Harrison Hammond
Creel
10/6/11
Dear North American Earthlings,
I am invader Zu reporting from the planet Zimmer from the Andromeda galaxy, the closest galaxy from the Milky Way. With much discussion with my fellow creatures, we regret to inform you that we have used all of our resources on our planet and we need all of your land, water, food, and humans as slaves. This is a forewarning, so we can use force or we can politely ask you to board our ship that is destined for the sun, in which case you’ll die. Before we plan this mass invasion for North America, we had to scout out and research your planet’s history to come up with the best strategy. In much disbelief your continent’s history is very interesting to say the least. Many people risked their lives, reputations, and social status to fight for what they though was moral for all humans.
Today, you accept many different types of races and religions that amount to a vast amount of multiculturalism in your society. Researching in the past I understand that it hasn’t always been true, especially when the first man from another continent called Europe traveled from the country Spain over the Atlantic Ocean to reach North America. When arriving, these “explorers” began to take advantage of the indigenous people for their bodies, resources, and land. A man named Bartolome' de las Casas, a Spanish missionary, described the treatment of these native people in a text titled, A Brief Account of the Destruction of the West Indies, “They snatcht young Babes from the Mothers Breasts, and then dasht out the brains of those innocents against the Rocks; others they cast into Rivers scoffing and jeering them, and call'd upon their Bodies when falling with derision, the true testimony of their Cruelty, to come to them, and inhumanely exposing others to their Merciless Swords, together with the Mothers that gave them Life.” (de las Casas 6). Witnessing these ruthless events, de las Casas appealed to the Spanish hierarchies to end this barbaric treatment of the natives. De las Casa was the first person to perceive the natives as humans and not savages. In the same text A Brief Account of the Destruction of the West Indies de las Casas states, “Now the Indians are but slenderly stor'd with Servants; for it is much if a Casic hath Three or Four in his Retinue, therefore they have recourse to the Subjects; and when they had, in the first place, seized the Orphans, they required earnestly and instantly one Son of the Parent, who had but Two, and Two of him that had but Three, and for the Lord of the place satisfied the desires of the Tyrant, not without the Effusion of Tears and Groans of the People, who (as it seems) were very careful of their Children. And this being frequently repeated in the space between the Year 1523, and 1533, the Kingdom lost all their Inhabitants, for in Six or Seven Years time there were constantly Five or Six Ships made ready to be fraighted with Indians that were sold in the Regions of _Panama and Perusium.”(de las Casa 16). Here it shows his desire to change these hateful views and describes the child to parent bond humans possess. The enslavement of the natives last hundreds of years but de las Casas’s decision to stand against the “norm” shows courage and that virtue actually did exist in a time when these vicious acts were committed.
Further on, we aliens understand that another Earthling that stood out is de Vaca. De Vaca was another of these Spaniards journeyed across the ocean in 1527 to North America, but his voyage was cut short when his boat was destroyed. De Vaca was eventually stranded and suddenly in the Native’s hands. During this time, the Spaniards were viciously attacking the Natives and assumed he was one of them. In the book La Relacion (The Account) de Vaca lived among the indigenous people for seven years stating, "We had come from the sunrise, they from the sunset; we healed the sick, they killed the sound; we came naked and barefoot, they clothed, horsed, and lanced; we coveted nothing but gave whatever we were given, while they robbed whomever they found and bestowed nothing on anyone" (Vaca 47). De Vaca stating they weren’t savages but compassionate, helpful, and caring. When Spanish slave traders to understand de Vaca's intentions, Vaca argued for their freedom upon the basis of humanity. After returning to Spain de Vaca became an advocate for the freedom of Native Americans. Similar to de las Casas, de Vaca wrote of the very human love Native American people had for their children; "These people love their children more and treat them better than any other people on earth." (de Vaca 40). Cabeza de Vaca went against popular perspective of the Native Americans and saw them more as just savages.
Similar to why I (Zu) am invading North America for resources, the Europeans had used all of the Native American slaves through death and especially disease so they began to look for other humans for industrial growth. The Europeans found Africans for a new resource for slaves. Over hundreds of years millions of Africans were captured in their lands, shipped to America, sold to white people, and forced to work and suffer. The enslavement of another race provided more hatred in most of the American population. I have learned, however, of a few more examples of humans who were willing to risk their reputations to express their belief in treating all races as human.
John Woolman, a Quaker, showed a tremendous amount of courage when addressing the issue to abolish African slavery. In this time period, Woolman risks huge resentment and punishment for expressing these ideas. Woolman began his writing, that was persuasive and sensitive in style, in a document he titled Some Consideration on the Keeping of Negros. His argument is justified by using the Bible as evidence of "remembering that all nations are one blood (Genesis 3.20)" (Woolman 619), that all humans share a conscience and Europeans are "inconsistent with the Christian religion"(Woolman 1). Some Consideration on the Keeping of Negros made the concept to abolish slavery seem necessary and moral. In addition, Woolman makes strong arguments against slavery in general, "For as God's love in universal, so where the mind is sufficiently influenced by it, begets a likeness of itself and the heart is enlarged towards all men. Again, to conclude a people forward preerse, and worse by nature than others, this will excite a behavior toward them becoming the excellence of true religion." (Woolman 621). Coming from a perspective of a slave, the reader is compelled to feel compassion towards a slave and what they have to experience by experiencing, on a low level, of empathy. In this passage, even though it is the "norm" to own slaves, Woolman claims it is everyone's duty as a Christian to see past the revenue a slave produces, but views them as human beings. The encouragement of empathy must have created some questions in the minds of slave owners regarding the morality of their actions. Mr. Woolman is proof that humans are capable of escaping the cruel norms common among the people of Earth.
After my study of early American literature and history I feel that over the years America has learned to accept people and I hope this belief remains. If, only these Earthlings could overcome their fear of difference and practice equality back then and maybe today there won’t be so much hatred among races and religion. It is people like De las Casas, De Vaca, and Jon Woolman that stand up for what is morally good that made a huge impact in their time periods. The mission on Earth is going to begin soon and it is always a positive sign that I’m about to conquer a society that is rich in history and its people.
Yours Truly,
Invader Zu
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