Columbus Describes His First Encounter with “Indians”Columbus kept a diary or log of his first voyage to the New World. He used the diary to record details of navigation and, once he arrived in the Caribbean, to note the people and places he observed. When Columbus returned to Spain, he presented his diary as a gift to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. The monarchs arranged to have a copy made of the diary. The original diary disappeared, but in the 1530s a priest had access to the copy, which he transcribed, summarized, and occasionally quoted. The copy then vanished as well, but the priest's manuscript has survived. In the quoted passage from the priest's manuscript, excerpted here, Columbus describes his first encounters with indigenous Americans. Columbus's remarks illustrate the understandings and misunderstandings as Europeans and Native Americans “discovered” one another.

Oliver Dunn and James E. Kelley, Jr., eds. and trans., The Diario of Christopher Columbus's First Voyage to America, 1492–1493, American Exploration and Traveler Series, vol. 70 (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1989), 65–109.

The Diario of Christopher Columbus's First Voyage to America, 1492–1493Thursday, 11 October. . . . What follows are the very words of the Admiral [Christopher Columbus] in his book about his first voyage to, and discovery of, these Indies. I, he says, in order that they would be friendly to us — because I recognized that they were people who would be better freed [from error] and converted to our Holy Faith by love than by force — to some of them I gave red caps, and glass beads which they put on their chests, and many other things of small value, in which they took so much pleasure and became so much our friends that it was a marvel. Later they came swimming to the ships' launches where we were and brought us parrots and cotton thread in balls and javelins and many other things, and they traded them to us for other things which we gave them, such as small glass beads and bells. In sum, they took everything and gave of what they had very willingly. But it seemed to me that they were a people very poor in everything. All of them go around as naked as their mothers bore them; and the women also, although I did not see more than one quite young girl. And all those that I saw were young people, for none did I see of more than 30 years of age. They are very well formed, with handsome bodies and good faces. Their hair [is] coarse — almost like the tail of a horse — and short. They wear their hair down over their eyebrows except for a little in the back which they wear long and never cut. Some of them paint themselves with black, and they are of the color of the Canarians, neither black nor white; and some of them paint themselves with white, and some of them with red, and some of them with whatever they find. And some of them paint their faces, and some of them the whole body, and some of them only the eyes, and some of them only the nose. They do not carry arms nor are they acquainted with them, because I showed them swords and they took them by the edge and through ignorance cut themselves. They have no iron. Their javelins are shafts without iron and some of them have at the end a fish tooth and others of other things. All of them alike are of good-sized stature and carry themselves well. I saw some who had marks of wounds on their bodies and I made signs to them asking what they were; and they showed me how people from other islands nearby came there and tried to take them, and how they defended themselves; and I believed and believe that they come here from tierra firme1 to take them captive. They should be good and intelligent servants, for I see that they say very quickly everything that is said to them; and I believe that they would become Christians very easily, for it seemed to me that they had no religion. Our Lord pleasing, at the time of my departure I will take six of them from here to Your

Highnesses in order that they may learn to speak. No animal of any kind did I see on this island except parrots. All are the Admiral's words.

Saturday 13 October As soon as it dawned, many of these people came to the beach — all young as I have said, and all of good stature — very handsome people, with hair not curly but straight and coarse, like horsehair; and all of them very wide in the forehead and head, more so than any other race that I have seen so far. And their eyes are very handsome and not small; and none of them are black, but of the color of the Canary Islanders. . . . All alike have straight legs and no belly but are very well formed. They came to the ship with dugouts that are made from the trunk of one tree, like a long boat, and all of one piece, and worked marvelously in the fashion of the land, and so big that in some of them 40 and 45 men came. And others smaller, down to some in which came one man alone. They row with a paddle like that of a baker and go marvelously. And if it capsizes on them they then throw themselves in the water, and they right and empty it with calabashes2 that they carry. They brought balls of spun cotton and parrots and javelins and other little things that it would be tiresome to write down, and they gave everything for anything that was given to them. I was attentive and labored to find out if there was any gold; and I saw that some of them wore a little piece hung in a hole that they have in their noses. And by signs I was able to understand that, going to the south or rounding the island to the south, there was there a king who had large vessels of it and had very much gold. I strove to get them to go there and later saw that they had no intention of going. I decided to wait until the afternoon of the morrow and then depart for the southwest, for, as many of them showed me, they said there was land to the south and to the southwest and to the northwest and that these people from the northwest came to fight them many times. And so I will go to the southwest to seek gold and precious stones. . . . And these people are very gentle, and because of their desire to have some of our things, and believing that nothing will be given to them without their giving something, and not having anything, they take what they can and then throw themselves into the water to swim. But everything they have they give for anything given to them, for they traded even for pieces of bowls and broken glass cups. . . . And also the gold that they wear hung in their noses originates here; but in order not to lose time I want to go to see if I can find the island of Cipango [Japan].Now, since night had come, all the Indians went ashore in their dugouts.

