ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Altered History

Updated on September 4, 2012

Indian

An Essay

History is a subject that never interested me. It really bored me to know about Christopher Columbus and pilgrims and other history Heroes and bad people. It wasn’t until I took US History from a Native American perspective (in college), that I learned to appreciate History and became interested in the subject. After taking this class I’ve come up with my own conclusions of why history is not interesting to many and why many do not find them selves interested in the subject.

In middle school and in high school I was taught by history teachers that Christopher Columbus was a hero. He was a hero because he found America and that’s how it became the land of the free. When in reality he stole this land from Native Americans. These people were viewed barbaric because they sacrificed animals to their Gods, so that they would be blessed with healthy lives and beautiful weather. They would cure the sick with spells and praise their God by doing funny dances. They would wear very little animal skin for clothing but, were half naked. I also was taught in high school that the Indians were evil and did crazy things because that’s just the way they lived. Therefore, when Christopher Columbus found them he tried to make them slaves because they were so barbaric and he also tried to make them believe in the religion that he believed in. Another part of history I was taught was when Hernan Cortes and his Conquistador’s of Spain destroyed a whole civilization in a place now known as Mexico, which was the Aztecs. They said that the Aztecs were crazy and evil because they sacrificed people to their Gods, so they would be given sunlight and good weather for their crops. The Azteca’s believed that the Gods were mad at them when ever they had bad weather and earthquakes. So they would sacrifice their own people in order for the gods to forgive them. Therefore Cortez felt they had to be turned into slaves and convert them into believing in his kind of religion Another person I learned about in my history classes was Hitler the German who tortured and killed Jewish individuals because he said; they deserved it. This piece of history is called the Holocaust. Moreover, I learned about the wars that Americans have been in and what they went through in those times of history. I guess I never was interested in history because all I ever learned about it was the hardships that Americans went through and how Americans became the land of the free, which to me at the time was sad. Who wants to hear or see videos of these bad times Americans went through? I remember how it would truly upset my stomach to watch and hear these things. Besides all that it would just bore me to hear the same stories over and over again. An American hero did this or that for the Americans and if wasn’t for those heroes and bad people, we wouldn’t have what we have today.

I had to take an American history class if I want to some day receive my AS degree in business management. So I took a class that I later had to drop out of because it bored me so much, that I would always fall asleep in. Therefore, I decided to take a history class that was teaching American history from a native Indian’s point of view, I figured maybe this way it won’t be boring to hear the same stories. I was amazed to find out how much history was altered to make certain individuals look like heroes. I was also mad at the fact that I never was taught history, in a correct way. I was taught history that has been altered to make Americans look like the victims and like we were never wrong in making the choices that were made which destroyed others and their ways of living.

The reasons Christopher Columbus, Cortez, and other selfish individuals did those unbelievable actions towards the Indians, was for selfish reasons. Actually the Native Americans were the ones who lived on the so called found land. They are the ones who owned the “American Land” first. The Indians were robbed by Christopher Columbus of their homes, lives, and their freedom. As for the Azteca’s they were invaded by Cortez and his Conquistador’s so, that they could become rich. They made the Aztecs turn into their personal slaves and dig for gold and other precious metals that were located in the Mexico mines. They also raped their women and gave them sexual transmitted diseases which made them very ill and die. These invaders were like a plague that practically took out their whole tribes. This type of history interested me because it didn’t paint the same lovely picture it usually does, instead it educated me with the truth of the ways Americans came to be the land of the free.

I have read that a lot of historians are frustrated how Americans are not interested in their history, but maybe if history books told the stories from everyone’s point of views. Also if authors and historians didn’t alter the truth and make it seem like Americans were not at fault for a lot of their actions, then maybe Americans would appreciate history. Maybe it would interest them like it interests me, now that I have read and learned history, in a way that I have never known it to be. History not altered nor painted as a pretty picture that is the same boring stories that have been published in history books.

In conclusion, I wish I was taught history the way it really was, from history books and high school teachers. I know if I was taught the truth about history then I would have been interested in it and I would have known that Americans, too have made terrible mistakes in the past. This way I would have respect and interest in American history and know that we Americans have made bad decisions but, have moved on by learning from those mistakes.


working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)