Jalil Sued Badillo’s article focuses on explaining the lack of morality in celebration of the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ voyage to America. The author provides several valuable arguments about the negative influence of European colonization on the formation of the native population’s consciousness by describing the European manipulations of historical heritage in colonized nations. This essay will explore the author’s arguments and define how they relate to modern understandings of the negative effects of colonization.
Firstly, Sued Badillo explains that the European perspective heavily influenced the initial studies on the history of Puerto Rico. The author states that the economic stagnation of Caribbean colonies was associated with the native population’s laziness from the Spanish perspective (Sued Badillo). Furthermore, the author points how the European perceptive prioritizes religious motivations behind colonization, even though it is evident that the old world desperately needed resources and a workforce (Sued Badillo). Moreover, the European perspective justified the colonization purposes by emphasizing the low development of native populations and obscuring the reasons for the aborigines’ disappearance. The nations’ separation from their historical heritage and exploitation of their natural resources provided a foundation for the development of the modern culture of inequality and injustice.
Furthermore, Sued Badillo argues that Columbus’ discovery of America was inevitable. The author explains that all prerequisites conditions were created during the time of Columbus’ voyages, and there were many candidates for Columbus’ title, such as Juan Pérez (Sued Badillo). However, regardless of the explorer’s name, the exploitative essence of the discovery remains the same. I agree with Sued Badillo’s position that Columbus’ significance in global history is exaggerated due to the prevalence of the Eurocentric view. Moreover, the discussion of Columbus’ historical significance often ignores his tyrannical acts toward the Taíno people.
In conclusion, this essay explores how the widespread European perspective influences the formation of global history. In Sued-Badillo’s article, the issue is discussed in the context of explaining the lack of morality in celebrating the quincentennial of Columbus’ voyage to America. Thus, the author argues that it is unethical to celebrate the events that deprived the native population of their historical heritage and provided the foundation for inequality and injustice in modern society.
Reference
Sued Badillo, J. (n.d.) 1493-1993: Reflections upon the ‘Quincentenniall’.