The Rise and Fall of the American Empire: A Re-Interpretation of History, Economics and Philosophy: 1492-2006

By Rocky M. Mirza

This objective and rigorous re-visiting of the history of the US as the world's super imperiaist and "mock" democracy comes at an opportune time. the book explains with logical integrity why the world is finally on the right path when it questions the true motives of Americans for invading Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Grenada, Cuba, Nicaragua, Panama, the Phiippines, Mexico, Canada and numerous other countries during its short history as a world power. Thos emotives, far from being its professed motives of spreading democracy and republican values, are those of military industrial complex determined to dominate the world and exploit its resources for the benefit of a small minority of Americans who owns the wealth of the US and exerts economic, military and political power in the US.

The book begins with the documentation of the exploitation of First Nations, Black Americans and poor White Americans by a small power elite, founded by the landed gentry of Virginia and the merchant class of Massachusetts, Philadelphia and New York. It explains the root cause of racism in the US and the deeply ingrained desire for war mongering in the American psyche. It explains why the positino of commander-in-chief has greater importance to American voters than the position of president and why the primary qualifications for the job of president is successful war mongering. The author takes its readers through the complicit aid of England and France in enabling the US to dominate the continent and how failure of European cooperation and two disatrous World Wars in the twentieth century enabled the US to dominate the world. The author also explains how and why the US media supports the domestic and world wide propaganda which conditions people, especially Americans, to believe the lies of American governments and reject all objective criticisms of US war mongering, commission war crimes around the world, overthrowing of democratically elected governments, installation of ruthless dictators, the spreading of global terrorism and the arming and military training of terrorists. The widely held naivety that the US believes in freedom of the press, free speech and peaceful expression of dissent, makes it difficult, if not impossible to convince people of the ruthless methods used by the US and its military might to crush worldwide democratic dissent.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Apr 2, 2007
• ISBN: 9781425135515

Rocky M. Mirza

Rocky Mirza was born in the English colony of Guyana. As the third oldest of 12 children he was forced to end his formal education at 14 to supplement the family income with a full time job at the post office. Rocky emigrated to London at the age of 18. The transition from rural life in a Third World country to life in one of the world's major metropolis' was surprisingly easy. Rocky worked briefly in the British civil service as an executive officer after completing his secondary education through a combination of distance education and evening classes. Three years employment in London qualified Rocky for a municipal grant which financed his undergraduate honours degree from London University. Rocky returned to Guyana to work as an economist with the Ministry of Economic Development and teach part-time at the University of Guyana. He was disillusioned with Guyana's slow pace of economic development and emigrated to Canada. A teaching assistantship financed his Ph.D. in economics at Simon Fraser University. He joined the economics faculty of Thompson Rivers University in 1980. He has co-authored both a Principles of Microeconomics and a Principles of Macroeconomics textbook.

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© Copyright 2007 Rocky M. Mirza.

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recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

ISBN: 978-1-4251-1383-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4251-3551-5 (e)

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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1

SIXTEENTH CENTURY CONQUESTS AND SETTLEMENTS

PRE-COLUMBUS DISCOVERIES

THE INCAS OF PERU

THE AZTECS, MAYAS AND LESSER NATIONS

THE SOLUTREANS

THE VIKINGS OR NORSEMEN

THE PORTUGUESE EXPLORERS

THE SPANISH EXPLORERS

THE CONQUESTS OF COLUMBUS, DA GAMA, VESPUCCI AND CABOT

MUSLIMS AND CATHOLICS

COLUMBUS NEGOTIATES WITH THE MONARCHS OF EUROPE

THE FIRST VOYAGE OF COLUMBUS

THE ARAWAKS

COLUMBUS SEARCHES FOR THE MAINLAND

DA GAMA FINDS THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE ROUTE TO THE INDIES

VESPUCCI REACHES THE AMERICAN MAINLAND AND CLAIMS BRAZIL FOR PORTUGAL

JOHN CABOT AND THE ENGLISH CLAIM TO NEWFOUNDLAND

SPANISH CONQUESTS AND SETTLEMENTS: 1492-1600

THE CARIBBEAN CONQUESTS

THE PANAMA SETTLEMENT AND THE OVERLAND CROSSING TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN

FLORIDA AND THE YUCATAN PENINSULA

THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO

HERNANDO CORTEZ

CONQUEST OF THE PHILIPPINES

FERDINAND MAGELLAN

ESTEVAN GOMEZ AND THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE

CONQUEST OF THE INCAS, NEW SPAIN AND NORTHERN SETTLEMENTS

SPANISH EXPEDITIONS AND CONQUESTS IN THE NORTH

CONQUEST OF PERU BY FRANCISCO PIZARRO

SOUTHERN EXPLORATIONS AND CONQUESTS

THE CARIBBEAN BASE

THE CHALLENGE TO SPANISH DOMINATION: 1492-1600

THE CONTENDERS: PORTUGAL, FRANCE AND ENGLAND

PORTUGAL CHALLENGES SPAIN FOR HEGEMONY

CONQUEST OF BRAZIL

THE PORTUGUESE IN NORTH AMERICA

A VERY COWARDLY ACT BY VASCO DA GAMA

PORTUGAL BEGINS THE SLAVE TRADE

THE FRENCH CHALLENGE TO SPAIN AND PORTUGAL

FRANCE CHALLENGES PORTUGAL FOR BRAZIL

FRENCH CORSAIRS CHALLENGE SPAIN

GIOVANNI DA VERRAZANO AND THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE

JACQUES CARTIER EXPLORES CANADA IN SEARCH OF THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE

FRENCH ATTEMPTS AT SETTLEMENTS IN THE NEW WORLD

THE ENGLISH CHALLENGE TO SPAIN AND PORTUGAL

THE ENGLISH ORGANIZE A BOAT CRUISE TO NEWFOUNDLAND

THE ENGLISH EXPLORES FOR A NORTHEAST PASSAGE

THE ENGLISH CHALLENGE THE PORTUGUESE IN WEST AFRICA AND BRAZIL

THE ENGLISH PRIVATEERS ATTACK SPANISH GALLEONS AND SELL AFRICAN SLAVES

ENGLAND AS PROTESTANT LEADER

SIR FRANCIS DRAKE

ENGLAND RETURN TO NEWFOUNDLAND AND THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE

THE VOYAGES OF MARTIN FROBISHER AND FOOL’S GOLD

SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT AND RICHARD HAKLUYT

SIR WALTER RALEIGH PLANTS THE FIRST VIRGINIA COLONY

JOHN DAVIS SEARCHES FOR THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE

ENGLAND DEFEATS THE SPANISH ARMADA:

CHAPTER 2

THE PLANTING OF COLONIES BY SPAIN, PORTUGAL, FRANCE,

ENGLAND, HOLLAND, AND SWEDEN IN THE SEVENTEENTH

CENTURY.

SPAIN AND PORTUGAL: 1600-1650

THE SPANISH CARIBBEAN: 1600-1650

MEXICO AND NEW SPAIN: 1600-1650

BRAZIL: 1600-1650

THE PLANTING OF NEW FRANCE AND FRENCH COLONIES IN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN: 1600-1650

SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN FOUNDS QUEBEC CITY

EARLY FRENCH CONQUESTS IN THE CARIBBEAN

THE PLANTING OF NEW ENGLAND AND ENGLISH COLONIES IN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN: 1600-1650

EARLY ENGLISH CONQUESTS IN THE CARIBBEAN

SIR WALTER RALEIGH AND HIS SEARCH FOR AN ENGLISH EL DORADO

THE ENGLISH SETTLE THE MAINLAND

THE FOUNDING OF JAMESTOWN, VIRGINIA

PILGRIMS, PURITANS AND THE PLYMOUTH COLONY

THE MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY

MARYLAND: FOUNDED BY CATHOLICS

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND

CONNECTICUT: WESTWARD HO!

