评论
打印
In many countries
在很多国家
or assorted principalities,
或者联合的封地中
a principality is a land ruled by a Prince,
封地是指王子，贵族管理的土地
the population was growing faster
人口增长的速度
than the ability to support the population.
超过了土地的供给力
Western European countries
西欧国家
also coveted new markets for their goods
也希望为自己的商品找到市场
along with wealthy trading partners.
和富有的贸易伙伴
As we learned in segment 2B
我们在第二节中得知
these markets and new lands
这些市场和土地
could not be found in the East
无法在东方获得
where the Turks and the Russians did play
因为那里是土耳其人和俄罗斯人统治的范围
so the Western Europeans literally had to
所以西欧人确实需要
discover these new lands.
去发现这些新土地
Much as earlier civilizations
就像之前的文明
had done before them
已经做的
and much as later nations
和之后的国家
would do after them.
要做的一样
They also hoped to gain
他们也希望能够获得
the spiritual glory of
将基督教带到新世界的
bringing Christianity to the New World.
精神荣耀
2; the old school view 2
传统的教育
when I was in high school
我上高中的时候
history text books still claimed that
历史书上还说
Christopher Columbus discovered America
克里斯托弗哥伦布在1492年
in 1492AD.
发现了美洲
This in turn implied a strong us and them distinction
这里面强烈暗含了我们和他们之间的区别
between the good Europeans
好的欧洲人
who are bringing civilization and religion
为这些坏印第安人
to those bad Indians,
带来了文明和宗教
and the bad Indians
而这些坏印第安人
who massacred and scalped
屠杀了善良友好的欧洲人
the nice friendly Europeans.
还剥了他们的头骨
Since the Europeans
因为欧洲人
thought of the Indians as savages
把印第安人看成是野蛮人
they considered themselves entitled
他们认为自己有权
to claim and rule whatever lands they could grab.
获得并统治自己可以得到的土地
The technical term for this assumption is
这种设想的专业术语是
claiming Terra Nullius or nobodies land.
获得无主土地
It was all for the Indians own good
这完全是对印第安人好
or so we were indirectly led to believe
或者我们在60 70年代是
back in the 1960's and 70's.
这样被误导的
For his role in bringing
因为他将
the so called New World to European attention
这样的新大陆带到了欧洲人面前
the nice guy Christopher Columbus
这个好人，克里斯托弗哥伦布
has statues erected and cities
被树立了很多雕像，很多城市
and even an entire country named in his honor,
甚至整个国家以他的名字命名
not to mention Universities and university towns,
更不要提那些大学和大学城了
but the continents themselves were named after that
不过大陆本身是以后来的探险家
rank late comer Amerigo Vespucci.
阿梅里戈韦斯普奇命名的
3: you discovered what? 3
我们从中发现了什么?
back when I was a pup
当我还是个孩子的时候
we heard a lot less about the peoples
我们很少听到
who were actually living in the Americas
真正住在美洲的人的情况
when Columbus reached the Indies in 1492.
在哥伦布1492年到达这里时
The Maya, Inca and Aztec cultures
玛雅，印加和阿兹特克文化
were fascinating
都很了不起
but they were South American empires
但是他们都是南美的国度
and they did not really directly
他们也没有直接
impact American history,
影响美国历史
or so it was told.
或者历史上是这样说
The original inhabitants of North America,
北美的原住民
the Indians, left behind no major written records
印第安人，没有留下主要的记录
and so supposedly couldn't have left their mark
所以可能也没有在美国历史上
on American history either.
留下自己的痕迹
This historical view became corrected somewhat
在我上大学的时候
when I entered college.
这一历史观在一定程度上得以修正
I once heard an Indian Professor tell a class;
我曾经听一位印第安教授说
we didn't need Columbus to discover us,
我们不需要哥伦布发现我们
we already knew we were there.
我们知道自己在那儿
It became very popular to
后来去除
de-mythologize quote unquote
克里斯托弗哥伦布的神话
'Christopher Columbus and point out his crimes'.
指出他的罪行，很流行
Some of these crimes were authentic,
其中的一些罪行是真实的
he did kill Native Americans,
他确实杀害了印第安人
he did trade in slaves,
他确实贩卖了奴隶
some of these crimes are perceived,
有一些是推测的
the genocide of American Indians
美洲印第安人的灭绝
and the institution of slavery did occur
奴隶制的建立确实存在
but cannot be traced
但这些不能联系到
to Christopher Columbus.
哥伦布身上
Even though a great deal of
尽管西欧所带来的
the Western European legacy
很多后果
involves slaughter and oppression of
包括屠杀和压迫
Native Americans
印第安人
it is hard to argue that
我们很难说
the world today is not a better place
由于美洲殖民
for the colonization of the Americas
世界变得不够好
and Christopher Columbus
哥伦布在其中
played a big role in that
扮演了很重要的角色
no matter what he did or didn't discover.
不管他有没有发现新大陆
