Anthony Alvarez

Spanish 151
Spring 2020 Yulder Daza CSUDH
Since Columbus stepped foot on Latin America's soil there's been an obsessive greed

from foriegn powers, Lusting for her blood and flesh using her children for their self fulfillment

only quenched through it’s ever profitable land. From her Gold to her fertile lands left barren by

the irresponsible growing of crops leaving her children hungry and crying for an end to their

misery. Spain her starving obese master, owner of the cow was “like a mouth that recieved food,

chews it, and passes it on to the other organs”(Galeano 23). Organs representing Spain's

neighboring countries feeding into a king's delusion.

Through the intervention of foriegn powers there has been negative consequences on the

previously annexed parts of Latin America. Take Bolivia's Potosi, known previously for it’s

large reserves of silver during its economic boom. Now left with the title of being one of the

poorest countries in the world. A drastic change of a once great place boastful of it’s wealthy

lands now a shell of its former self. To reach that wealth they blew into the hills of el cerro rico

a once colorful land full of an array of colors blown to a gray crumbling trench of greed. Spain, a

child with too much power ravaged the land as if it were a sandbox and it’s people servants. Not

all was bad though. Potosi, a land of inspiration, attracted artistic minds of many backgrounds

Spanish, Indian, European, and Creolle masters. Who pushed in religious works that went

against the original pagan faith the natives partook in. Much of the original culture was lost or

combined into their daily lives.

Spaniards had that purposeful problem of destroying history and beliefs different

from theirs, conquistadores like Jernan Cortes purposely destroyed history and meaningful

things to erase any remembrance. Much of this land was repurposed into things like mines that

further poisoned the native people and the land that used to be interlocked between man and
Anthony Alvarez
Spanish 151
Spring 2020 Yulder Daza CSUDH
nature. Leaving an economic leech feeding off of the blood of the land where it’s host slowly

weakens and dies. Many people of the past said this was a good thing as it was an insult to god

and if they had not intervened they would have killed each other anyway. In some ways they

were similar yet entirely different.

Political structures imposed on natives before the arrival of spain resembled what was

to come, a ruling class in control while people lower in the hierarchy resembled slaves or were

slaves.. It was a hierarchy of people and the most powerful were placed at the top and slaves at

the bottom all divided in some way. The Spanish crown built colonies in many countries as did

many others like Portugal in Brazil. Where they destroyed economies by exporting 1 product and

importing products that were once plentiful in their own countries. The rich became wealthier

and the poor were left starving with no food. Even with the chance at growing other crops most

of the land was sold off to merchants or people that aided in removing natives off the land. As

you can imagine economies suffered at the hands of minor inconveniences or competition.

Leaving the majority of the nation impoverished, malnourished, and desperate for

change.“Brazil had no less than 120 surgar mills worth some 2 million euros but their masters

owners of the best lands grew no food”(Galeano 63). Desperation was part of the culture, where

families would be reduced to sell their own into prostitution to make ends meet. With these

unequal economies you are left with a minority flourishing and the majority left to fend. This can

lead to contempt amongst the classes, to those they feel gained an unfair advantage. Usually

leading to a revolution in one land and an arrival of those same hardships on others. The haitian

revolution allowed Haiti to gain independence from France and led to an economic boom and

ruin for those living in chile. Sugar was Haiti's main export, now Chile had come to manage its

new monoculture economy. Experiencing the same struggles other colonized countries had
Anthony Alvarez
Spanish 151
Spring 2020 Yulder Daza CSUDH
lacked food and forced labor. They forced labor through encomiendas granted by the Spanish

Crown to a colonist in America conferring the right to demand tribute and forced labor

from the Indian inhabitants. Colonies in Latin America had similar attributes to each other all

with common themes that led to success and fall in some areas.

You would expect religious people to think about their own hypocrisy, they have to feel

in some way wrong for treating other human beings the way they did right? In some ways they

did feel guilt but excuses are one strong drug for justifying hate. All are hypocrites in my eyes

but let’s take a couple of quotes coming from different people of european countries and some

from their very own latin american blood. The viceroy of Mexico said “ there was no better

remedy for their natural wickedness than to work in the mines.”(Galeano 41). Juan Gines

Sepulveda, a renowned spanish theologian, said “they deserve what they got because their sins

and idolatries were an offense to god.” (Galeano 41). Even as far as the Brench Count of Buffon

expressing that ” natives were cold and weak creatures that had no activity in their soul”(Galeano

41). Justify through dehumanization and common themes within the European colonies. Adding

on to that most of the labor was back breaking and intensive needing lots of manual labor,

slavery was the best choice for it.