NEW HAVEN

THE PLANTING OF DUTCH COLONIES IN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN: 1600-1650

DUTCH ATTACKS ON PORTUGAL

DUTCH CONQUESTS AND SETTLEMENTS IN BRAZIL AND THE CARIBBEAN

THE DUTCH SETTLED NEW YORK

FIRST NATIONS WARS

SWEDEN PLANTS A COLONY IN AMERICA NEXT TO THE DUTCH SETTLEMENT

THE SECOND HALF OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY: SPAIN AND PORTUGAL DECLINE: FRANCE, ENGLAND AND HOLLAND PROSPER

ENGLISH COLONIES IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

ENGLAND CAPTURES JAMAICA FROM SPAIN

SIR HENRY MORGAN: BUCCANEER AND LOYAL SUBJECT TO ENGLAND

OTHER ENGLISH COLONIES IN THE CARIBBEAN

ENGLISH COLONIES ON THE MAINLAND

THE FOUNDING OF THE QUAKER COLONY OF PENNSYLVANIA

THE ENGLISH CAPTURE NEW YORK

THE FOUNDING OF NEW JERSEY

MORE FIRST NATIONS WARS

THE ENGLISH IN HUDSON BAY

DUTCH COLONIES IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

FRENCH COLONIES IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

FRENCH COLONIES ON THE MAINLAND: ACADIA AND NEW FRANCE

THE CONQUEST OF THE LOUISIANA TERRITORY

THE FRENCH IN HUDSON BAY

FURTHER MAINLAND CONQUESTS BY THE FRENCH

ENGLAND TRIUMPHS OVER FRANCE AND LOUIS XIV

CHAPTER 3

FLEETING ENGLISH HEGEMONY, HUMAN BOOTY

AND THE FOUNDATION OF

EUROPEAN RACISM IN AMERICA

THE WAR OF THE SPANISH SUCCESSION AND CONTROL OF THE SLAVE TRADE

RACIAL SUPERIORITY

EUROPEANS LAY THE FOUNDATIONS OF A COLOUR HEGEMONY BY IDENTIFYING RED AS INFERIOR TO WHITE

THE SPANIARDS

SUBJUGATION AND ENSLAVEMENT OF THE ARAWAKS

SUBJUGATION AND ENSLAVEMENT OF THE CARIBS

DECIMATION OF THE ARAWAKS AND CARIBS

MAINLAND CONQUESTS, SUBJUGATION AND BIOLOGICAL WARFARE

BLACK REPLACES RED AS THE PREFERRED COLOUR FOR WHITE SUBJUGATION

THE PORTUGUESE

PORTUGAL INTRODUCES THE SLAVE TRADE TO THE NEW WORLD

THE FRENCH

THE FRENCH JOIN THE SLAVE TRADE

THE ENGLISH

THE ENGLISH DOMINATE THE SLAVE TRADE

THE ENGLISH PLANT A PERMANENT RACIST SOCIETY IN THE UNITED STATES

ENGLAND REPLACE THE FIRST NATIONS WITH BLACK SLAVES IN THE UNITED STATES

THE MAINLAND/CARIBBEAN CONNECTION

THE DUTCH AND THE DANES

ANGLO-FRENCH WARS AND THE STRUGGLE FOR IMPERIAL HEGEMONY

THE CARIBBEAN COLONIES: 1700-1750

THE WAR OF THE SPANISH SUCCESSION: 1702-1714

THE IMPORTANCE OF SUGAR

THE WAR OF JENKINS’ EAR: 1739-1748

THE NORTH AMERICAN COLONIES: 1700-1750

QUEEN ANNE’S WAR

KING GEORGE’S WAR

NEW SPAIN AND BRAZIL: 1700-1750

THE PORTUGUESE IN BRAZIL

THE FOUNDATIONS OF AMERICAN HEGEMONY: 1750-1777

THE SEVEN YEARS WAR AND FLEETING ENGLISH HEGEMONY

THE AMERICAN PLAN TO CONQUER A CONTINENT EN-ROUTE TO CONQUERINGTHEWORLD

THE AMERICAN COLONIES ATTEMPT BUT FAIL TO FORM A UNION IN 1754

DEPORTATION OF THE ACADIANS

ENGLAND CAPTURES LOUISBOURG, QUEBEC AND MONTREAL

THE SEVEN YEARS WAR IN THE CARIBBEAN

ENGLISH COLONIAL POLICIES BEFORE 1776

SEGREGATION OF BLACKS, FIRST NATIONS AND POOR WHITES

FINANCING THE COST TO ENGLAND OF THE NORTH AMERICAN EMPIRE

ALLEGED GRIEVANCES OF THE NORTH AMERICAN COLONIES

BETRAYAL OF THE FIRST NATIONS AGAIN

ADMINISTERING COLONIAL GAINS FROM THE SEVEN YEARS WAR

THE MISUNDERSTOOD SUGAR ACT

THE STAMP ACT AND OTHER REVENUE MEASURES

THE TOWNSHEND ACTS

AMERICAN STATESMEN BEHAVE LIKE HOOLIGANS

THE DUMPING OF ENGLISH TEA IN BOSTON HARBOUR

ARMED CONFLICT AT LEXINGTON IN 1775

THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL

ENGLAND’S NATIONAL DEBT PROBLEM: SHORT-TERM GAINS FOR LONG-TERM PAIN

THE ENGLISH CHOOSE INDIA AND THE EAST OVER AMERICA

CHAPTER 4

THE MAKING OF A ROGUE EMPIRE: EARLYBEGINNINGS

THE UNILATERAL DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

THE AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE: 1775-1783

INVASION OF CANADA

ENGLAND’S INDECISION AND LOYALIST, BLACK AND FIRST NATION SUPPORT: 1775-1778

FRANCE CREATES A SUPER POWER AND LIVES TO REGRET IT

SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY

ENGLAND HAS TO DEFEND A WORLDWIDE EMPIRE

THE ANGLO/BOURBON WAR: 1778-1783

THE CARIBBEAN

THE AMERICAN MAINLAND

PEACE NEGOTIATIONS AND THE SECOND TREATY OF PARIS

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

VIRGINIA AND THE SOUTHERN COLONIES OF NORTH CAROLINA, SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA

LOWER CLASS REBELLIONS AGAINST THE ARISTOCRACY

FIRST NATIONS LOSE MORE LAND

THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES OF MASSACHUSETTS, RHODE ISLAND, CONNECTICUT AND NEW HAMPSHIRE

OLIGARCHIC AND EXPANSIONIST

THE MIDDLE COLONIES OF NEW YORK, NEW JERSEY, PENNSYLVANIA, MARYLAND AND DELAWARE

CONFLICTING DEMANDS ON THE MOTHER COUNTRY ARISING OUT OF THE FIRST TREATY OF PARIS

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE COLONIAL ARISTOCRACY

THE MOB SEIZE THE INITIATIVE

THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS: SEPTEMBER 1774

THE SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS: MAY 1775

CREATING A UNION

INDEPENDENT STATE CONSTITUTIONS

WHAT TO DO WITH NEW SETTLEMENTS?

THE ISSUE OF SLAVERY

SHAYS’ REBELLION

THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION: MAY 1787

THE SHERMAN COMPROMISE

SLAVES ARE BOTH 100 PERCENT NON-HUMAN AND 60 PERCENT HUMAN

THE WASHINGTON SYNDROME

THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS AND THE BILL OF RIGHTS

POLITICAL PARTIES: FEDERALISTS AND REPUBLICANS

THE ADMINISTRATIONS OF GEORGE WASHINGTON: 1789-1797

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

THE VISIT OF EDMUND CHARLES GENET IN 1793

RELATIONS WITH ENGLAND

RELATIONS WITH SPAIN

RELATIONS WITH THE FIRST NATIONS

THE ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN ADAMS: 1797-1801

THE CABINET OF JOHN ADAMS

RELATIONS WITH FRANCE AND THE XYZ AFFAIR

THE NATURALIZATION, ALIEN AND SEDITION ACTS OF 1798

THE END OF THE FEDERALIST PARTY

CHAPTER 5

AMERICAN IMPERIALISM BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR: 1800-1850

