Around
the time of 1967,
the rock group Procol Harum debuted its Conquistador song; the lyrics began, "Conquistador your stallion stands...in need of
company"
Yet, to many, the word 'Conquistador' conjures up horrific imagery, and rightly so. Conquistadors were essentially out to vanquish lands that weren't legitimately theirs; these Spanish and Portuguese soldiers from the 15th-17th century overpowered much of the world, most notably [as is well documented] the Central and Southern Americas.
What's more, Christopher Columbus was a 'conqueror'
not a mere innocent explorer. Oh! Shame on Eurocentrism for pretending
otherwise.
Not convinced?? Here is one of the statements
ascribed to Mr. Columbus, himself: "We shall take you, and your wives and children, and
make slaves of them, and [as such] shall sell and dispose of them...We shall
take your goods, and shall do you all the mischief and damage that we can..."
Wow, this past October 14th I was getting a spinal MRI and didn't even recognize it was Columbus Day. Now, however, I do grasp how inaccurate my grade-school and high school history books were !!