They didn’t have to pay many expenses for slaves and they had a large supply on

hand if any died on them. It allowed for a lot of plantation owners to grow fortunes of their own.

This was especially apparent in large countries using the territory's materials to add to their own

infrastructure. Evolving to protect themselves against other possible adversaries that were also

fortressing their country for an offensive war with neighbors. “ without this tremendous

accumulation of gold reserves, Britain would not be able to later on confront Napoleon”(Galeano

56). Commonly this is what countries did when excess wealth came their way, put it back into
Anthony Alvarez
Spanish 151
Spring 2020 Yulder Daza CSUDH
their own countries. Spain put themselves in more debt by lacking structural support like food

and a lack of needed workers that keep countries running. They needed these colonies to be their

eternal golden goose or they would go under to achieve this they had to place a common theme

of fear onto the slaves that they needed to keep such a large operation running. Beating them and

murdering those that went against their will was an effective way of doing things until tipping

points were hit.

Take the uprising of Tupac which was fueled by the fire of lost dignity of the oppressor.

Tupac's army laid siege upon multiple cities before he was betrayed and as a display of

implementing fear he and his family were tortured to death. If that wasn't an example enough it

was ordered 4 generations of his lineage be erased effectively cutting his lineage ”Tupac was

tortured along with his wife, his children, and his chief aisdes, in Cuzco’s plaza del

Wacaypata”(Galeano 45). Of rebellious blood and those who idolized him as a leader. Keeping

control by destroying all hope for rebellion was their best method keeping things the way they

wanted it for at least a period of time. Of course not all goes to plan. The hate is still there and

the fire of oppression placed on them only fueled more rebellions and want for freedom. .

Lots of these places had economies run by slave labor and exploitation like that of brazils

rubber plantations cycling pile on debt on workers in an infinite loop. Some were lucky enough

to escape and defend themselves like the black slaves of the Kingdom of Palmares able to

suppress dozens of military expeditions sent to exterminate their rebellion. Through Guerilla

tactics they were able to defend themselves against the coming of the portugese and dutch.

Though their war efforts are admirable it was what they did with their freedom I find most

impressive.
Anthony Alvarez
Spanish 151
Spring 2020 Yulder Daza CSUDH
By Diversifying plants and land they were able to create their own economy to rival those

of the mainland. Choosing leaders with experience, accomplishments, and the knowledge to rule

and advise in old world techniques of farming. They led this uprising for 18 months before the

governing body of the mainland sent in a giant army of men to extinguish the palamaras

kingdom. ” No fewer than 10,000 people defended the last bastion of palmares: survivors would,

throw from the precipes, be headed or sold”(Galeano 84). They had to be made an example of if

one slave nation were to become stronger it would put them at risk of a worthy war. This nation

was something new and went against what european status quo of the dumb slave only useful for

hard labor and must be done with. It was a change they wanted to keep hidden. If they were to

succeed it would be damaging to the justifications they placed into their own constituents heads.

They couldn’t have property rebelling or else it could ruin their economy and having them defy

and take land for themselves was out of the question and needed to be done with. They left a

cultural change and a look into what a free slave can do it eventually led to more slave uprisings.

It was just the start of a war for their freedom stripped away by the european colonial power.

The Europeans did a lot of damage to the latin american countries, lots of it we can still

feel today and is still being used today. There will always be one power over another even if

there are rebellions the one who is stronger will always win. Latin America has been changed

and has the scars to prove it there is a needed change. We left part of the world poor and the

greed still exists all because of the lands plentiful riches that never belonged to us in the first

place

Bibliography
Anthony Alvarez
Spanish 151
Spring 2020 Yulder Daza CSUDH
Galeano, Eduardo,Belfrage, Cedric,Open Veins Of Latin America: Five Centuries Of The

Pillage Of A Continent. Print

¶1 (Galeano, Spain Owned The Cow , Other Drank The Milk, p.23 ¶2).

¶5 (Galeano, How the soil was ravaged in Northeast Brazil, p.61 ¶1)

¶6 ( Galeano, The silver cycle: The silver cycle:the ruin of potosi, p.41 ¶2)

¶6 ( Galeano, The silver cycle: The silver cycle:the ruin of potosi, p.41 ¶2)

¶6 ( Galeano, The silver cycle: The silver cycle:the ruin of potosi, p.41 ¶2)

¶7 (Galeano, What Brazllian Gold Contributed to progress in England, p54 ¶4)

¶8 (Galeano, The Militant Memory OF Tupac Amaru, p45 ¶2)

¶10 (Galeano, The Rainbow is the Road Back to Guinea, pg 84 ¶1)