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To: liberallarry
The Spanish treatment of the American Indians is legendary for its cruelty -

A ridiculous lie. The Spanish were forbidden (by the Pope and by their King) to enslave the Indians, and basically treated them rather well. Perhaps a modern cultural relativist wouldn't like the Spanish approach, but I do: they taught the Indians Christianity, baptized them - and then intermarried.

The English, by contrast, had an initial period in which they accepted Indians as possibly equal in humanity, and then shifted to a point of view that regarded Christianity as the property of Englishmen, and the Indians as forever outside of that. And they did not intermarry, in contrast to the Spanish.

BTW, when Spain ruled Florida, black slaves used to flee from the (British) Carolinas to St. Augustine, because they were freed when they entered Spanish territory and accepted baptism. This was something for which the Carolinians never forgave the Spanish, and after they failed in their attack on St. Augustine in 1702, the Carolinians returned to attack the poorly defended western lands of Spanish Florida and Georgia. One of the things they were notable for was herding the Christian Indians and the Spanish friars and soliders into the tiny mission churches and then setting fire to the churches.

Please review your history before making bigoted and idiotic statements.

53 posted on 11/28/2002 6:16:01 PM PST by livius
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To: livius
Please review your history before making bigoted and idiotic statements

Your rude rant is not central to my argument but I'll reply anyway.

History books over several centuries have spoken of exceptionally cruel treatment of the Indians by the Spanish. Lately there've been some attempts to revise that. Your interpretation of the Spanish vs. the English treatment of the Indians is open to several interpretations - the Spanish came to rob and steal, not to settle. Hence they didn't bring their women. The English had different priorities. Your view of the relationship between the Spanish and the Indians reminds me of the old South's view of black-white relations. By the way, you are aware that Indians occupy the bottom rungs in most - or all - Latin American societies, mestizos the middle, and pure-blood Spanish (and other Europeans) the top.

54 posted on 11/28/2002 6:37:58 PM PST by liberallarry
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To: livius
"A ridiculous lie. The Spanish were forbidden (by the Pope and by their King) to enslave the Indians, and basically treated them rather well. Perhaps a modern cultural relativist wouldn't like the Spanish approach, but I do: they taught the Indians Christianity, baptized them - and then intermarried."

Man! You really subscribe to the Goebles "Big Lie" Theory, don't you! Keep on smokin' that controlled substance...it is the only thing that makes your quote valid...in your own mind!

73 posted on 11/30/2002 2:43:20 AM PST by Redleg Duke
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