Sunday 14 October As soon as it dawned I ordered the ship's boat and the launches of the caravels made ready and went north-northeast along the island in order to see what there was in the other part, which was the eastern part. And also to see the villages, and I soon saw two or three, as well as people, who all came to the beach calling to us and giving thanks to God. Some of them brought us water; others, other things to eat; others, when they saw that I did not care to go ashore, threw themselves into the sea swimming and came to us, and we understood that they were asking us if we had come from the heavens. And one old man got into the ship's boat, and others in loud voices called to all the men and women: Come see the men who came from the heavens. Bring them something to eat and drink. Many men came, and many women, each one with something, giving thanks to God, throwing themselves on the ground; and they raised their hands to heaven, and afterward they called to us in loud voices to come ashore. . . . [T]hese people are very naive about weapons, as Your Highnesses will see from the seven that I caused to be taken in order to carry them away to you and to learn our language and to return them. Except that, whenever Your Highnesses may command, all of them can be taken to Castile or held captive in this same island; because with 50 men all of them could be held in subjection and can be

made to do whatever one might wish. . . . I . . . returned to the ship and set sail, and I saw so many islands that I did not know how to decide which one I would go to first. And those men whom I had taken told me by signs that they were so very many that they were numberless. . . .

Tuesday and Wednesday 16 October. . . . I came to a village where I anchored and to which had come that man whom I found mid-sea yesterday in that dugout. He had given so many good reports about us that during the whole night there was no lack of dugouts alongside the ship, to which they brought us water and of what they had. I ordered something given to each one, that is to say ten or twelve little glass beads on a thread, and some brass jingles of the sort that in Castile are worth a maravedi3 each, and some metal lace-ends, all of which they considered of the greatest excellence. And also I ordered them given food, in order that they might eat when they came to the ship, and molasses. And later . . . I sent the ship's boat to shore for water. And the natives very willingly showed my people where the water was, and they themselves brought the filled barrels to the boat and delighted in pleasing us. This island is exceedingly large and I have decided to sail around it, because according to my understanding, on or near it there is a gold mine. . . . These people are like those of the . . . [other] islands in speech and customs except that these now appear somewhat more civilized and given to commerce and more astute. Because I see that they have brought cotton here to the ship and other little things for which they know better how to bargain payment than the others did. And in this island I even saw cotton cloths made like small cloaks, and the people are more intelligent, and the women wear in front of their bodies a little thing of cotton that scarcely covers their genitals. . . . I do not detect in them any religion and I believe that they would become Christians very quickly because they are of very good understanding. . . .

Monday 22 October All this night and today I stayed waiting [to see] if the king of this place or other persons would bring gold or something else of substance; and there came many of these people, like the others of the other islands, naked and painted, some of them with white, some with red, some with black, and so on in many fashions. They brought javelins and balls of cotton to barter, which they traded here with some sailors for pieces of broken glass cups and for pieces of clay bowls. Some of them were wearing pieces of gold hanging from their noses, and they willingly gave it for a bell of the sort [put] on the foot of a sparrow hawk and for small glass beads; but it is so little that it is nothing. For it is true that any little thing given to them, as well as our coming, they considered great marvels; and they believed that we had come from the heavens.1tierra firme: Dry land.2calabashes: Gourds hollowed out and dried to use as containers.3maravedi: A Spanish coin equal to about two-thirds of a cent.

1. What features of Native Americans did Columbus notice? How did he believe they compared with Europeans? Why did he conclude that “they were a people very poor in everything”?

2. Why did Columbus think Indians were friendly? Can you detect hints of what the Indians might have thought about Columbus and his men? How did the two groups communicate with each other?

3. What did Indians believe, as far as Columbus could tell? Why did he assume that Indians thought he and his men came from the heavens?

4. If a diary had been kept by one of the Indians who came aboard Columbus's ship, what might it have said about the Europeans?

A Taino Origin StoryFriar Ramón Pané was the first European to record an origin narrative of Native Americans. Pané, a Franciscan priest, accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the New World and lived among the Taino Indians on the island of Hispaniola, site of the present-day Dominican Republic and Haiti. The following excerpt from Pané's report to Columbus in 1498 reveals the views of Pané's Taino informants as well as

Pané's own perspective as a Catholic priest and a Spaniard.

Geoffrey Symcox and Luciano Formisano, eds., Italian Reports on America, 1492–1522: Accounts by Contemporary Observers, trans. Theodore J. Cachey Jr. and John C. McLucas, Repertorium Columbianum 12 (Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2002), 63–68.

Ramón Pané On Taino Religious PracticesWhen in 1492 Christopher Columbus discovered the island of Hispaniola, among the other things reported was that the people of that island did not worship anything other than the heavens, planets, and stars. But after living there and learning the [Taino] language, they became familiar with those people and observed that they had various ceremonies and customs, as did the hermit friar, Ramón [Pané] . . . [who came] from Rome to that island in order to instruct and convert the islanders to our Christian faith. He composed a book about their customs, many of which will be related in this letter.