THE JEFFERSON ADMINISTRATIONS: 1801-1809

THE NEW CAPITAL CITY

JEFFERSON’S FIRST CABINET

POLICY CHANGES

MARBURY V. MADISON

CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES

FOREIGN POLICY

THE AMERICAN EXPANSION INTO LOUISIANA

THE AMERICAN ATTACK ON NORTH AFRICA

THE NAPOLEONIC WARS

THE ADMINISTRATIONS OF JAMES MADISON: 1809-1817

AMERICAN WARMONGERING

FIRST NATIONS GRIEVANCES

TECUMSEH TAKES A STAND

THE SECOND INVASION OF CANADA

THE RISE OF ANDREW JACKSON

THE TREATY OF GHENT, 1814

POSTWAR POLICIES

THE ADMINISTRATIONS OF JAMES MONROE: 1817-1825

THE RUSH-BAGOT AGREEMENT OF 1817

THE NEW REGIONALISM

THE CONQUEST OF FLORIDA

MCCULLOCH V. MARYLAND

THE 1819 FINANCIAL PANIC AND ECONOMIC DEPRESSION

THE MONROE DOCTRINE

AMERICA GETS A SOCIAL CONSCIENCE AND A NEW RELIGION

CONSTRUCTION OF THE ERIE CANAL

NO END TO SLAVERY

THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE

THE LASTING IMPACT OF SLAVERY

SLAVERY AND POOR WHITES

SLAVERY AND FEAR

ENGLAND ATTACKS THE SLAVE TRADE

THE COLONY OF SIERRA LEONE

ABOLITION OF THE SLAVE TRADE

ABOLITION OF SLAVERY IN THE BRITISH EMPIRE

EMANCIPATION ACT OF 1833

THE MEXICAN REVOLUTION

HAPSBURGS, BOURBONS AND NAPOLEON

PENINSULARES, CREOLES, FIRST NATIONS AND MIXED RACE

REVOLUTIONARY FEVER

OTHER SPANISH-AMERICAN COLONIES

BRAZIL’S ROAD TO INDEPENDENCE: 1750-1830

ECONOMIC PROSPERITY

ENGLISH COLONIALISM IN BRAZIL

THE CARIBBEAN AFTER THE AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE

AMERICA’S WORST NIGHTMARE

THE FIFTH AND FINAL EIGHTEENTH CENTURY ANGLO/FRENCH WAR IN THE CARIBBEAN, 1793-1815: IMPLICATIONS FOR SLAVERY

TOUSSAINT L’OUVERTURE

L’OUVERTURE AND NAPOLEON

L’OUVERTURE AND THE LOUISIANA SALE

THE END OF THE VIRGINIA DYNASTY AND THE RISE OF THE NEW POLITICAL ELITE IN THE US

THE 1824 ELECTION CAMPAIGN

THE ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS: 1825-1829

THE UNEQUAL DEMOCRACY OF GENERAL ANDREW JACKSON: 1829-1837

THE 1828 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN AND ELECTIONS

REMOVAL OF FIRST NATIONS

THE 1832 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN

FALL OF THE SECOND BANK OF THE US

THE US EXPANSION INTO MEXICO

THE ADMINISTRATIONS OF MARTIN VAN BUREN AND JOHN TYLER: 1837-1845

THE 1844 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN

THE ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES POLK AND THE INVASION OF MEXICO: 1845-

1849

IMPLICATIONS FOR CANADA

CHAPTER 6

FREEDOM CATCHES UP WITH RHETORIC: 1851-1875

A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE RELIGIOUS, SOCIAL, POLITICAL, CONSTITUTIONAL AND ECONOMIC CONFLICTS IN THE DEBATE OF SLAVERY BEFORE 1850

SLAVE PETITIONS

THE ABOLITIONIST MOVEMENT

THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

PRIGG V. PENNSYLVANIA, 1842

AMISTAD

THE INVASION OF MEXICO

THE ROAD TO CIVIL WAR

THE 1850 COMPROMISE

ISOLATION OF THE SOUTH

INDUSTRIALIZATION AND WESTWARD EXPANSION

FREDERICK DOUGLASS AND BEECHER STOWE

THE 1852 PRESIDENTIAL RACE

THE NORTH-SOUTH DIVIDE

BLEEDING KANSAS AND JOHN BROWN

THE BIRTH OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AND THE 1856 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

DRED SCOTT V. SANDFORD, 1857

STEPHEN DOUGLAS VS. ABRAHAM LINCOLN

JOHN BROWN’S RAID ON HARPERS FERRY, 1859

CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION: 1860-1875

HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF

THE CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA

FORT SUMTER

AMERICAN PRIVATEERS AGAIN

GEORGIA’S ABU-GHRAIB AND GUANTANAMO BAY

WEALTHY DRAFT DODGERS

AFRICAN AMERICAN VOLUNTEERS

CIVIL WAR, NOT ABE LINCOLN, EMANCIPATED AMERICAN SLAVES

CIVIL WAR BATTLES LEADING TO EMANCIPATION

THE BATTLE OF BULL RUN, 1861

GENERAL ULYSSES GRANT

ROBERT E. LEE

LIMITED EMANCIPATION

GENERAL SIDEBURNS BURNSIDE

THE GRANT/SHERMAN COMBINATION

THE ASSASSINATION OF A PRESIDENT

THE THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT TO ABOLISH SLAVERY, 1865

RECONSTRUCTION: 1865-1875

PURCHASE OF ALASKA

THE ADMINISTRATIONS OF ULYSSES GRANT

THE KU KLUX KLAN

THE 1875 CIVIL RIGHTS ACT

CANADA-US RELATIONS: 1851-1875

DAVID RICARDO AND THE END OF MERCANTILISM

THE RECIPROCITY TREATY OF 1854

CANADA-AMERICAN MIGRATION

THE ENGLISH COLONY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

ENGLAND’S ATLANTIC COLONIES

MEXICO-US RELATIONS: 1851-1875

CARIBBEAN-US RELATIONS: 1851-1875

CHAPTER 7

THE FOUNDATIONS OF ECONOMIC HEGEMONY

WITHOUT CIVIL RIGHTS: 1876-1920

THE SPACE BETWEEN EAST AND WEST

RAILROADS, PLAINS INDIANS, BUFFALO HUNTERS AND THE US ARMY

CATTLE RANCHERS AND FARMERS

LITTLE BIG HORN AND WOUNDED KNEE

THE AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

ENTREPRENEURS OR ROBBER BARONS

THE GROWTH OF AMERICAN CITIES

THE NEW IMMIGRANTS

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL STAGNATION OF THE SOUTHERN STATES

EMANCIPATION WITHOUT FREEDOM

SEPARATE AND INFERIOR

THE GREAT MIGRATION

W. E. B. DUBOIS AND BOOKER T. WASHINGTON

BACK TO AFRICA AND INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY

RENEWED AMERICAN IMPERIALISM

WILLIAM HEARST AND JOSEPH PULITZER

THE US CARIBBEAN EMPIRE

THE ROOSEVELT COROLLARY

US INTERVENTION IN MEXICO

THE US PACIFIC EMPIRE

NEXT STOP, HAWAII

COLUMBIA BITES THE DUST

CHINA FORCED TO TRADE WITH US

AMERICA IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

ROOSEVELT’S SQUARE DEAL

THE MUCKRAKERS

INCOME TAX AND SENATE REFORM

PROGRESSIVISM

THE ACADEMIC, WOODROW WILSON

SUPPLYING THE NATIONS AT WAR

COLLAPSE OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE AND THE BALFOUR DECLARATION

