Summary of Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress by: Howard Zinn History is a weapon with a description of the

Arawak Native Americans; the article describes them as naked, tawny, and full of wonder. The author quotes a journal from a crew member of the Columbus expedition describing for the reader the cheery, and full of hospitality, society the Arawak people had, and quickly described the opposite society the Europeans had. Zinn tells about how Columbus promptly kidnapped some natives to interrogate them on the island, and more intently on gold, the reason he came, and the item that the Spanish rulers wanted. The author goes on to describe Spain, and the new found government at the time of Columbus. How Spain worker force was controlled by a few powerful and monopolistic men that have discovered with gold they can by anything much more useful than paying people with land. He tells readers how Columbus was financed by the people, and, offered Columbus ten percent of the findings and a title of admiral of the sea. Zinn describes the actions of Columbus through the Caribbean. How Columbuss report to Madrid was wild hyperbole quoting Columbus with, the harbors are unbelievably good and there are many wide rivers of which the majority contain gold There are many spices and great mines of gold and other metals When Columbus returns the crew he left behind was slain by the Indians. From there Zinns article started turning dark. He describes the murder of 25,000 Arawaks. How the Indians were enslaved and forced to work on plantations. The terror started with fifty thousand and 45 years later there were no Arawaks left on the island. He describes the Spanish view of the islands

with quotes from las casa how they believed that the Indian had crude marriage codes, and would sleep with anything, saying that they have no religion, no culture. He points out the how the Spaniards became more greedy and greedy every year, two of these so called Christians met two Indian boys one day, each carrying a parrot: they took the parrots for fun and beheaded the boys. The Spanish how the men died in the mines, and while the wives suffered in the fields. He points out the how horrible this was, and what Columbus did, yet Columbus is treated like a hero. At this point Howard Zinn switches to why after years of dreadful, destruction filled, damming acts, society overlooks them and pretends like it never happened. Zinn talks about how people tend to hide the horrible facts in life; that people change history based on interest, if the interest is nit in the murder of thousands of people, the historian wont emphasize it. That it is too late to judge Columbus. That history is written by the people who succeed. Zinn tells us that his view point is telling history from the little beaten up man, the world of the victims. The author talks about how he does not want to grieve but simply not to overlook history. Zinns paper changes back to history as he describes Hernando Cortss destruction of the Aztec empire. Informing readers about Cortss march of death across the Aztes countryside killing village after village. Likewise, Zinn talks about Peru and the Spanish Pizarro killing all in his way, for the conquest of gold. The author then jumps into the North American colonies Describing how Jamestown was founded on Indian land and the natives did nothing; when the Indians sheltered some people after a harsh

winter, were killed for not giving back the runaways He illustrates how the English began their tour of destruction against the Indians. Telling us about different fight, different negotiations. He describes the puritans justifying the murder of whole nations and tribes of Indians. Zinn tells how the 10,000,000 Native Americans in America went ended up at a measly 1,000,000 in the future. Howard Zinn continues to go into great detail about the Iroquois nation, the mass atrocities committed there, how a nation the size of Texas was destroyed. Ziff ends with his earlier point, that war is written by the winners but it shouldnt be.