First, they say that there appear at night on that island certain phantasms and visions of which they senselessly make certain simulacra1 which they gather together to worship; seated on the ground on blankets of cotton-wool they carve certain good demons, just as among us there are sculptors. The simulacra are called zemis, and they worship them as eternal gods; they say that there are two, that is, one called Iocauna, and the other elder one, Guamaonocon. These are said to have five mothers. . . .There is a region of that island which is called Caunana, where they say humankind first issued from grottos in two mountains, that is, the greater part from the larger cave, and the lesser part from the smaller cave. . . . The first to issue from that [smaller] cavern was called Machochael, who guarded the opening every night. He once went out a short distance and saw the sun at dawn, and since he was unable to endure that light, was transformed into a stone. In the same way many others who went out at night from that cavern to go fishing and who were unable to return before the sun rose, upon seeing that light, as punishment since they were not permitted to see it, were immediately transformed into those trees which yield plums. These grow spontaneously on that island in great quantity, without being planted.They also tell of a ruler named Vaguoniona, who sent his servant out of that cavern to go fishing; that servant, since he was unable to return before the sun rose, was transformed into a nightingale. Ever since then, during the night and in the same season in which he was transformed into a bird, he sings and laments his bad fortune and asks for help from his master Vaguoniona. It is for this reason that they say the nightingale sings at night.

Afterwards Vaguoniona, who greatly loved his servant, left the cave, bringing forth only the females with their nursing children; they went to an island not far from there which is called Matininó; there he left the females and brought back with him the little children. Afterwards, having been abandoned near a little river, they began to cry, uttering “toa, toa,” that is, “mamma, mamma,” so that they were changed into frogs. This is the reason they say that in the spring those frogs begin to sing.They say that men came out of those caverns in this way and spread throughout Hispaniola, without their women. They also say that Vaguoniona wandered about among different places and, by special grace, was never transformed, except by a beautiful female whom he saw in the sea. He descended into the sea and received from her certain marble pebbles which they call cibas, as well as certain little golden tablets

which are called guaninos. These gems, to this day associated with their kings, are held in reverence as sacred things.

The men who had remained in the cave without their females came out during the night, after washing themselves in ditches where a large amount of rainwater had gathered (and still today they use those baths). As soon as they had come out, it is said, they raced to the plum trees, upon which an infinite number of ants had gathered; they grasped them [the ants] with their hands, as if they were so many females, and when they squeezed them they slipped out of their hands like eels. They went to seek counsel from elderly counselors, and they went to see if there were any men who might have scabies2or leprosy or who might have calloused, rough hands with which they could easily hold the ants. Those men are called caracaracoles; thus they went to hunt them, and although they captured many [caracaracoles], they were nevertheless unable to keep more than four, which they used as females. They say they had no genitals, and for this reason it is said they returned to the elders for counsel; consequently they sent them the woodpecker, who, with his sharp beak, opened the genitals between the thighs of those females, and the others descended from there. . . .

Thus, in this way, their wise men, with gravity and reputation, from bowers and eminent places, instruct these simple islanders and persuade them to believe such things as these to be sacred and true.

Concerning the origins of the sea, they say there was a very powerful man named Iaia on that island, who killed his only son, whom he placed in a gourd instead of in a fabricated tomb. Later, this Iaia, after having passed many months troubled by the death of his son, returned to that gourd and opened it, and a great whale issued forth. . . . Drawn by the report of this, four youths, born of a single birth, in the hopes of obtaining the fish within the gourd, took it in their hands. Iaia, who had enclosed the bones in the gourd, came upon them; the youths, frightened at their sacrilege, and to avoid being accused of that robbery by Iaia, tried to flee. The gourd, because of its great weight, fell upon the ground and broke, and the sea escaped through the cracks. The sea flowed down the valleys and across the great plains nearly filling them, except for the peaks of mountains and high places that were left uncovered, which created the islands which can presently be seen.

They also say that those brothers, for fear of Iaia, fled to different places and were dying of hunger, for they did not have the courage to stop. They went to knock at the door of a baker, asking for cassava, that is, bread. Entering the house, they spat at the baker a deadly spit that killed him. Those brothers, after a discussion, opened him up with a sharp stone, and out of that wound a female was born, and those brothers slept with her together, and both males and females were the result.

In addition to these things, they say there is a cave which is called Iovanaboina . . . which is for them a more religious place than Santiago de Compostela3 is for us. It is adorned with many different paintings and has two doors sculpted to represent their demons, the zemis, one of which they call Bintaitalle, the other Marochum. When we asked them why they worship that cave with such devotion, they said that the sun and moon issued forth from there to illuminate the world. These senseless men affirm these things with great gravity, and there is as great an affluence of people coming and going from that cave as there is in our churches and at the great pilgrimage places. . . .

When they were asked by our men where they learn those vain customs (which are a pestilence among them), they answer that they have been handed down from their ancestors; and that it is not permitted to teach such things . . . except to the sons of the kings; and that they never had writing among them and everything is preserved by memory.1 simulacra: Idols.2 scabies: A skin disease.3 Santiago de Compostela: A holy shrine for Christian pilgrims in Spain.

1. According to Pané's account, what part did caves play in human origins? What happened to Machochael and the men who left the cave to go fishing? How did their acts alter the world? Why did the Taino go on pilgrimages to Iovanaboina? Why were zemis important?

2. Pané says the Taino told him that men left the caves “without their women.” How did women come to populate the earth? Does the narrative suggest that men and women were created more or less as equals?

3. This Taino origin story emphasizes that human beings were “transformed” in numerous ways to shape the world. Why did these transformations occur, according to the narrative? How did these transformations influence humans who were not transformed?

