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 Replies: 11 / Views: 1,367 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
588 Posts |
I've been told that when Columbus enslaved some natives at some island he made them bring him gold. Those who did would receive a token, those who wouldn't would loose an arm. Does anyone have any info on that token thank you.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1931 Posts |
my goodness! that sounds terrible. is that really true?
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Valued Member
United States
436 Posts |
Pretty much those who didn't got enslaved or killed (from A People's History of the United States, I forget the quthor). Columbus' invasion of Hispanolia eventually, through enslavement, outright killing, or disease pretty much wiped out the entire native population within just a few years.
As far as the tokens, I have no idea about them.
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Moderator
 Australia
16829 Posts |
I plugged the keywords from your question into Google, and found the following sentiment expressed on numerous websites: Quote:
In Haiti for example, he ordered that anyone under 14, men, women, and children, were required to find a specific amount of gold
every 3 months. If successful, they were required to wear a copper token around their neck. Anyone caught without a copper token, had their hands cuts off, and bled to death. After a while, the Native
Americans began abandoning their villages before the Spanish arrived, and some even killed themself. As for the exact nature of the "token", I'm not sure. Apparently it was dated, or at least datable by some means, because fresh tokens would need to be issued at least every three months. But I couldn't find any examples of these actual tokens or medals being shown. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2520 Posts |
Interesting! And we Americans celebrate Columbus Day by letting the corrupt government and greedy bankers have a day off!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2130 Posts |
Now that is a sad part of history that I never heard about in school. So, why do we celebrate Columbus Day?  |
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Valued Member
United States
436 Posts |
A lot of states don't just for that reason, and whether or not the rest of the country should may be a topic for somewhere else.....although I do have my opinions...
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Moderator
Australia
16829 Posts |
I've searched high and low on the Internet. While I can find thousands of websites that mention this story (most of them seem to have cut-and-pasted the story from each other), I can't find anyone that's actually posted a picture of one. If any of these things have survived, they're not common.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Valued Member
80 Posts |
I agree with Sap. as time goes by they tend to white wash it or make it sound less horrific
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New Member
United States
7 Posts |
Careful what you say if you are from the US. We don't have freedom of speech you know.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
588 Posts |
I actually heard about this in my A.P history class, besides other interesting facts.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
588 Posts |
Columbus wrote: " Gold is most excellent. He who possesses gold may do all he wishes in this world." he seems like a very generous and a kind guy for taking only one arm. Definitely isn't greedy! :)
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Replies: 11 / Views: 1,367 |
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Posted 10/21/2009 9:10 pm
