When Christopher Columbus threw himself on the journey to cross the emptiness of the unknown west with the expectation that he would arrive in the Indies, he had no idea that he would end up finding the new world. When landing in San Salvador he was dazzled by the green landscape, by the fauna and the soft clean air, he was fascinated by ample source of nature around him. As soon as Columbus made contact with the locals he remarked on their appearance and how they walked around naked and exposed, emphasizing on how “simple” they were compared to them.  He gave the natives red caps and string of beads, and various things of little values, which they were thrilled with, while they ran to grab everything anything they could in order to exchange. He showed them a sword, and remarked how they were ignorant towards it since they grasped the sharp edges and cut themselves with it. I believe this introduces one of the main reasons the Spaniards had such ease in the conquest for Latin America, in the sense that they had an advantage over what was considered the unknown for the natives. They had gunpowder, horses, and swords. This, unfortunately, immediately established superiority over the natives. Another thing that called my attention was when Christopher Columbus mentions; right after analyzing the man, the woman and the children, how “they would readily become Christians”. He then says it should be done “by love ‘rather’ than by coercion”, which many know is not how the story ends up unfolding once he returns. I believe that throughout history, religion has been used as a cover up and an excuse for deplorable acts, such as in this case, the exploitation of natural resources, specifically gold and silver in this period of time. Columbus spoke about conversion to the holy faith and following the word of god, and how they would be helping the native population – yet they went around enslaving people and executing unspeakable acts. What Latin America comes to suffer can be considered a genocide during the colonization era, and not only that, but Latin America was exploited for its natural resources to the point in which its wealth, that nourished the prosperity of the colonizers, was the one that generated its poverty.

What do Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, and Muammar Gaddafi have in common? Apart from being responsible, democratically elected leaders, they all had the pleasure of having me live in their countries. I’m Hanna Dandanell, currently a second year student from Brazil hoping to major in International Relations, I’ve lived around the world in 7 different countries and picked up a bit from everywhere I’ve been. Brasil, Venezuela, USA, Libya, Peru, Cuba, and now Canada; I am what most people call “third culture child”. I aspire to major in IR in order to learn about global issues from a variety of perspectives-issues including poverty, war, disease, trade, democracy, diplomacy, economics, and globalization in an effort to integrate this major points and work together for a better world. Having lived most of my life in Latin America, I feel a deep connection and affection towards it, but at the same time, I’m aware of all the social issues, inequality, corruption, poverty and violence that reigns over it. With that in mind, I’m looking forward to this course!