A People's History of the United States

Zinn begins his narrative with Columbus and the Arawak. In the fall of 1492 and after weeks of hard sailing, Columbus and his crew landed in what we today call the Bahamas. They found the Arawaks, who were humble people with no iron tools and no weapons. The native peoples met the Spaniards with gifts and offered to trade virtually anything they had on the island. Columbus and his men, however, were after gold. The most prestigious Arawaks had small pieces of gold jewelry, which they had probably acquired through trade. Columbus demanded they take him to their supply and held several Arawaks as prisoners. The trail of gold took the Spaniards next to Cuba and then to Hispaniola, modern-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

On each of these islands, Columbus found peoples similar to the Arawaks: good-natured and trusting (4). Columbus concluded that with just a few hundred more soldiers, he could conquer so “weak” a people, put their land to good European-style use, and renew the quest for the region’s gold. He returned to Spain, bringing trade goods, small treasures, and native slaves. Stories of the so-called “New World” fascinated the Spanish court. With his funding secured, Columbus returned to Hispaniola.