4. In what ways is Pané's religion evident in his account of Taino origins? Do you think Pané was a reliable recorder of Taino beliefs? What parts of Pané's account, if any, seem credible to you? Why?

5. Since Tainos “never had writing among them and everything is preserved by memory,” do you think the stories the Taino told Pané were credible accounts of ancient beliefs? What evidence suggests the Taino believed these stories? Is there evidence that their origin narrative had ancient roots? On the other hand, is there evidence that they might have invented the narrative to please or satisfy Pané?

A Seneca Origin NarrativeThis Seneca story of human origins, created and retold for centuries as part of the Seneca oral tradition, was recorded by Jeremiah Curtin, a white man fluent in the Seneca language. In 1883, 1886, and 1887, Curtin spent many hours talking with Seneca men and women on the Cattaraugus reservation in New York State. The largest of the five tribes of the Iroquois confederacy, the Seneca had inhabited much of central New York in the sixteenth century, but by the mid-seventeenth century they had moved west to Lake Erie and south into Pennsylvania. Curtin recorded this tale in the Seneca

language, and it was subsequently translated into English by J. W. B. Hewitt. The story reveals the intimate relationship between human beings and nature found in many other origin narratives.

Jeremiah Curtin and J. W. B. Hewitt, “Seneca Fiction, Legends and Myths, Part 1,” Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology 32 (1910–11 [1918]).

The Woman Who Fell from the SkyA long time ago human beings lived high up in what is now called heaven. They had a great and illustrious chief.

It so happened that this chief's daughter was taken very ill with a strange affection. All the people were very anxious as to the outcome of her illness. Every known remedy was tried in an attempt to cure her, but none had any effect.

Near the lodge of this chief stood a great tree, which every year bore corn used for food. One of the friends of the chief had a dream, in which he was advised to tell the chief that in order to cure his daughter he must lay her beside this tree, and that he must have the tree dug up. This advice was carried out to the letter. While the people were at work and the young woman lay there, a young man came along. He was very angry and said: “It is not at all right to destroy this tree. Its fruit is all that we have to live on.” With this remark he gave the young woman who lay there ill a shove with his foot, causing her to fall into the hole that had been dug.

Now, that hole opened into this world, which was then all water, on which floated waterfowl of many kinds. There was no land at that time. It came to pass that as these waterfowl saw this young woman falling they shouted, “Let us receive her,” whereupon they, at least some of them, joined their bodies together, and the young woman fell on this platform of bodies. When these were wearied they asked, “Who will volunteer to care for this woman?” The great Turtle then took her, and when he got tired of holding her, he in turn asked who would take his place. At last the question arose as to what they should do to provide her with a permanent resting place in this world. Finally it was decided to prepare the earth, on which she would live in the future. To do this it was determined that soil from the bottom of the primal sea should be brought up and placed on the broad, firm carapace of the Turtle, where it would increase in size to such an extent that it would accommodate all the creatures that should be produced thereafter. After much discussion the toad was finally persuaded to dive to the bottom of the waters in search of soil. Bravely making the attempt, he succeeded in bringing up soil from the depths of the sea. This was carefully spread over the carapace of the Turtle, and at once both began to grow in size and depth.

After the young woman recovered from the illness from which she suffered when she was cast down from the upper world, she built herself a shelter, in which she lived quite contentedly. In the course of time she brought forth a girl baby, who grew rapidly in size and intelligence. When the daughter had grown to young womanhood, the mother and she were accustomed to go out to dig wild potatoes. Her mother had said to her that in doing this she must face the West at all times. Before long the young daughter gave signs that she was about to become a mother. Her mother reproved her, saying that she had violated the injunction not to face the east, as her condition showed that she had faced the wrong way while digging potatoes. It is said that the breath of the West Wind had entered her person, causing conception. When the days of her delivery were at hand, she overheard twins within her body in a hot debate as to which should be born

first and as to the proper place of exit, one declaring that he was going to emerge through the armpit of his mother, the other saying that he would emerge in the natural way. The first one born, who was of a reddish color, was called Othagwenda; that is, Flint. The other, who was light in color, was called Djuskaha; that is, the Little Sprout.

The grandmother of the twins liked Djuskaha and hated the other; so they cast Othagwenda into a hollow tree some distance from the lodge.

The boy that remained in the lodge grew very rapidly, and soon was able to make himself bows and arrows and to go out to hunt in the vicinity. Finally, for several days he returned home without his bow and arrows. At last he was asked why he had to have a new bow and arrows every morning. He replied that there was a young boy in a hollow tree in the neighborhood who used them. The grandmother inquired where the tree stood, and he told her; whereupon then they went there and brought the other boy home again.

