall of Jericho. He thinks this will help people obtain God's favor.
Pray Our Lord in His mercy to have Your Highness under His guard and let you do forever the things of His service. I kiss your hands many times.
They are praying to ask for the Lord to help watch over the Highness and to help guard him.
And us we have got neither dispensaries nor drugs which might help us in this forlornness, many of those who had been already confirmed and instructed in the holy faith of Our Lord Jesus Christ perish and die; and the rest of the people in their majority cure themselves with herbs and breads and other ancient methods, so that they put all their faith in the mentioned herbs and ceremonies if they live, and believe that they are saved if they die; and this is not much in the service of God
People who are confirmed in the holy faith will perish and die but those who aren't will just cure themselves with other things. This is another example of how religion was so big during this time. If you were a follower of Christ you would perish and die and if you aren't then you will have to find another way to cure it.
The arrival of the printing press in Europe in the middle of the fifteenth century began an explosion of literacy.
The printing press was a major technology invention helped writers publishes books. This could help increase peoples reading abilities and give people better access to written materials since they could be in books now.
Hinduism, which is still the dominant religion of India, is based on ancient traditions and practices originating centuries before the development of Judaism and other religions in the Middle East. It is a polytheistic religion in which stories of the relations and conflicts among the gods and goddesses help explain the human condition.
Even though Hinduism is still a large and dominant religion of India, you don't really hear about it much. I hear a lot about Christians and Muslims but not a lot about Hinduism. I think this is because of the area I live it. I think if I went somewhere else in the United State I may hear of it a lot more.
For example, young boys were taken as tribute captives from villages in the Balkans. They were converted to Islam, educated, and trained into an elite fighting force called the Janissaries who reported directly to the Emperor.
People were taken when they couldn't pay in money for certain things so for revenue they took people. When the Ottoman Empire would take people they would have them get trained in to help out their own Empire.
Europe's nations were organized around and identified by factors like ethnicity, language, customs, and religion. Often these nations fought neighbors that were defined by different identities.
I think that this is strange how each European nation was organized and identified by different factors. They would also fight other nations that were identified differently.