Teachers of children in the United States of America wrote this date on blackboards again and again, and asked the children to memorize it with pride and joy: 1492. The teachers told the children that this was when their continent was discovered by human beings. Actually, millions of human beings were already living full and imaginative lives on the continent in 1492. That was simply the year in which sea pirates began to cheat and rob and kill them.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The date 1492 is taught as discovery but marks the beginning of violence against indigenous peoples.
- In plain terms
- 1492 is called discovery but was actually the start of invasion.
- What can you take from it?
- History often glorifies colonization as discovery.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Whose story is taught in history?
- How should we teach history?
Another view
It presents a specific view of history without full context.
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