When the boys had grown to man's estate, they decided that it was necessary for them to increase the size of their island, so they agreed to start out together, afterward separating to create forests and lakes and other things. They parted as agreed, Othagwenda going westward and Djuskaha eastward. In the course of time, on returning, they met in their shelter or lodge at night, then agreeing to go the next day to see what each had made. First they went west to see what Othagwenda had made. It was found that he had made the country all rocks and full of ledges, and also a mosquito which was very large. Djuskaha asked the mosquito to run, in order that he might see whether the insect could fight. The mosquito ran, and sticking his bill through a sapling, thereby made it fall, at which Djuskaha said, “That will not be right, for you would kill the people who are about to come.” So, seizing him, he rubbed him down in his hands, causing him to become very small; then he blew on the mosquito, whereupon he flew away. He also modified some of the other animals which his brother had made. After returning to their lodge, they agreed to go the next day to see what Djuskaha had fashioned. On visiting the east the next day, they found that Djuskaha had made a large number of animals which were so fat that they could hardly move; that he had made the sugar-maple trees to drop syrup; that he had made the sycamore tree to bear fine fruit; that the rivers were so formed that half the water flowed upstream and the other half downstream. Then the reddish-colored brother, Othagwenda, was greatly displeased with what his brother had made, saying that the people who were about to come would live too easily and be too happy. So he shook violently the various animals — the bears, deer, and turkeys — causing them to become small at once, a characteristic which attached itself to their descendants. He also caused the sugar maple to drop sweetened water only, and the fruit of the sycamore to become small and useless; and lastly he caused the water of the rivers to flow in only one direction, because the original plan would make it too easy for the human beings who were about to come to navigate the streams. The inspection of each other's work resulted in a deadly disagreement between the brothers, who finally came to grips and blows, and Othagwenda was killed in the fierce struggle.

1. According to this narrative how did human beings arrive in the world?What was the significance of the “great tree which every year bore corn used for food” and of the angry young man?

2. Who does the narrative say created the earth, and why? What relationship existed between animals and the earth?

3. According to the narrative, how did human beings reproduce? Why?

4. How did Othagwenda (Flint) and Djuskaha (Little Sprout) differ? Why were those differences important?

5. Who does the narrative identify as God? What difference did it make?

Genesis: The Christian Origin NarrativeThe Bible in use during the fifteenth century was usually written in Latin, which the Christian church adopted as its official language, known only by a tiny educated elite — mostly priests and scholars. Because most Europeans could not read, priests tried to teach the doctrines of Christianity orally and with images in paint, glass, or sculpture like those still found in churches today. Although few of the Europeans who first encountered Native Americans in the New World could read Genesis, most of them were familiar with the main features of the biblical story of the origins of the world. The following passage from Genesis is taken from the famous English translation of the Bible authorized by King James I, initially published in 1611 as England's colonizing of the New World was just beginning. It discloses powerful, commonly held views not only about God but also about the relations between men and women and between human beings and the natural world.

The Holy Bible, King James Version, Genesis 1–3.

“In the Beginning”In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear; and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day.

And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful,and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the seas, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; . . . And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man shall be alone; I will make him an help meet1 for him. And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field: but for Adam there was not an help meet for him. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them

both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all the cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou has hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims,2 and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.1 help meet: Companion, helper; in this case, a wife.2 Cherubims: Angels.

1. According to Genesis, how and why did God create the world?

2. Were plants, animals, and human beings in this account more or less equal in God's eyes?

3. Why did God command human beings to “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion . . . over every living thing that moveth upon the earth”?

4. Did God make different demands on men and women? Why?

5. Why did God forbid Adam and Eve to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Why did they disobey God? How did God punish them?

6. How might the Genesis account of human origins have influenced Europeans as they encountered peoples in Africa and the New World?

Aristotle on Masters and SlavesThe Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 B.C.) sought to discover the first principles of knowledge using observation, logic, and argument. He headed a famous school in Athens beginning in 335 B.C., and after his death his students wrote down versions of his lectures they had heard, the source of this selection from The Politics.Although relatively few Europeans who encountered Native Americans had actually read Aristotle, his ideas strongly influenced medieval Christianity and were widely diffused by the church. The following excerpt on masters and slaves describes ideas most Europeans in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries considered common knowledge.Aristotle, The Politics, trans., Ernest Barker; rev., R. F. Stalley (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995), 8–20.

The Politics, ca. 300 B.C.First of all, there must necessarily be a union or pairing of those who cannot exist without one another. Male and female must unite for the reproduction of the species — not from deliberate intention, but from the natural impulse, which exists in animals generally as it also exists in plants, to leave behind them something of the same nature as themselves. Next, there must necessarily be a union of the naturally ruling element with the element which is naturally ruled, for the preservation of both. The element

which is able, by virtue of its intelligence, to exercise forethought, is naturally a ruling and master element; the element which is able, by virtue of its bodily power, to do the physical work, is a ruled element, which is naturally in a state of slavery; and master and slave have accordingly a common interest.

The female and the slave are naturally distinguished from one another. . . . Among barbarians, however, the female and the slave occupy the same position — the reason being that no naturally ruling element exists among them, and conjugal union thus comes to be a union of a female who is a slave with a male who is also a slave. This is why our poets have said, “Meet it is that barbarous peoples should be governed by the Greeks,” the assumption being that barbarian and slave are by nature one and the same. . . .

The first form of association naturally instituted for the satisfaction of daily recurrent needs is thus the family. . . . A complete household consists of slaves and freemen. But every subject of inquiry should first be examined in its simplest elements; and the primary and simplest elements of the household are the connection of master and slave, that of the husband and wife, and that of parents and children. . . .