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

J. EDGAR HOOVER

THE WOMEN’S VOTE

THE DOMINANT ECONOMIC AND MILITARY EMPIRES IN 1920

THE BRITISH EMPIRE BEFORE 1920

THE GERMAN THREAT

RUSSIA, JAPAN AND CHINA

THE FIRST WORLD WAR AND THE DECLINE OF EUROPE

CHAPTER 8

THE RISE OF THE AMERICAN JUGGERNAUT: 1921-1950

THE ROARING TWENTIES

THE NEW AMERICAN INDUSTRIES OF THE 1920’S

THE AUTO INDUSTRY AND THE MASS PRODUCTION REVOLUTION

MASS PRODUCTION AND THE BIRTH OF CONSUMERISM

EXPLICIT RESTRICTIONS ON NON-WHITE IMMIGRATION

THE IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION LEAGUE

AFRICAN AMERICAN MIGRATION

THE ADMINISTRATIONS OF CALVIN COOLIDGE: 1923-1929

THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT SURFACES AGAIN

THE ADMINISTRATION OF HERBERT HOOVER AND THE STOCK MARKET CRASH: 1929-1933

THE GREAT DEPRESSION OF THE 1930’S

ROOSEVELT’S NEW DEAL

THE DUST BOWL

HELP FOR HOME OWNERS

FDR GETS A SECOND TERM

AFRICAN AMERICANS

THE CONTINUED COMPETITION FOR EMPIRE AND THE SECOND WORLD WAR

THE SECOND WORLD WAR IN EUROPE

BRITAIN AND FRANCE DECLARED WAR ON GERMANY

THE WAR IN NORTH AFRICA, RUSSIA AND JAPAN

THE ALLIED OFFENSIVE ON GERMANY

ROOSEVELT’S THIRD TERM

THE SECOND WORLD WAR IN THE PACIFIC

AMERICA’S WAR ECONOMY

THE INTERNMENT OF JAPANESE AMERICANS

CONTAINING THE SOVIET UNION TO GUARANTEE US DOMINANCE

ROOSEVELT’S FOURTH TERM AND THE FOUNDING OF THE UNITED NATIONS

THE ATOMIC ENERGY PROGRAM

THE NATIONAL SECURITY ACT AND THE CIA

THE UNITED NATIONS

CONTROLLING THE OIL SUPPLIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST

THE TRUMAN DOCTRINE AND THE COLD WAR

CREATING THE STATE OF ISRAEL IN PALESTINE

THE MARSHALL PLAN

THE NATO ALLIANCE

THE MCCARTHY WITCH HUNTS AGAINST COMMUNISM IN THE US

THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

THE KOREAN WAR

CHAPTER 9

THE ROLE OF THE US IN THE FALL

OF COMMUNISM: 1951-2000

THE BIRTH AND RISE OF COMMUNISM

ENGELS, MARX AND THE 1848 REVOLUTIONS

RUSSIA, VLADIMIR LENIN AND LEON TROTSKY

STALIN’S RUSSIAN EXPERIMENT

THE FIRST WORLD WAR AND THE BEGINNING OF CENTRAL PLANNING

THE FIRST FIVE YEAR PLANS OF 1928 AND 1933

THE POST WAR RECOVERY

EASTERN EUROPE, KOREA, VIETNAM, CAMBODIA AND LAOS

CHINA AND MAO ZEDONG

THE POST STALIN PERIOD: 1953-2000

COMMUNISM IN THE THIRD WORLD

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

THE CARIBBEAN

THE EXAMPLE OF GUYANA

THE EXAMPLE OF CUBA

THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

THE US INVASION OF GRENADA

US INTERVENTION IN JAMAICA

LATIN AMERICA

THE CHILEAN SEPTEMBER 11

THE BRAZILIAN EXPERIENCE WITH OPERATION CONDOR

FINANCING THE CONTRAS IN NICARAGUA: IRANGATE

COMMUNISM IN ASIA

COMMUNISM IN THE MIDDLE EAST

COMMUNISM IN AFRICA

CHAPTER 10

AMERICA’S AFGHANISTAN:

VIETNAM TO IRAQ: 1951-2006

MILITARY DEFEAT OF THE US IN VIETNAM

MY LAI: THE VIETNAM ABU GHRAIB

VIETNAMIZATION

THE US ECONOMY AFTER 1950

THE IRAQ WAR, WORLD ALIENATION AND DEFICITS

BACKGROUND TO THE ISLAMIC JIHAD

THE SAUDI LEADERSHIP DISAPPOINTS BIN LADEN

LEO STRAUSS, CARL ROVE, PAUL WOLFOWITZ, DICK CHENEY, DONALD RUMSFELD, RICHARD PIPES, WILLIAM CASEY, RICHARD PERLE, SCOOTER LIBBY, WILLIAM KRISTOL AND THE US NEO-CON AGENDA

THE PROJECT FOR THE NEW AMERICAN CENTURY, PNAC

ELECTORAL FRAUD IN THE US

THE 9/11 GIFT

THE INVASION OF IRAQ

THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION

THE NEO-CONS HAVE A DILEMMA

THE BUSH DOCTRINE

BUSH PREMATURE DECLARATION OF VICTORY IN IRAQ

THE ROOT CAUSE OF THE US INVASION OF AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ

ZARQAWI BRINGS DOWN THE AMERICAN EMPIRE

PAYING FOR THE IRAQ WAR BY MORTGAGING THE US TO FOREIGN LENDERS

HOW DO NATIONS BORROW FROM OTHER NATIONS?

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SAVINGS AND BORROWING

SAVINGS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

CHAPTER 11

ASIA’S CENTURY AND THE FALL OF

THE AMERICAN EMPIRE

THE RISE OF ASIA

ASIA’S POPULATION NIGHTMARE

SOME RECENT POPULATION COMPARISONS

ASIA’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

ASIA’S SHARE OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND FOREIGN INVESTMENT

JAPAN’S ECONOMIC MIRACLE

THE ASIAN TIGERS

COMPARING THE WEALTH AND INCOMES OF NATIONS GLOBALLY

SOUTHEAST ASIA AND ASEAN

THE RISE OF CHINA AND INDIA

THE RISE OF INDIA AND THE ROLE OF THE INTERNET

THE ISLAMIC CHALLENGE TO US HEGEMONY

ISLAMIC RESURGENCE IN THE CENTRAL ASIAN REPUBLICS

THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE ISLAMIC CHALLENGE TO US HEGEMONY

TOWARDS A UNITED STATES OF EUROPE

LATIN AMERICA

BRAZIL

AUSTRALIA, CANADA, MEXICO, TURKEY AND RUSSIA

RUSSIA

EMERGING ECONOMIES

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES

INTRODUCTION

This book was inspired by the re-election of George W. Bush in 2004. Many Americans, and many more non-Americans, were convinced that the US invasion of Iraq was not only a military disaster but a crime against humanity. This conviction was clearly and loudly voiced in the 2004 presidential campaign by the Democratic Party and by American artists including Hollywood stars. That the majority of the American people saw fit to return George W. Bush to the White House despite the overwhelming evidence that the invasion of Iraq was a disastrous mistake and that claims of weapons of mass destruction and Iraqi links to al-Qaeda were deliberate lies and deceitful propaganda perpetrated on the American people by America’s neo-conservatives and the Republican Party, convinced me that it signaled the beginning of the end of the American Empire and American hegemony. Furthermore, that a majority of Americans and a significant minority of non-Americans worldwide, would genuinely believe that the militarily most powerful nation in history was so threatened by a miniscule group of primitively armed individuals that it was acceptable to give the US carte blanche approval to invade sovereign nations and kill, maim and starve, thousands of civilians, including women and children, and assist the US with military and financial support in such crimes, was for me, a testimony to the inhumanity of the human race.

The book has several aims. First and foremost, it provides one more criticism of America’s misguided policies in the Middle East. No one questions the strategic importance of the Middle East to the US. What is questioned is the failure of every US administration to formulate a sensible long term strategy for stabilizing the Middle East. Such a policy requires fair treatment of the Palestinians and recognition of the democratic and religious aspirations of Arabs and Muslims in the region. The US must recognize that the root cause of Palestinian and Arab hostility to Israel is not a hatred of Jews but Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands. While all US administrations have failed the people of the Middle East the invasion of Iraq by the George W. Bush administration is the worst example of failed American leadership.

The second objective of this book is to show that the popular view of the US as the birthplace of Republican values of freedom, democracy, equality of citizenship rights, equality before the law, freedom of speech and freedom of the press, is more hypocritical propaganda than reality. Likewise is the notion that the US is, and has always been, a peace loving nation respectful of the sovereignty of less powerful nations or that US military interventions were inspired by democratic ideals or the desire for justice. On the contrary, we will show that the US has always been a dedicated warmonger, invading many countries including, Canada, Mexico, Caribbean nations, South and Central American nations and nations in the Pacific including the Philippines, Hawaii, Japan and China. Likewise, First Nations and African Americans were denied equality of citizenship rights as were other non-whites, Irish, Southern and Eastern Europeans, to varying degrees. The US is, and has always been, an Imperial Power, not a Republic, with limited democratic rights and freedoms for the vast majority of its own citizens.

