The Black Legend, Native Americans, and Spaniards: Crash Course US History #1

Summary

In this Crash Course U.S. History episode, John Green explores the pre-Columbian era of North America, emphasizing the diversity and complexity of Native American societies. He challenges the notion of 'primitive' cultures, highlighting their farming, social structures, and trade networks despite the absence of certain technologies. The script discusses the devastating impact of European diseases, the Spanish colonization of Florida and the Southwest, and the Pueblo Revolt. Green also critiques the 'Black Legend' and the importance of considering multiple perspectives in historical narratives.

Takeaways

• 🌎 The script begins with a humorous acknowledgment of the global nature of U.S. history, despite its title.
• 🏰 The video challenges the notion of 'primitive' societies by explaining that Native North Americans had complex social structures and trade networks, despite lacking certain technologies.
• 🤔 It critiques the idea of viewing human progress as a linear path from 'primitive' to 'civilized', highlighting that this perspective is biased and doesn't reflect historical realities.
• 🌾 The script discusses the diversity of Native American societies, emphasizing that generalizations are problematic due to the vast differences in lifestyles and cultures.
• 🌳 It explains that Native American tribes had different ways of life based on the natural resources available in their regions, such as fishing for west coast tribes and buffalo hunting for those on the plains.
• 🔄 The Iroquois Confederacy is highlighted as an example of tribal bands uniting into a loose confederacy, akin to a regional alliance, which was unique to the region.
• 🙏 The spiritual beliefs of Native Americans are described, with a focus on a single Creator-god and ceremonies related to their lifestyle, differing from Christian monotheism.
• 🏡 The concept of land ownership is contrasted between Native Americans, who viewed land as a common resource, and Europeans, who sought to own and control it.
• 👥 The script acknowledges class distinctions and gender roles within Native American tribes, noting that wealth was more evenly distributed and women held significant roles.
• 📜 It addresses the 'noble savage' stereotype, explaining that early European views of Native Americans varied from idealization to dismissal as uncivilized due to cultural differences.
• 🇪🇸 The Spanish colonization efforts in Florida and the American Southwest are discussed, including the establishment of Santa Fe and the Pueblo Revolt, which led to a temporary expulsion of the Spanish.

Q & A

What is the main theme of the Crash Course U.S. History video script?

The main theme of the script is to provide an overview of the pre-Columbian history of North America, focusing on the native populations and the early interactions between Native Americans and European explorers, particularly the Spanish.

Why does the narrator believe that the term 'primitive' is problematic when referring to pre-Columbian Native Americans?

The term 'primitive' is problematic because it implies a romanticized or infantilized view of the Native Americans, suggesting that they were less evolved or less advanced because they lacked certain technologies or practices that Europeans had, which is a Eurocentric and linear perspective on human progress.

What are some of the key differences between Native North Americans and the Europeans who arrived later?

Native North Americans had no metal work, no gunpowder, no wheels, no written languages, and no domesticated animals, but they did have farming, complex social and political structures, and widespread trade networks. In contrast, Europeans had advanced in these areas and introduced diseases that decimated native populations.

What is the significance of the Iroquois Confederacy mentioned in the script?

The Iroquois Confederacy, also known as the Great League of Peace, is significant as an example of a loose confederacy or league that tribal bands often united into, indicating a level of political organization and cooperation among Native American groups.

How did the Spanish colonization efforts in Florida differ from those in the American Southwest?

In Florida, the Spanish faced difficulties due to harsh conditions and resistance from the native populations, leading to the destruction of many missions. In contrast, the Spanish were more successful in the American Southwest, establishing a permanent settlement in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which, although not flourishing, had a significant impact on the region.

What was the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, and what were its consequences?

The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 was a large-scale uprising by Native Americans against the Spanish colonizers, led by a religious leader named Pope. It resulted in the killing of 400 Spanish colonists and the expulsion of the remaining colonists from Santa Fe, effectively destroying the Spanish colony in New Mexico. After the revolt, the Spanish became more tolerant of indigenous religion and abandoned the forced labor practice called encomienda.

What is the 'Black Legend' referred to in the script, and how did it affect the narrative of colonization?

The 'Black Legend' is a narrative that emphasizes the extreme cruelty of the Spanish towards the Native Americans. It was used by later settlers, particularly the English, to justify their own colonization efforts by claiming they were saving the Native Americans from the Spanish.

Why is it important to consider the point of view of the historical sources when studying American history?

It is important to consider the point of view of historical sources because every story comes from a certain perspective, which can influence the interpretation of events. Understanding who is speaking, why they are speaking, and which voices are unheard provides a more balanced and nuanced understanding of history.

What role did diseases play in the decline of Native American populations after the arrival of Europeans?

Diseases such as smallpox and influenza, brought by Europeans, played a devastating role in the decline of Native American populations. The impact was so severe that it is estimated that the population decline was closer to 8 in 10, which is much worse than the term 'decimation' suggests.

How did the concept of property differ between Native Americans and Europeans according to the script?

Native Americans viewed land as a common resource that could be assigned for use but not owned, reflecting a communal approach to property. In contrast, Europeans had a concept of individual land ownership, which led to conflicts over land rights and use.

What was the role of women in pre-Columbian Native American societies as described in the script?