Property is part of the household and the art of acquiring property is part of household management, for it is impossible to live well, or indeed at all, unless the necessary conditions are present. . . . Each article of property is thus an instrument for the purpose of life, property in general is a quantity of such instruments, [and] the slave is an animate article of property, and subordinates, or servants, in general may be described as instruments. . . .

The term “article of property” is used in the same way in which the term “part” is also used. A part is not only a part of something other than itself: it also belongs entirely to that other thing. It is the same with an article of property. Accordingly, while the master is merely the master of the slave, and does not belong to him, the slave is not only the slave of his master; he also belongs entirely to him.

From these considerations, we can see clearly what is the nature of the slave and what is his capacity: anybody who by nature is not his own man, but an-other's, is by his nature a slave; anybody who, being a man, is an article of property is another 's man; an article of property is an instrument intended for the purpose of action and separable from its possessor. . . .

We have next to consider whether . . . there are some people for whom slavery is the better and just condition, or whether the reverse is the case and all slavery is contrary to nature. The issue is not difficult, whether we study it philosophically in the light of reason, or consider it empirically on the basis of actual facts. The relation of ruler and ruled is one of those things which are not only necessary, but also beneficial; and there are species in which a distinction is already marked, immediately at birth, between those of its members who are intended for being ruled and those who are intended to rule. . . .

Animate beings are composed, in the first place, of soul and body, with the former naturally ruling and the latter naturally ruled. . . . It is possible . . . to observe first in animate beings the presence of a ruling authority, both of the sort exercised by a master over slaves and of the sort exercised by a statesman over fellow citizens. The soul rules the body with the authority of a master: reason rules the appetite with the

authority of a statesman or a monarch. In this sphere it is clearly natural and beneficial to the body that it should be ruled by the soul, and again it is natural and beneficial to the affective part of the soul that it should be ruled by the reason and the rational part; whereas the equality of the two elements, or their reverse relation, is always detrimental. The same principle is true of the relation of man to other animals. Tame animals have a better nature than wild, and it is better for all such animals that they should be ruled by man because they then get the benefit of preservation. Again, the relation of male to female is naturally that of the superior to the inferior, of the ruling to the ruled. This general principle must similarly hold good of all human beings generally.We may thus conclude that all men who differ from others as much as the body differs from the soul, or an animal from a man (and this is the case with all those whose function is bodily service, and who produce their best when they supply such service) — all such are by nature slaves. In their case, as in the other cases just mentioned, it is better to be ruled by a master. Someone is thus a slave by nature if he is capable of becoming the property of another (and for those reasons does actually become another's property) and if he participates in reason to the extent of apprehending it in another, though destitute of it himself. Other animals do not apprehend reason, but obey their instincts. Even so there is little divergence in the way they are used; both of them (slaves and tame animals)provide bodily assistance in satisfying essential needs.It is nature's intention also to erect a physical difference between the bodies of freemen and those of the slaves, giving the latter strength for the menial duties of life, but making the former upright in carriage and (though useless for physical labour) useful for the various purposes of civic life — a life which tends, as it develops, to be divided into military service and the occupations of peace. . . .

It is thus clear that, just as some are by nature free, so others are by nature slaves, and for these latter the condition of slavery is both beneficial and just. . . .But it is easy to see that those who hold an opposite view are also in a way correct. “Slavery” and “slave” are terms which are used in two different senses; for there is also a kind of slave, and of slavery, which owes its existence to law. (The law in question is a kind of understanding that those vanquished in war are held to belong to the victors.) That slavery can be justified by such a convention is a principle against which a number of jurists bring an “indictment of illegality.” . . . They regard it as a destestable notion that someone who is subjugated by force should become the slave and subject of one who has the capacity to subjugate him, and is his superior in power. Even among men of judgment there are some who accept this [view] and some who do not. The cause of this divergence of view . . .is to be found in the following consideration. There is a sense in which good qual ities, when they are furnished with the right resources, have the greatest power to subjugate; and a victor is always pre-eminent in respect of some sort of good. It thus appears that “power never goes without good qualities” . . . [and] no other argument has any cogency, or even plausibility, against the view that one who is superior in goodness ought to rule over, and be the master of, his inferiors.

There are some who, clinging, as they think, to a sort of justice (for law is a sort of justice), assume that slavery in war is just. Simultaneously, however, they contradict that assumption; for in the first place it is possible that the original cause of the war may not be just, and in the second place no one would ever say that someone who does not deserve to be in a condition of slavery is really a slave. If such a view were accepted, the result would be that men reputed to be of the highest rank would be turned into slaves or the children of slaves, if they [or their parents] happened to be captured and sold into slavery. This is the reason why they do not like to call such

people slaves, but prefer to confine the term to barbarians. But by this use of terms they are, in reality, only seeking to express that same idea of a natural slave which we began by mentioning. They are driven, in effect, to admit that there are some who are everywhere slaves, and others who are everywhere free. The same line of thought is followed in regard to good birth. Greeks regard themselves as well born not only in their own country, but absolutely and in all places; but they regard barbarians as well born only in their own country — thus assuming that there is one sort of good birth and freedom which is absolute, and another which is only relative. . . .

