Re: racism and world(-)system - past/present comparison

The ethical-mythical debate between invaders and invaded ones. A 1550's Spanish chronicle.

Paul Ricoeur spoke about the ethical-mythical nucleous alive and practiced inside each culture. An important aspect of the history during the last 500 years of nations colonized by europeans, or neocolonized by last empires, has to do with the the first face-to-face debates in which invaders explained by the first time their dominating project to the natives (or invaded people). Many times this happened after some prior genocides done for educational and convincing purposes among the natives.

Spain style to do so was quite particular. Other imperial nations (Britain, France, Holland, Belgium, Russia, Italy, Turkey, Japan, Portugal, United States, Germany..) seem to have employed different methods. In all of them, a racist-cultural-narcissism seems to be present, IMO.

Toward 1550, spanish conquerors style to expand their territories was based on a solemn ritual called the "Requirement" (Requerimiento) ordered by the crown. The main army captain, armed soldiers inside their armatures, horses, trained dogs, a priest with a bible in one hand and a cross in the other, a translator of indian languages, an scriban, drums, trumpets, flags, steel swords, lances, and gun-fires provided the spanish scenery, where the representatives of the indian tribe were invited to a friendly "dialogue". At some moment, the spanish read the "requirement" to the indians. It was a curious piece of law, religion, logics, ethics, power genealogy, and a working paper designed to justify and to convince. A kind of manifest destin, a kind of theory of domination is behind its ethical-mythical nucleous. In summary this was its contents:

1) Our christian religion is the true one. There is only one god for all, the owner of earth and heavens. You must recognize that god as the true and only one.

2) God, in a display of wisdom and love, named the pope as his representative on earth. You must accept it.

3) The pope, in a display of wisdom and love, has declared that the king of Castilla (Spain) is the new landlord of this tribe and territory. You must accept it.

4) We, the conquerors, are the representatives of the king, so you must accept us as your new authority, so this land is ours from now on, and you must obey and serve us.

5) If you accept it, we will treat you as our beloved sons, will teach you the true religion, the true civilization, the true language, and the best road for your future.

6) If you do not accept it or resist, it will be useless, then you must be sinners guided by the demon, so we will make war against you, kill you, enslave your women and children, erase your descendance, and spray salt over your lands so they do not produce any more fruits, because god, the pope, and the king must be obeyed.

The chronicle, written by Martín Fernández de Enciso, tells that the two indian chiefs said they would need three days to inform and discuss it within their people. At the third day they came back and this was their replay:

1) As far as there is only one god of earth and heavens, owner of everything. That is O.K.

2) But as far as the pope being the landlord of the universe, instead of god, and that the pope gave this land as a present to your king:

a) The pope must have been drunken when he did it, because only a drunk-man may donate to others what it does not belong to him.

b) The king must be some crazy-man, because he is asking what it belongs to others.

3) If you want our land, come for it, and we will break your heads with big sticks.

The result may be easily guessed, the only survivor of those Sinu river valley indians, was probably this remarkable chronicle.

My intuition, which may be wrong, tells me that this episode is quite similar to recent events like the US-Israel-Palestina Oslo-peace process, like the US-Plan Colombia proposed for peace, like the Rambouillet talks about Serbia-Kosovo, like the US-Australia-Timor process, and other ones.

But still more interesting, you may get a modern imperial Requirement if you change in it the word god to "market", the word pope to "IMF+WB+WTO", the word religion for "neoliberalism", the word king for "TNCs", the word conqueror for "US-Army+Nato", and if instead of salt you put any of the words "bombs, missils, uranium-depleted, chemicals, fungicides, napalm, commercial sanctions, etc." according to the case.

In summary, it looks like a habermassian proposal of rational-civilized dialogue whose only defect is that it does not recognize the existence, the difference and the dignity of the Other. No wonder that Habermass wrote articles approving the bombing of civilians in Serbia.

Understanding and replying these styles of power and debate, as these Sinu indians did, makes us smile and gives us a feeling of optimism and self-confidence in future here in Latino America. So why not also among so many decent people in the rest of the world?

OK, that is it. Regards, Emilio

REFERENCES

Friedemann, Nina de; Friede, Juan; Fajardo, Darío. "Indigenismo y Aniquilamiento de Indígenas en Colombia", Ediciones CIEC, 2d.Ed.,1981, p. 108

Fernández de Enciso, Martín, "Summa Geográfica", Biblioteca del Banco Popular, Bogotá, 1974, p. 171-272