The most recent excuse for American warmongering is fighting terrorism. The US media defines terrorists as those who target civilians. By this definition the US is the most dedicated terrorist nation in the world. US imposed sanctions against Iraq combined with aerial bombing from 1990-2003 killed over one million civilians, mostly children. Likewise the US bombing and use of chemicals in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Afghanistan killed and maimed at least a hundred times as many civilians, including women and children, as all of the civilians killed by US defined terrorists around the globe. How can a nation use atomic bombs in a populated area as the US did in Nagasaki and Hiroshima and claim not to be targeting civilians? There is no question that the US has killed far more innocent civilians than terrorists. The deliberate slaughter of civilians by the US is called collateral damage. Angry and violent response by the families of the civilian victims slaughtered by the US is called terrorism.

The US spends the most, compared to any other country, on defense, has more nuclear weapons than the rest of the world combined, is the only country to have ever used nuclear weapons and is the only democracy where the position of Commander-in-Chief ranks above the position of president. The single most important qualification to be the president of the US is military prowess in battle. Of course historians will disagree with this observation especially since there are easy exceptions to point to, the Kerry/Bush contest of 2004 being one of the exceptions.

In providing this alternative interpretation of American history, being a non- historian is an advantage. As an academic economist who has co-authored two economics textbooks I am well aware that academics writing in any discipline adhere to a style and language common to that discipline. As a non-historian I cannot write in the style and language of academic historians. This gives me the freedom to write in an unconventional way, interpret the facts in an unconventional way and use language that is of my own choosing. For example, I make no apologies for using politically correct language such as First Nations and African Americans where such usage does not colour the historical facts. Of course, where the context demands it, I will use more historical terminology such as Indian or Negro. I firmly believe that as educators we should not use derogatory terminology where it is not necessary. How else would we progress from Naked Savage to Indian or from the even more historically derogatory terms used to describe African Americans and Chinese Americans?

The third objective of this book is to explain how an almost inconsequential group of 13 disparate English colonies occupying a thin strip of land on a vast continent came to dominate the world in less than two centuries of evolution. To do this I need to begin the history of the US before the birth of the US. It is for that reason I begin with the Portuguese Empire, move to the Spanish Empire, continue with the French Empire and conclude with the English Empire. I must also explain why the birth of the US out of the English Empire led to the US dominating the continent when these four empires gave birth to other stronger independent countries on the same continent. Obvious examples are Mexico, Brazil, the English Caribbean, Canada, and Louisiana. The latter requires that I do not neglect the history of these other colonies which led to nation states in the New World.

Of particular interest to me is the English colonization of the Caribbean, the 13 American colonies and the Canadian colonies of Quebec, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, as a unified complementary unit. Coming from the English Caribbean, I am shocked at the ignorance of Canadians and Americans of this part of their history. It would be inconceivable for a resident of any of the countries which were originally an English Caribbean colony to ask a visiting American why he/she speaks English rather than American or a visiting Canadian why he/she speaks English instead of Canadian? Yet I have had great difficulty explaining to the average Canadian or American why someone like myself from the English Caribbean speaks English instead of Caribese or why someone like myself from British Guiana speaks English instead of Guyanese?

This aspect of American history goes much deeper and is relevant to a related but much more important theme in this book of explaining how the problem of racism came to be so deeply embedded in the psyche of the average White American, and indeed in Whites throughout the European empires. As an example, the dominant race of the English and French empires was non-white. Yet the average White American or Canadian has a conditioned expectation that a non-white immigrant from the English or French empire would have a history, culture, ethnicity and language, different from him/her. In reality, the difference is one of race only. Race has been given such a historic role in the founding of the European empires, especially the founding of the US, and because it is such an obviously visible difference that it continues to prevent people from dismissing its unimportance.

The final goal of this book is to provide some minimal details of the history of the US which are not required by the three objectives listed above but which are more commonly known facts by many who are not students of history. An obvious example of this kind of detail would be information on political leaders such as presidents and important members of their cabinets. A less obvious example would be the origin of words such as sideburns or log cabin. Those who read the book because of the three objectives stated above may find these additional details irritating because they are anxious to get to the main story. Those who find these details as fascinating as I do may wish that there were more. My choice of which small percentage of detail to include out of so much that is available is mostly personal. As a non-historian the research for this book has been a great education. Details which I was totally unaware of when I started this project but which jumped out at me because they were so interesting are typically the ones I chose to include. My hope is that my readers will find these details equally fascinating.

On a closing note I must say that my biggest surprise in researching this book was my discovery of the extent to which the explorers, from Christopher Columbus to Vasco Da Gama to Hernando Cortez to Sir Francis Drake to many others, abused the Christian religion. Often sent out and funded by Christian monarchs to Christianize as well as conquer they almost invariably abused the trust given to them for their own personal glory and savagery. One example of these actions will suffice. Of what Christian purpose would Christopher Columbus shoot First Nations who had failed to meet impossible finds of assigned gold quotas by lining them up in groups of thirteen to represent Jesus and the 12 disciples?

CHAPTER 1

SIXTEENTH CENTURY CONQUESTS AND SETTLEMENTS

1492 is as synonymous with the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus as 9\11 (2001) has become synonymous with the daring aerial attack on the World Trade Centre. Yet, America was named after a later explorer, Amerigo Vespucci, Columbus only reached the West Indies in 1492 and many others including the Vikings had reached the mainland long before 1492. Gavin Menzies book, 1421: The Year China Discovered the World, published in 2003, claims that the Chinese admiral, Zheng He, discovered America while circumnavigating the globe in 1421.

PRE-COLUMBUS DISCOVERIES

The evidence suggests that people moved overland from China and Siberia to the Americas and the Caribbean prior to the end of the last Ice Age some 40,000 BC, crossing the Bering Straits between Siberia and Alaska. The ice cap around the North Pole expanded, draining the water in the Straits and creating a land bridge, Beringia, between Asia and America. The emigration from Asia continued until the ice melted and water returned to the Straits. America was, once again, separated from Asia. These Asian immigrants slowly moved across the American continent creating the cities and civilizations found by the Spanish after the voyages of Columbus.

THE INCAS OF PERU

The most developed of these civilizations was that of the Incas in the Southern most parts of the continent. When the Spanish arrived there were over 12 million Incas in Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, Chile and Bolivia. Their empire stretched 2000 miles from Ecuador in the North to Chile in the South. It was the largest empire ever created with Bronze Age technology. The empire was divided into provinces with governors responsible to the Central government in Cuzco. It was a type of Communist government with the State controlling most aspects of the lives of the citizens. It had a highly developed system of 40,000 kilometers of roads to connect all regions of the empire. One example was the Royal road running 3200 miles north to south through all types of terrain. The monarchy was hereditary as in Europe. At the time the Spanish arrived the Inca Empire was ruled by Atahualpa, son of Huayna Capac. Atahualpa had consolidated his power only in 1530 after defeating the legitimate heir, Huascar, another son of Huayna Capac.

The Incas arrived in the southern Peruvian Andes around 1200 and grew rapidly in the fifteenth century. Competition for land and water led to continuous military conflicts among ethnic groups. As a result of these wars, the Inca emperor, Pachacutec, emerged as the supreme ruler in Cuzco. During his 30 years reign he built the modern capital city the Spanish found in Cuzco. Pachacutec’s successors, Tupac Yupanqui and Huayna Capac, expanded the Inca Empire. The fierce struggle for succession between Capac’s two sons weakened the Inca Empire just before the arrival of the Spaniards

THE AZTECS, MAYAS AND LESSER NATIONS

Next in terms of economic development were the Aztecs of Southern Mexico, Central Mexico and Mexico City. The Aztec Empire was a loose administration of conquered regions, all paying tribute to Emperor Montezuma. The lands conquered by the Aztecs were previously ruled by the Maya and Toltec civilizations. It was only in the fourteenth century that these lands came under the control of the Aztecs. The small Mexica tribe migrated into the Valley of Mexico from the north in the late thirteenth century and hired themselves out as mercenaries to the warring city states. They settled in the unoccupied swampy islands in Lake Texcoco. As their military prowess grew they joined forces with the cities of Texcoco and Tlacopan to form the Triple Alliance which subdued the warring city states. Their capital city, Tenochtitlan, was built in the middle of Lake Texcoco, the Venice of the New World.