It is thus clear that . . . it is not true that . . . [when men of the highest rank are enslaved as a result of war, then they] are natural slaves and the [victors are] natural freemen. It is also clear that there are cases where such a distinction exists, and that here it is beneficial and just that the former should actually be a slave and the latter a master — the one being ruled, and the other exercising the kind of rule for which he is naturally intended and therefore acting as a master. But a wrong exercise of his rule by a master is a thing which is disadvantageous for both master and slave. The part and the whole, like the body and the soul, have an identical interest; and the slave is a part of the master, in the sense of being a living but separate part of his body. There is thus a community of interest, and a relation of friendship, between master and slave, when both of them naturally merit the position in which they stand. But the reverse is true, when matters are otherwise and slavery rests merely on legal and superior power. . . .

The argument makes it clear that the rule of the master and that of the statesman are different from one another, and that it is not the case that all kinds of rule are, as some thinkers hold, identical. One kind of rule is exercised over those who are naturally free; the other over slaves; and again the rule exercised over a household by its head is that of a monarch (for all households are monarchically governed),while the rule of the statesman is rule over freemen and equals.

1. According to Aristotle, why were some people “natural slaves”? Who were these people? Why was slavery for them natural? Why was slavery “beneficial and just” for them?

2. How would you argue against Aristotle's defense of natural slavery?Did he make false assumptions? Were his arguments illogical? Can you argue against his view starting from his assumptions? How?

3. To what extent did Aristotle believe that it was good and just for victors in war to enslave their captives? Was slavery for Aristotle anything other than the superior power of the master over the slave?What arguments did Aristotle make against the claim that “all slavery is contrary to nature”? Do you find his arguments convincing? Why or why not?

4. How did the relation of master to slave differ from that of man to woman, husband to wife, parent to children, and statesman to citizens, according to Aristotle? In what sense were “all households . . . monarchically governed”? Since Aristotle argued that “the relation of male to female is naturally that of the superior to the inferior, of the ruling to the ruled,” would he claim that women were natural slaves?

Sir Thomas More Describes New

World UtopiaThe surprising novelty of the New World caused many Europeans to imagine new possibilities, even new societies, on the shores of the western Atlantic. In 1515, Sir Thomas More, a prominent lawyer and member of Parliament, wrote Utopia, a book that became famous for its portrait of an imaginary New World society totally different from England and other European monarchies. In the following excerpt, More criticizes the harmful effects of property in England and describes the happy consequences of communal property in Utopia. More's account of the Utopians contrasts the unequal distribution of wealth in England with the promise of abundance and happiness in a New World commonwealth.

Sir Thomas More, Utopia (New York: Ideal Commonwealths; P. F. Collier & Son, 1901).

Utopia, 1515Though to speak plainly my real sentiments, I must freely own that as long as there is any property, and while money is the standard of all other things, I cannot think that a nation can be governed either justly or happily: not justly, because the best things will fall to the share of the worst men; nor happily, because all things will be divided among a few (and even these are not in all respects happy), the rest being left to be absolutely miserable. Therefore when I reflect on the wise and good constitution of the Utopians — among whom all things are so well governed, and with so few laws; where virtue hath its due reward, and yet there is such an equality, that every man lives in plenty — when I compare with them so many other nations that are still making new laws, and yet can never bring their constitution to a right regulation, where notwithstanding everyone has his property;yet all the laws that they can invent have not the power either to obtain or preserve it, or even to enable men certainly to distinguish what is their own from what is another's; . . . the setting all upon a level was the only way to make a nation happy, which cannot be obtained so long as there is property: for when every man draws to himself all that he can compass, by one title or another, it must needs follow, that how plentiful soever a nation may be, yet a few dividing the wealth of it among themselves, the rest must fall into indigence. . . .From whence I am persuaded, that till property is taken away there can be no equitable or just distribution of things, nor can the world be happily governed: for as long as that is maintained, the greatest and the far best part of mankind will be still oppressed with a load of cares and anxieties. . . .“[I]f you had been in Utopia with me, and had seen their laws and rules, as I did, for the space of five years, in which I lived among them; and during which time I was so delighted with them, that indeed I should never have left them, if it had not been to make the discovery of that new world to the Europeans; you would then confess that you had never seen a people so well constituted as they”. . . .Agriculture is that which is so universally understood among them that no person, either man or woman, is ignorant of it; they are instructed in it from their childhood, partly by what they learn at school and partly by practice; they being led out often into the fields,about the town, where they not only see others at work, but are likewise exercised in it themselves. Besides agriculture, which is so common to them all, every man has some peculiar trade to which he applies himself, such as the manufacture of wool, or flax, masonry,smith's work, or carpen-ter's work; for there is no sort of trade that is not in great esteem among them. Throughout the island they wear the same sort of clothes without any other distinction, except what is necessary to distinguish the two sexes, and the married and unmarried. The fashion never alters; and as it is neither disagreeable nor uneasy, so it is suited to the climate, and calculated both for their summers and winters. Every family makes their own clothes; but all among

