Rick Steves' Travel as a Political Act Blog - In 1492, Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue…

In 1492, Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue…

Our Salvadoran hosts gave my educational tour group a history lesson unlike any I got in my schooling. In 1524, the Spaniards arrived in El Salvador. They killed people, burned villages, and named the place “The Savior” after Christ. Enslaving the locals — branding them with hot irons like cattle — those first conquistadors established a persistent pattern:

Under the Spanish, land long used to grow corn (the local staple) was re-cultivated to grow indigo (a better cash crop for export). As indigo needed flat land, locals were displaced and pushed into the hills. Later, when the rise of cotton wiped out the indigo trade, coffee became El Salvador's top cash crop. Coffee needed to be grown on the hillside. So the people were displaced again.

Rebellion after rebellion was put down as the land was Christianized. Making religion the opiate of the masses, the priests preached, “Don't question authority. Heaven awaits those who suffer quietly.” (Even today, when labor organizers try to mobilize workers against structural poverty, they hear, “No, our struggles are God's will.” Those promoting the left-wing people's party report that their challenge is to teach poor Christian peasants that it's okay to get political and vote for change.)

El Salvador won its independence from Spain in 1821. The local victors were not the indigenous people, but the descendants of those first Spanish conquistadors. They wanted to continue harvesting El Salvador…but without giving Spain its cut. Indigenous Salvadorans gained nothing from “independence.”

After the popular uprisings and massacres of 1932, indigenous culture was outlawed, the left wing was decimated, and a military dictatorship was established. Those who spoke the indigenous language were killed. Traditional dress was prohibited. After 1932, when a white person looked at an Indian, the Indian's head would drop. To be indigenous was to be subversive. And today, the word indígena still comes with negative connotations: illiterate, ignorant, savage. All these centuries later, some things still haven't changed.

About This Entry

You are reading "In 1492, Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue…", an entry posted on 16 October 2009 by Rick Steves.

6 replies to this entry. Add your comment below.

Previous Entry, Santa and the Chopper, posted Oct 14 2009

Next Entry, Reading the Bible through Developing World Eyes, posted Oct 19 2009

Comments [ top ]

Excellent post, Rick.

Posted by: Jeff - Oct 16, 2009 4:02 PM

Rıck, repeatıng jeff, thıs whole serıes now and those of lıke detaıls from the past years are excellent. My only dısmay or possıbly ıt ıs just a tıred acceptance, ıs of how few responses these fıne blogs generate. So do people not care? Do they not read? Do they not belıeve what you wrıte? Honestly I wonder about how a lıttle polıtıcal or economıc blog can create fırestorm response, when truly semınal blogs lıke these seem to be ıgnored. Or maybe people do not know how to respond, caught up ın thıngs of momentary emotıon as often we are today. Thanks Rıck for your work for/wıth people, on many levels, even when ıt does not always gaın recognıtıon. Larry from sprıngfıeld.

Posted by: larry - Oct 16, 2009 11:19 PM

I've commented on this in the past. I think folks come to Rick's blogs (whatever they are titled) looking for travel tips, descriptions of places to see and stay and eat and some fun comments. They are expecting the light-hearted Rick from PBS and they have not gotten accustomed to viewing what Rick writes as political. It's probably going to take some time for that to happen.

Posted by: louisa - Oct 17, 2009 6:02 AM

I check here time to time, but I found that up until the El Salvator series that the blogs were alot of retreads of 2007 and 2008 topics that had been in the mainstream travel blogs. And I am probably sounding very bourgeois but I do admit to coming here for Europe travel tips not political lectures.

Posted by: Wanda - Oct 17, 2009 12:14 PM

Excellent article Rick; it makes me pause and think about how what I do affects people in LDCs. Clearly labeled as "Travel as a Political Act." How could anyone expect it to be travel tips, and not a political article, or lecture, if you want to call it that?

Posted by: Nels - Oct 17, 2009 9:59 PM

Well said Nels! I for one welcome the opportunity to get a real education on why things are the way they are. If people are uncomfortable with being confronted with how the way we travel can possibly effect others, clearly they're the ones with the problem. Keep it up Rick, and keep speaking truth to power.

Posted by: Alfran - Oct 25, 2009 6:03 PM