October 12 is a date that is associated with several concepts accepted and rejected by different sectors of society. It is a controversial topic that generates confrontations. The name of this date varies in all regions and, in some countries, has changed in recent years in an attempt to distance themselves from the actions of the colonizers.
Day of the Race, Hispanic Day, Day of the Encounter Between Two Worlds, Day of Indigenous Resistance, Discovery Day of America, Columbus Day, Day of the Reunion of Cultures, Day of Decolonization, are some of the most commonly heard. None of them is totally approved.
People wonder how it is possible to have a discovery in a territory that is already inhabited. But the term indigenous resistance is not fully accepted by most either. Both ideas look at reality separately, although from a perspective considered valid. What is certain is that the visions about this day generate intense discussions about what it means for the continent and about the roles played by England, France, Spain and Portugal.
It is clear that October 12 is not a date to celebrate. Nor is it an occasion to censure the past. It is necessary to know history to try not to repeat it. October 12 is the day Christopher Columbus arrived in America with his ships (or at least the date that has been established). The day a part of history was transformed forever.
The world changed, both for Europeans and for the indigenous people scattered across the land that would later be called America. In 1492 began a massacre of the native populations that would last for hundreds of years. From then on, millions of Aborigines were exterminated or had to adapt to the colonists’ way of life. Shortly thereafter, the slave trade from Africa began, another aberrant episode in the history of mankind.
Despite the evidence of destruction, it is difficult to judge the past by present standards. It is obvious that the whole process of conquest was inhuman, cruel and bloodthirsty, but much of what was experienced in the world during those times was not very civilized, by today’s terms. Meanwhile, in the Americas many of the indigenous peoples also had a culture of violence. Although, of course, this does not justify any of the heinous actions of colonization.
The attempt to banish the dark side of history is to deny a part of human nature. If only the thirst for power, wealth and control did not dominate human beings, but this is not the case. We seem more civilized yet wars, appropriation, theft, destruction and deaths continue.
The resentment towards Spain for the theft of minerals is palpable in some sectors of Latin America, but, after so many years, is it right to continue to have so much hatred? After seeing a great deal of televised insults from former President Hugo Chavez towards Spaniards, I would say no. Hatred is never the answer, because it generates reactions of revenge, confrontation, separation and visceral antipathy.
For my part, I have nothing to forgive the Europeans for. None of them, today, are guilty for the actions of their ancestors, but they do have a responsibility for the present and the future, just like the rest of humanity. I believe that we must focus on the present in order not to repeat similar events where the rights of human beings are violated. Our memory is very poor and we should try to remember the events as they happened, without retouching the massacres.
Living in the present means knowing the past and understanding that there are realities that need our immediate attention, for example, are the indigenous peoples of today being treated with dignity by their fellow countrymen? The answer in most cases is no.
On the other hand, the cultural exchange between Aborigines, Europeans and Africans led to what the continent is today. We are the product of all those actions. The massacre was atrocious, then it left us with a different reality, which is the one we live in these days. They stole while leaving a new language. They were ruthless when they thought they were superior. They exterminated while building a new history.
The continent will never be the same at it was before the arrival of Christopher Columbus, a fact we must accept. The blood of our ancestors runs through our veins, but for the most biologically mixed it could mean that we have slave, conquistador and Aboriginal origins at the same time, which would imply that we do not have a clear side in this war of thoughts, becoming our own enemies.
How can we turn a brutal history into a learning and evolutionary event? This is something we have yet to understand as human beings, not only with the 12th of October, but also with every episode that has cut history in two.
Image credit: United Nations Climate Change