Thirdly, there were the Mayas who developed the areas along the Caribbean and Pacific coasts as well as parts of Mexico, Belize, Honduras and Guatemala. When the Spanish landed in the Yucatan they discovered relatively large cities with masonry buildings built by the Mayas.

Fourthly, there were the Tupi-Guarani tribes who lived in Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay, Venezuela and Colombia. The Tupinamba, for example, was a Tupi tribe that was the largest indigenous group on the Brazilian coast. The Potiguar inhabited the North coast. They were skilled warriors, farmers, hunters and fishers. They prevented the Portuguese from colonizing the Amazon.

Finally, there were numerous different tribes of First Nations people scattered over the Northern part of the continent and throughout the islands of the Caribbean. One tribe, famous for building the pueblos in the Southwest United States was the Anasazi and their descendants the Zuni and Hopi Indians. The pueblo cities were the most developed cities north of Mexico. Another distinct group was the Plains Indians. They hunted the buffalo for meat and hides. Those in the East combined hunting with farming. Those in the West followed the buffalo wherever it went. In the cold Artic North were the Inuit.

THE SOLUTREANS

A more recent theory is that the original inhabitants are Europeans who crossed the Atlantic Ocean in an earlier ice age that was far more severe than the later one which created the land bridge between Asia and America. These Europeans are called Solutreans. The ice age reduced wildlife and other food forcing the Solutreans to trek further and further West in search of food and to hunt seals. They inadvertently ended up in America pulled by currents. Like the Asians who came later they trekked South in search of game, especially Mammoths. In 1996, archeologists dug up spear points in Virginia that were used by the Solutreans in France and Spain, and which are made by a special type of stone found in France and Virginia. This theory is also supported with DNA evidence. Archeologists continue to study the origins of the first inhabitants of the American continent and keep coming up with new findings.

THE VIKINGS OR NORSEMEN

It was not until the eleventh century that the Vikings crossed the Atlantic from Europe to reach America again. The Vikings only explored the area around Newfoundland and therefore did not observe the rich Mayan, Aztec and Inca civilizations which had been developed in Central and South America by the people of the first great migration. With the exception of a few Irish monks, the Vikings were the original explorers and adventurers of the modern period. The famous Viking ship, the Knorr, was developed in the ninth century. It was built with oars to complement sails and had a very shallow draft to enable landing far inland. The scarcity of good agricultural land to grow sufficient food was the primary incentive for the daring raids which the Vikings unleashed on Britain and Europe. Sailing along the coastline, the Norsemen and Danes first raided the English monasteries beginning in 793. Later they plundered the remainder of the British Isles before moving to mainland Europe. In 845 they raided Paris and in 862 reached North Africa.

While the Norsemen and Danes were conquering the South, the Swedish Vikings were exploring East through the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, the Volga, Constantinople, Kiev and Novgorod. Russia was named after the Rus tribe of Vikings. Next the Vikings turned their attention West to Iceland. Gardar Svarsson was the first Viking to reach Iceland in 860. It was the third Viking explorer, Floki Vilgerdason, who named it Iceland and the fourth Viking explorer, Ingolf, who began a settlement in Iceland. The Vikings began settlements in their Southern and Eastern conquests as well. But the settlement at Reykjavik was special as it was uninhabited land rich in fish, timber, seals, whales, and grasslands. It soon attracted settlers from Norway. By 930 the Norwegians had settled all of the good farmland in Iceland.

The Viking settlement of Iceland paved the way for their discovery of North America since it was only a relatively short distance to Greenland, which in turn was a relatively short distance to North America. The first Viking to reach Greenland was Gunnbjorn in 930 but it was the exile of Eric the Red in 982 that led to Viking conquest of Greenland. Eric the Red was forced to flee his native Iceland after committing a murder. Eric sailed to Greenland and explored the West coast, returning to Iceland at the end of his three year exile in 985. The following year Eric led the first group of Viking settlers to Greenland. More settlers followed and settlements were founded on both the East and West coasts. Unlike the Icelandic settlements, there were no trees in Greenland and the land was less suitable for farming. However, this fostered trade with Norway and Iceland. The settlers in Greenland exported furs and oil for corn and lumber.

It was a trader, Bjarni Herjulfsson, who first sighted the North American coast in 986 when his ship was blown off course en route from Iceland to Greenland. With the good land in Greenland being taken up by new settlers from Iceland and because of the dearth of trees in Greenland, the Vikings began to consider exploring the new land inadvertently discovered by Herjulfsson. So it was that the son of Eric the Red, Leif Ericson, was to lead a voyage of discovery in the year 1001 using the same ship that Herjulfsson had sailed. Leif would have heard of Herjulfsson’s voyage while he was in Norway. He explored Baffin Island, Labrador and the Northern part of Newfoundland which the Vikings called Vinland. Leif set sail in 1001 with a crew of 35 and landed on Baffin Island before sailing on to Vinland at the Northern tip of Newfoundland. He would have returned to Greenland with a shipload of timber to pay for the voyage.

Leif’s brother, Thorvald, continued the voyages of discovery in 1002, making the first European contact with the First Nations people. Unfortunately, it was not a good first encounter, but one that set the precedent for the civilized treatment of the savages by Europeans. The Vikings attacked and killed eight of a group of nine First Nations people they came upon, the ninth being fortunate to escape from the slaughter. The First Nations, in turn, attacked the Vikings killing Thorvald. It was now left to Eric the Red’s daughter-in-law, Gudrid, with her new husband, Thorfinn Karlsefni, to attempt a settlement in Vinland. The son of Gudrid and Thorfinn, Snorri, was the first European born in the New World. At first they traded with the First Nations but were eventually forced to flee the settlement as relations with the First Nations soured. A final attempt at settlement was made by Thorvald’s half sister, Freydis, accompanied by explorers Helgi and Finnbogi. But they quarreled among themselves and were attacked by Eskimos. The settlement was eventually abandoned. There is a small probability that Columbus knew of these voyages.

THE PORTUGUESE EXPLORERS

Portugal was the first European country after the Scandinavians to show an interest in voyages of exploration. This interest was largely due to Price Henry the Navigator. Prince Henry was the third son of King John I of Portugal. Prince Henry founded a school of Navigation at Cape St. Vincent in Southern Portugal. Since the Crusades, Christian Europe had been at war with the Arab and Muslim world. It was therefore not unusual for Portugal to have sent an expedition to capture the Muslim city of Ceuta in Morocco in 1415. The appointment of Prince Henry as governor of this latest European conquest opened a small window into the lands bordering Europe to the East and controlled by the Arabs. Henry took full advantage of the opportunity presented to him for fostering his life’s obsession with navigation. He began to sponsor voyages of discovery into the unknown. This, in turn, stimulated interest in ship building, cartography and instrument making. The Portuguese developed a new sailing vessel called the Caravel. While the Caravel was not as famous as the Viking ships, it was instrumental in fostering the early voyages of discovery. It was a very light vessel that could sail close to the wind. By shifting its sails it could sail with and against the wind. It was speedy and equally capable of sailing across oceans as exploring coastlines.

Marco Polo had visited the Great Kublai Khan in the thirteenth century and spent 17 years traveling throughout China. His father and uncle visited China twice. The spices, silks, jewelry and other Eastern products were highly demanded in Europe. The overland caravan route to China and the Indies was firmly controlled by the traditional military rivals of Christendom, the Muslims. Prince Henry could combine his obsession for discovery with the commercial value of a sea route to the Indies controlled by Portugal. It was therefore, not long before Henry’s navigators were exploring the coast of West Africa. Portugal was ideally located in Europe to initiate these voyages. Morocco, South of Portugal, was even more favourably located.