them, women as well as men, learn one or other of the trades formerly mentioned. Women, for the most part, deal in wool and flax,which suit best with their weakness, leaving the ruder trades to the men. The same trade generally passes down from father to son,inclinations often following descent; but if any man's genius lies another way, he is by adoption translated into a family that deals in the trade to which he is inclined. . . .The chief, and almost the only business of the [Utopians], is to take care that no man may live idle, but that every one may follow his trade diligently: yet they do not wear themselves out with perpetual toil,from morning to night, as if they were beasts of burden, which, as it is indeed a heavy slavery, so it is everywhere the common course of life among all mechanics except the Utopians; but they dividing the day and night into twenty-four hours, appoint six of these for work;three of which are before dinner, and three after. They then sup, and at eight o'clock, counting from noon, go to bed and sleep eight hours.The rest of their time besides that taken up in work, eating and sleeping, is left to every man's discretion; yet they are not to abuse that interval to luxury and idleness, but must employ it in some proper exercise according to their various inclinations, which is for the most part reading. It is ordinary to have public lectures every morning before daybreak; at which none are obliged to appear but those who are marked out for literature; yet a great many, both men and women of all ranks, go to hear lectures of one sort of other, according to their inclinations. But if others, that are not made for contemplation,choose rather to employ themselves at that time in their trades, as many of them do, they are not hindered, but are rather commended,as men that take care to serve their country. After supper, they spend an hour in some diversion, in summer in their gardens, and in winter in the halls where they eat; where they entertain each other,either with music or discourse. . . .As to [the Utopians'] clothes, observe how little work is spent in them: while they are at labor, they are clothed with leather and skins,cast carelessly about them, which will last seven years; and when they appear in public they put on an upper garment, which hides the other;and these are all of one color, and that is the natural color of the wool. As they need less woollen cloth than is used anywhere else, so that which they make use of is much less costly. They use linen cloth more; but that is prepared with less labor, and they value cloth only by the whiteness of the linen or the cleanness of the wool, without much regard to the fineness of the thread: while in other places [such as England], four or five upper garments of woollen cloth, of different colors, and as many vests of silk, will scarce serve one man; and while those that are nicer think ten are too few, every man there [in Utopia] is content with one, which very often serves him two years. Nor is there anything that can tempt a man to desire more; for if he had them, he would neither be the warmer nor would he make one jot the better appearance for it. And thus, since they are all employed in some useful labor, and since they content themselves with fewer things, it falls out that there is a great abundance of all things among them. . . .But to return to their manner of living in society, the oldest man of every family . . . is its governor. Wives serve their husbands, and children their parents, and always the younger serves the elder. Every city is divided into four equal parts, and in the middle of each there is a marketplace: what is brought thither, and manufactured by the several families, is carried from thence to houses appointed for that purpose, in which all things of a sort are laid by themselves; and thither every father goes and takes whatsoever he or his family stand in need of, without either paying for it or leaving anything in exchange. There is no reason for giving a denial to any person, since there is such plenty of everything among them; and there is no danger of a man's asking for more than he needs; they have no inducements to do this, since they are sure that they shall always be supplied. It is the fear of want that makes any of the whole race of animals

either greedy or ravenous; but besides fear, there is in man a pride that makes him fancy it a particular glory to excel others in pomp and excess. But by the laws of the Utopians, there is no room for this. . . .They detest war as a very brutal thing; and which, to the reproach of human nature, is more practised by men than by any sort of beasts.They, in opposition to the sentiments of almost all other nations,think that there is nothing more inglorious than that glory that is gained by war. And therefore though they accustom themselves daily to military exercises and the discipline of war — in which not only their men but their women likewise are trained up, that in cases of necessity they may not be quite useless — yet they do not rashly engage in war, unless it be either to defend themselves, or their friends, from any unjust aggressors; or out of good-nature or in compassion assist an oppressed nation in shaking off the yoke of tyranny. . . .Thus have I described to you, as particularly as I could, the constitution of that commonwealth, which I do not only think the best in the world, but indeed the only commonwealth that truly deserves that name. In all other places it is visible, that while people talk of a commonwealth, every man only seeks his own wealth; but there,where no man has any property, all men zealously pursue the good of the public: and, indeed, it is no wonder to see men act so differently;for in other commonwealths, every man knows that unless he provides for himself, how flourishing soever the commonwealth may be, he must die of hunger; so that he sees the necessity of preferring his own concerns to the public; but in Utopia, where every man has a right to everything, they all know that if care is taken to keep the public stores full, no private man can want anything; for among them there is no unequal distribution, so that no man is poor, none in necessity; and though no man has anything, yet they are all rich; for what can make a man so rich as to lead a serene and cheerful life, free from anxieties. . . .

Why did More believe that “as long as there is any property” a nation cannot “be governed either justly or happily”? Why did property make a nation unjust and unhappy?

According to More, why did Utopians work? How did their labor,clothing, and leisure differ from Europeans'?

Why did Utopians “detest war”? How did their view of war contrast with that of most Europeans?

Why did More think that Utopia was “the only commonwealth that truly deserves that name”? What did living in a commonwealth mean in the daily lives of Utopians? Did the Utopians' commonwealth govern families as well as the society as a whole? How did the Utopian commonwealth differ from European societies?

How did New World societies in the sixteenth century compare to More's imaginary Utopia?