Overview: In chapter two of Lies, Loewen writes about the dual meaning of "exploit" regarding Christoper Columbus: His exploits of "discovery", and his exploitation of the native people. This chapter tears apart the feel-good and heavily Eurocentric view of Columbus provided by textbooks and brings primary sources into the conversation to shed a greater light on the atrocities he committed. More than that, Loewen argues that the whitewashed version of the Columbian Exchange is boring to students and robs them of a perfect opportunity to put hundreds of years before and after 1492 into an appropriate context. The image above is a painting depicting Spanish war dogs being used to maim and disembowel Arawak Natives.
Screencast: Screencast 4
Big Question: Which American contributions to the Old World are overlooked in the analysis of the Columbian exchange?
Interactive Site: The site I chose for this blog is an interactive site on the Columbian exchange. I chose this site as an example of the limited scope in the conversation surrounding the exchange because it provides a useful starting point in exampling what is not there. Namely, the transfer of ideas and culture from the New World to the Old and the impact they had in the following centuries. It can be found here: Columbian Exchange Interactive Map
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