Position Paper

6 Pages 1475 Words

In today’s society, there is a controversial debate on whether the outcome of the contact between the Europeans and the Native Americans was a positive or a negative outcome. Some people will argue that there were many benefits and others will argue that there has been a lot of pain and suffering since the contact. There is a hand full of evidence to support both sides of the situation. Most arguments are very strong, but like most situations, there are always two sides to a story. The history behind this topic is so controversial because there is not one person, still living today, that can speak from first hand experience. Today, many people are now questioning the elementary school perception of Christopher Columbus and his voyages. In the year of 1492, Christopher Columbus, along with a crew of Spaniards, sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, discovering many different lands. Some of the first areas he landed on were the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. The dominant people on these islands were the Taino Indians. The Tainos were very friendly and welcomed the Spanish with open arms. The Spanish traded material that wasn’t worth anything for gold and jewelry. The Spanish used the Tainos to gain their knowledge and then executed them. The effect of the contact between the Native Americans, such as the Taino Indians, and the Spanish was a negative outcome because today, the population of indigenous people is very low, their culture and traditions were stolen and used by others, and people, that are not rightful owners, are using their land.

There are many positive arguments related to this topic. Although, the Spanish did kill a lot of Native Americans, the decline in population had a lot to do with tribal enemies. Evidence has also shown that a large quantity of Native Americans, during that time period, committed suicide. Another argument is that other nations were going to conquer these lands anyway. Today...