Columbus & Cortez: Conquerors for Christ

Rating:
Summary: What you don't learn about Columbus & Cortez in school...
Review: Dr. John Eidsmoe's treatment of Columbus' career (and character) is refreshingly grounded in real history, based upon diligent usage of the primary sources, as opposed to trite, dime-a-dozen journalist-"impressionism" that all-too-frequently foists socio-political opinions and judgmental dribble as substitutes for the hard work of actually digging out and reconstructing WHAT really hapened in world history, and WHY. Cortez defeated the 16th century Aztecs with an army of 99+% Native Americans (i.e., less than 1% of his soldiers were Europeans)! Why? And why is this unusual fact of history a "secret"? Dr. Eidsmoe, who teaches legal history, evidence rules re admissibility, and the like (at an East Coast law school), & has served as an international lecturer on 16th century Meso-American political history; Eidsmoe is over-qualified to screen the chaff from the mines of Euro-American history, and he does so like a judge who insists on discarding unreliable hearsay -- as he weighs the best evidence of what happened in the lives and documented exploits of Columbus, Cortez, and their contemporaries. [BTW: disregard the reviewer who ignores Eidsmoe's treatment of the Vikings and CORTEZ; -- that reviewer apparently skimmed some of the book's Columbus section, found historical info not to his liking, & rushed to (unscholarly) "judgment".] FYI, I have taught political history and international studies at local colleges since 1991, and I routinely use Dr. Eidsmoe's journal articles and his books as the definitive word on topics he has taken the unrushed time, scholarly accuracy, & insightful expertise to cover. Anyone who is especially interested in military issues will be delighted; Dr. Eidsmoe's military background comes through in his analysis and insights into how and why Cortez (and Columbus) achieved what they did. Also, Dr. Eidsmoe's generous inclusion of many extended quotations from 16th century diaries (of soldiers & other eye-witnesses) allows you, the reader, to draw your own conclusions about the trans-Atlantic adventures of Columbus & Cortez. Beware, tho'! Reading eye-witness quotations from the historical record for yourself may jolt a few preconceived impressions and/or grade school-learned stereotypes! ><> JJSJ
(a college professor, part-time judge, & internat'l lecurer)

Rating:
Summary: A Rebuttal to Those who Bash Christopher Columbus
Review: Eidsmoe gives a refreshing perspective on Columbus. He does NOT defend slavery, but points out that slavery had been virtually universal for thousands of years, yet it was the Christians who eventually put an end to the very institution of slavery. Eidsmoe rejects the common relativistic idea that all value systems are equally good. He argues, for instance, that the Caribs were better off even if Christianity had been imposed on them than they had been earlier (when they engaged in cannibalism). Eidsmoe also shows that Columbus and Cortez cannot be blamed for bringing smallpox to the Indians, because the spread of disease was not understood at the time. Finally, it is interesting to note that, contrary to the portrayal of the European explorers as incurable racists who could never imagine Native Americans their equals, some Aztecs eventually married into the Spanish royal family (p. 269).

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Perspective
Review: Eidsmoe provides a new or should I say old twist to the conquistadores, Columbus and Cortez. He points out that we often judge these men and many of the things they did with a twentieth century perspective. This, according to Eidsmoe, is unfair; therefore, it is his goal throughout this book to demonstrate historicially the "why" of the events that took place. It is his attempt to look at history through the eyes of a 15th and 16th century Christian coming out of the Medieval Age and just how different the thinking and perspective was then as compared to now. Taken from an honest look at history I think this book gives a great challenge to those who judge these characters today for certain "atrocities". Instead, Eidsmoe helps the reader to understand these. One thing I appreciated as well was the documentation the author does. He qoutes from primary sources readily and this lends weight to his arguments. A good and challenging read.

Rating:
Summary: What a racist book!
Review: The underlying theme of this book is that God used Columbus to exercise His wrath on pagan people- another instance in which God is used to justify the selfish motivations of conquering nations. There is great emphasis on the pagan, sinful nature of the original peoples of the Americas. This is an awful book and I would not recommend it to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: Worse than I could have imagined
Review: This book argues that just because the European conquerors did "bad" things, that doesn't mean they weren't good Christians. The author never gets specific about the atrocities committed by the conquering Christians (enslavement, rape, torture, murder); he only vaguely, infrequently, and euphemistically refers to them as "sins" and "errors," and he rationalizes that Columbus and other conquerors were simply normal for the time period in which they lived. Here is a short summary of the author's perspective on Columbus: 1) Columbus was not obsessed with gold; he just had a natural and healthy desire for wealth. Besides, Columbus needed capital to finance his voyages, so his need for gold can be compared to a modern academic needing a research grant. 2) Columbus didn't steal land from Native Americans because they didn't have any real (i.e. European) concept of ownership. 3) Columbus made slaves of free people, but that was okay because slavery was widespread in the world, and besides, Christians could enslave other people as long as they weren't Christians. 4) It is true that Columbus forced Christianity and western culture on Native Americans, but as a result, millions of people are in heaven. Need I say more?