It took Prince Henry’s navigators several voyages over many years to gradually push the known boundaries further and further South along the West coast of Africa. In 1418 the Portuguese occupied the Madeiras. In 1424 they competed with Spain for the Canaries. Next they conquered the Azores in 1427. In 1444 they took the Cape Verde Islands. By 1455 they had reached the Gambia River having started a trade in slaves and seal skins in the process. When Antao Goncalves shipped the first African slaves to Portugal in 1441 the Portuguese found something more valuable than gold which was found in small quantities only. Slaves could be used on the sugar plantations they had started in the Madeiras, Azores and Cape Verde. It was one way of financing Prince Henry’s explorations. By the 1450’s the Portuguese were shipping about 750 slaves annually to Europe. The Portuguese set up a string of fortified trading posts along the African coast. By 1455 sugar production in Madeira was 70,000 kilograms.

By the time of Price Henry’s death in 1460, his navigators had reached Sierra Leone. The Portuguese continued to explore the West coast of Africa under both King Afonso V and King John II who succeeded Afonso in 1481. In 1482, John II sent a fleet to build the fortified trading post of Sao Jorge da Mina on the Ghanaian coast. Christopher Columbus sailed with that fleet. The navigators sent out by King John II reached the Cape of Good Hope, so named by King John because of its future promise to reach the Indies. As a prelude to finding the sea route to the Indies, King John II began to document existing information on the Indian Ocean and in 1487 sent an overland mission to report on the most important spice trading port in India, Calicut.

THE SPANISH EXPLORERS

Unlike Portugal, Spain was not a unified country when the Castilians discovered the Canaries in 1393 and brought back a cargo of slaves. Their conflicting claim for the Canaries with Portugal was settled in 1479 by the Treaty of Alcacovas. By this treaty Portugal recognized Castile’s claim to the Canaries in return for Castile’s recognition of Portugal’s claim to Cape Verde, the Madeiras and the Azores. Also by this treaty King Alfonso V of Portugal recognized Isabella as Queen of Castile. Isabella’s marriage to Crown Prince Ferdinand of Aragon in 1469 led to the unification of the Spanish crown when Ferdinand became King of Aragon in 1479.

THE CONQUESTS OF COLUMBUS, DA GAMA, VESPUCCI AND CABOT

The re-discovery of America in 1492 was an accident. By the Fifteenth Century, Europeans were accustomed to indulging in the pleasures of the Orient, silks, spices, tea, Indian cottons and jewelry. The Portuguese, in particular, wanted a share of the lucrative spice trade. The overland trade was dominated by the Turks and Venetians. In addition it took as long as a year to travel overland from Venice to China. Trade goods were hauled on the backs of camels, donkeys and horses. The fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453 had further disrupted the spice trade. The Europeans would need to find a sea passage via the Cape of Good Hope or by sailing West across the Atlantic.

MUSLIMS AND CATHOLICS

The rise of Spain as a unified Catholic state after 1479 produced two Catholic European super powers, Portugal and Spain, ready to take on the Muslims in the Mediterranean, in West Africa, in East Africa and in the Indies. They even dreamed of recapturing Jerusalem which the Crusades had failed to achieve. While the Portuguese were pushing East along the West African coast Spain was taking on the Muslims in Granada. With the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks the Islam/Christian conflict resurfaced in Europe. The conquest of Granada would be a blow to the advance of Islam. The conquest of Granada was a formidable task for Castile and Aragon. The war began in 1481. After the capture of the satellite cities of Ronda, Malaga, Almeria and Guadix, Granada fell in November 1491.

The fall of Granada was a happy day for Cristoforo Columbo. He was in the procession when the Spanish monarchs entered Granada on January 2, 1492. Ferdinand and Isabella were now in a position to grant him his wishes. The capture of Granada not only enriched the Spanish monarchs to finance expeditions of discovery it removed the expenditures of a costly war. Spain now had not only a unified state but a large and disciplined army and the wealth of Granada, slaves, fertile land and its rich silk trade. The Pope conferred on Ferdinand and Isabella the title of Catholic Monarchs. This significant recognition of Spain by the Pope would eventually lead to their grandson, Charles I, becoming the Holy Roman Emperor in 1519 and Spain replacing Portugal as the dominant Catholic European power.

Cristoforo Columbo, to use his Italian name, convinced Isabella and Ferdinand that the discovery of a sea route to the Indies would strike another blow to the Muslims by encroaching on their lucrative spice trade. As leading Christian Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella saw it as their Christian duty to spread Christianity and reduce the influence of Islam. Their chief disciple in spreading the gospel and saving the heathens would be Cristoforo, meaning Christ-bearing. Cristoforo would have both a holy mission and a trade and discovery mission.

COLUMBUS NEGOTIATES WITH THE MONARCHS OF EUROPE

Christopher Columbus, an experienced Genoese sailor, was determined to find a sea passage to the Indies by sailing west from Europe. The dream of ships carrying many times as much as the overland caravans, of the treasures of the Indies, became his obsession. Columbus became a sailor at the age of 14 and settled in Portugal when he was about 25 years old, marrying a wealthy Portuguese noblewoman, Felipa Moniz, in 1478. Felipa’s father, Bartolomeu Perestrelo, had assisted in the Portuguese conquest of Madeira. As a result he had become the captain-donatory of the island of Porto Santo in the Madeiras. Columbus sailed regularly to the Madeiras on business for the Perestrelo family. The Perestrelo family was a member of the Portuguese court giving Columbus access and influence.

Columbus had sailed north to Ireland and Iceland, south along the West coast of Africa and West to the Azores. He had even lived on the Portuguese Island of Porto Santo in Madeira, west of Morocco. In Portugal, Columbus heard of the theory of cosmographer Paolo Toscanelli that it was possible to reach the Indies by sailing west from Europe. Columbus began to promote Toscanelli’s idea. In Lisbon, the recognized capital of Europe at the time, he and his brother, Bartholomew, planned the Enterprise of the Indies. Since Portugal was the leading maritime nation at the time, Columbus naturally took his grand vision to King John II, in 1484. Unfortunately for Columbus, King John had his hands full with the voyages around the Cape of Good Hope. In addition Columbus estimation of the distance from Europe to Cathay was disputed by many in Europe.

Columbus seemed uninterested in raising private finance for his Enterprise of the Indies even though private finance for such ventures was common at the time. One reason would be his demands for titles and ownership of conquests which only monarchs, especially Christian Monarchs, could provide. Columbus approached Spain in 1486. Another unfortunate timing for Columbus as Spain was engaged in a war of conquest for the Muslim kingdom of Granada. However, Spain seemed more interested than Portugal. It therefore began to provide Columbus with some financial assistance to help him prepare for the great enterprise. While waiting for the end of Spain’s war with Granada, Columbus made requests to both the English and French monarchs without much luck. He had no choice but to wait until 1492 when the military drain on the Spanish treasury was over.

THE FIRST VOYAGE OF COLUMBUS

Columbus was provided with three ships. Two of these, the Pinta and the Nina, were the light caravels invented by the Portuguese. They were each 50 feet long and captained by the Pinzon brothers, Martin and Vincente. Vincente Pinzon would later discover the Amazon in 1500. Martin Pinzon died in 1493. Columbus flagship was the Santa Maria, 117 feet in length. Columbus carried the same cheap European products the Portuguese used for trade with the Africans. Columbus was so certain of reaching Cathay that he carried letters of introduction from Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand to the Great Kublai Khan. Isabella and Ferdinand had reluctantly agreed to the outrageous demands of Columbus to be appointed admiral, viceroy and governor general of all lands discovered. These appointments were to be passed on to his heirs. Columbus would also receive ten percent of all profits arising out of his discoveries. Nobility status was also conferred on him.

Columbus sailed from Palos on August 3, 1492 for the Canary Islands. Based on the accepted ideas of the time, regarding the circumference of the globe, Columbus believed that by sailing west from the Canary Islands he should reach Japan about 5,000 miles away. He departed the Canary Islands on September 6, 1492.

In October of that year Columbus reached the islands of the Caribbean thinking that he had reached China. It was a difficult voyage. Despite efforts by Columbus to lie to the crew about how far they had traveled, he almost had a mutiny on his hands before land was fortuitously sighted on October 12 by one of the crew of the Pinta. Furthermore, the land sighted was an island not a continent. He had sailed some 2,400 miles in 36 days assisted by the Easterly trade winds. The distance to China was more than twice further. Columbus had landed on Watling Island which he named San Salvador, Holy Saviour. He had discovered the Bahamas. There Columbus met the Arawaks, one of two primary First Nations people living in the islands. The Arawaks had migrated to the islands from the coastal area of South America facing the Caribbean Sea over seven centuries before the arrival of Columbus.

Since Columbus was sure that he had reached the Indies he called the Arawaks Indians. Hence the term West Indians to refer to the people of the Caribbean. Convinced that he had reached the islands off the Japanese coast, Columbus sailed south from the Bahamas hoping to reach the mainland only to discover another island, Cuba, on October 28. Here the Europeans were introduced to many of the products indigenous to the New World, tobacco, cassava, maize, pineapple, yams, peanuts, peppers, beans, squash and sweet potatoes. Persevering in his search for Cathay he stumbled on a third island, Santo Domingo, (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) which he named Hispaniola.

In Santo Domingo, Columbus’s largest ship, the Santa Maria was shipwrecked off the coast of Haiti. Haiti was the Northern coast of Hispaniola, named by the Arawaks, Haiti, meaning High Country. It had a jagged coastline with many bays, inlets and coral reefs. It later became an ideal hiding ground for pirates. The wreckage of the Santa Maria prompted Columbus to build a fort on the island. He named it La Navidad because the wreckage was on Christmas Eve. He left 39 of his men at the La Navidad and returned to Spain on the Nina in January 1493. On the return voyage storms forced Columbus to seek shelter in the Azores, then owned by the Portuguese. On leaving the Azores, Columbus was forced again to seek the assistance of the Portuguese. This time he needed supplies to complete his journey home. Columbus landed in Portugal for supplies on March 4, 1493 and was received by the king of Portugal.

Since Portugal and Spain were rivals for World domination and primary European competitors for trade and conquests, these incidents with the Portuguese were most unfortunate. It was therefore not surprising that soon after Columbus arrived in Palos on March 15, 1493, Ferdinand and Isabella quickly approached Pope Alexander VI to use his Christian powers to sanctify the Spanish discovery before Portugal could lay claims to it. The civilized and holy European Christians saw no immorality or injustice in sanctifying lands and property belonging to First Nations. They justified their theft by inventing the notion that the First Nations were savages and heathens.

THE ARAWAKS

The Arawaks was the largest First Nation in the Caribbean. They inhabited the larger islands of the Greater Antilles, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. These islands would soon be stolen from the Arawaks by the Spaniards. The Arawaks had a political system not unlike that of Spain. Each island was divided into provinces ruled by chiefs. Hispaniola, for example would be divided into six provinces while Puerto Rico would have as many as 18 chiefs. Each province was divided into districts or villages having assistant chiefs. The Arawaks also had their own organized religion. Prior to the arrival of the Spanish, life was very good. There was hunting, fishing, games, festivities, pottery, basket weaving, making clothing, dancing, smoking tobacco, and drinking alcohol made from cassava or maize. Gold was used as ornaments along with bone and shells. Gold was collected from the river beds. They used simple stone tools and found protein from birds, iguanas, waterfowls, sea cows and turtles, in addition to a variety of fish and shellfish. They grew cotton, tobacco, manioc, sweet potatoes and peanuts. By and large, they mostly had lots of leisure time to enjoy the tropical paradise.

The happy, contented, peaceful Arawak was unaware that his future was about to be turned upside down by an alien God the Christians called Pope, living as far away then as some distant planet is far away from Earth in our time. He would be miraculously transformed from a normal human being into an uncivilized savage heathen. As if that was not sufficient punishment, his lands would be stolen, his person enslaved, his religion denigrated, his culture tarnished, his language suppressed and his people exposed to viruses they had no immunity against. The most puzzling surprise of all would be five centuries of continuous reminders that all of this was done by people who were far more civilized than him, more godly than him, more humane than him, more educated than him, more worthy than him, more understanding than him, more honest than him, more democratic than him, more freedom loving than him, more brave than him, more open minded than him, more sincere than him, more modern than him, more generous than him, more non-racist than him, more non-prejudiced than him, more Christian than him.

The key player in this permanent and irrevocable transformation of the First Nations was Pope Alexander VI. No sooner had Columbus returned from his successful voyage of discovery than the two super powers of the day, Portugal and Spain, began to argue over whom had the greater right to steal the lands inhabited by the First Nations. Since they were both god fearing Christian nations it was clearly up to the Pope to determine who was the more deserving. So it was that in May 1493, Pope Alexander VI, by issuing a decree or papal bull, would forever seal the fate of the First Nations to be regarded as inferior to Europeans. What is so tragic about the recorded history of this event is that no Western historian has seen it fit to comment on the irony of this papal decree. It was not a case of a Pope implicitly condoning the subjugation and genocide of a people through silence or inaction, it was a case of a Pope, by his action, explicitly sanctifying and legitimizing such behaviour. We cannot ignore the tremendous force of divine law at that time. While there can be no doubt that Europeans would have found a way to de humanize and steal the property of the First Nations without the blessing of Pope Alexander VI, his papal bull clearly made it so much easier and quicker. So called Pagan lands were up for grabs by all Christians.

La Navidad did not survive as the Spaniards quarreled with the Arawaks. This was not surprising. While every account of the Arawaks, including those by the Spanish, portrayed the Arawaks as one of the most peaceful of all the First Nations, the Spaniards had a hunger for gold that no amount of hard labour by the Arawaks could satisfy. Even Columbus wrote that the Arawaks were good servants and intelligent and totally unacquainted with arms. The Arawaks referred to themselves as Taino meaning noble or wise. Gold was only available in small quantities on the river beds. The enforced manual labour of the Arawaks combined with the refusal of many Spaniards to do manual labour would certainly result in the Arawaks rebelling or fleeing inland.

COLUMBUS SEARCHES FOR THE MAINLAND

While Columbus had returned to Spain with very little in terms of the spices or treasures of the Indies, he was nevertheless given a hero’s welcome and Ferdinand and Isabella were pleased. Columbus was convinced that he would find Cathay if he was given a second chance. The immediate significance of his first voyage was that he had proved that it was possible to sail west from Europe and reached land. Many had tried before but had failed to reach land past the Azores. At that time having the winds behind you was crucial. Columbus had led the way by sailing South on the outward journey and North on the return voyage. All ships crossing the Atlantic from Europe had to pick up the Northeast trade winds off the African coast, west of the Canary Islands. For the return voyage the ships had to pick up the Southwesterly trade winds.

Ferdinand and Elizabeth were sufficiently convinced of the value of what Columbus had discovered to both finance a much larger second expedition and seek the aid of Pope Alexander VI, who owed his election to the papacy to Ferdinand and Isabella, to prevent Portugal to claim any of the spoils. In his second voyage in 1493 Columbus was provided with 17 ships by Queen Isabella. In addition to 1200 people, including five priests, he brought horses, cattle, sheep, hogs, and the sugarcane plant. This was to be Spain’s first attempt to colonize and Christianize the new lands granted to it by the Pope. He sailed from Cadiz on September 25 and followed a more southerly route reaching the smaller islands of the Lesser Antilles, Dominica and Guadeloupe, as well as Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles.

Finding La Navidad wiped out he started a new colony called Isabella on the Northern coast of Hispaniola where he stayed for 17 months. His choice of this infertile location was influenced by his belief that gold could be found there. From all reports his treatment of the First Nations was brutal and sadistic. He established gold quotas which were impossible to reach given that there was little gold to be found in the Caribbean. As a true Christian, the Christ-bearing Cristoforo crucified the First Nations in rows of thirteen to represent Jesus and the 12 disciples when they failed to meet their gold quotas. It was not long after that the First Nations began to die from infectious diseases brought by Columbus and his crew to which they had no immunity.

Columbus left Isabella in April 1494 to explore Cuba, still expecting it to be the mainland of Japan or China. In the process of exploring Cuba he discovered Jamaica while returning to Isabella in September 1494. While Columbus was ill some of the colonists returned to Spain without his permission. Failing to find gold in sufficient quantities Columbus resorted to shipping the Arawaks to Spain to sell into slavery. Of the 500 Arawaks sent to Spain, 200 died on the voyage. Spain was furious and sent a bureaucrat to investigate Columbus’s conduct. In March 1496 he departed for Spain, hoping to clear his