Women in pre-Columbian Native American societies often had significant roles, including being important religious leaders, owning dwellings and tools, and in some tribes, having less societal pressure regarding female chastity compared to European norms.

Outlines

00:00

🌏 Introduction to U.S. History and Pre-Columbian America

John Green introduces the Crash Course U.S. History series with a humorous and critical perspective on the term 'United States' in the context of the 16th century. He emphasizes the importance of considering the global involvement in U.S. history and the illegitimacy of Alaskan statehood from his viewpoint. The video aims to challenge the notion of 'primitive' societies by discussing the complex social, political, and economic structures of Native North Americans prior to European arrival. Green critiques the Eurocentric view of history, arguing against the linear progression of human advancement and highlighting the diversity and achievements of pre-Columbian civilizations, including farming, trade networks, and social organization. He also addresses the devastating impact of European diseases on Native American populations, suggesting that historical estimates of the pre-Columbian population vary widely.

05:04

🏰 Spanish Colonization and Native American Resistance

This paragraph delves into the Spanish exploration and colonization efforts in the Americas, beginning with Juan Ponce de Leon's quest for gold and the Fountain of Youth. It discusses the initial Spanish interest in Florida for military and missionary purposes, the harsh conditions that hindered successful colonization, and the ultimate failure of these missions due to disease and native resistance. The narrative then shifts to the American Southwest, where Spain established a more enduring presence in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The paragraph highlights the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, led by a religious leader named Pope, which successfully expelled the Spanish and led to a temporary resurgence of native religious practices. It also touches on the Mystery Document feature, where Green incorrectly identifies a document critical of Spanish treatment of indigenous peoples, revealing the complexities and biases in historical records.

10:05

📜 The Complexity of Historical Narratives and Sources

The final paragraph emphasizes the importance of critical analysis when studying history, particularly the need to consider the perspectives and motivations of historical narrators. It acknowledges the wealth of written sources available for American history but cautions against the inherent biases that come with these sources. The paragraph also addresses the 'Black Legend,' a narrative that portrays the Spanish as uniquely cruel colonizers, which was used by later settlers, such as the English, to justify their own colonization efforts. Green concludes by reminding viewers of the importance of recognizing whose voices are heard and which are silenced in historical accounts, and he invites viewers to engage with the Crash Course team for further questions and discussion.

Keywords

💡Eurocentric

Eurocentric refers to a perspective that places European culture, history, and values at the center of analysis and interpretation. In the video, the term is used to criticize the idea that the history of the Americas should be viewed through a European lens, especially concerning the development of civilizations and the impact of European arrival on indigenous populations. The critique emphasizes the diversity and complexity of pre-Columbian cultures and the problematic nature of viewing them as 'primitive' or less evolved.

💡Classical Style Civilizations

Classical style civilizations are defined by the script as having monumental architecture and empires, like the Aztec or the Incas. This concept is used to contrast with the indigenous cultures of North America at the time of European arrival, which lacked such structures but possessed their own forms of complexity, such as farming, social and political structures, and trade networks.

💡Primitive

The term 'primitive' is discussed in the script as a problematic label for indigenous cultures, implying a simplistic or underdeveloped state. The video challenges this notion by highlighting the advanced aspects of Native American societies, such as complex social structures and widespread trade networks, and by arguing against the linear progression of human development from 'primitive' to 'civilized'.

💡Diseases

Diseases such as smallpox and influenza are mentioned in the script as the primary cause of the drastic population decline among Native Americans following European contact. The term 'decimation' is used but corrected to 'oct-icimation' to emphasize the severity of the population loss, which was far greater than the traditional meaning of 'decimation' (one in ten).

💡Zuni and Hopi Civilization

The Zuni and Hopi civilizations are cited in the script as examples of complex societies that existed in North America before the arrival of Europeans. They peaked around 1200 CE and had large, communal living structures. The script uses this example to illustrate the existence of advanced cultures in North America, challenging the notion of a 'primitive' continent.

💡Iroquois Confederacy

The Iroquois Confederacy, also known as the Great League of Peace, is mentioned as an example of a tribal alliance among Native American groups. The script uses this to show that while tribes often had their own distinct identities and territories, they could form larger political entities for mutual benefit, similar to modern political organizations like NATO.

💡Land Ownership

Land ownership is discussed in the script in the context of Native American perspectives, which viewed land as a common resource rather than something that could be owned by individuals. This contrasts with the European concept of land ownership and is exemplified by the statement from Black Hawk, a leader of the Sauk tribe, emphasizing the communal and subsistence-based approach to land use.

💡Matrilineal

Matrilineal societies are those in which descent and inheritance are traced through the mother's line. The script mentions that many Native American tribes were matrilineal, with children becoming members of their mothers' families. This concept is used to illustrate the gender dynamics and social structures within indigenous cultures, which differed significantly from European norms.

💡Spanish Colonization

Spanish colonization is a central theme in the script, detailing the Spanish explorers' arrival, their attempts at establishing colonies, and the devastating impact on indigenous populations. The script discusses the Spanish efforts in Florida and the American Southwest, highlighting the conflicts, the introduction of diseases, and the cultural clashes that occurred.

💡Pueblo Revolt

The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 is a significant event mentioned in the script, illustrating a large-scale uprising by Native Americans against Spanish colonizers. The revolt led to the temporary expulsion of the Spanish from New Mexico and the destruction of Christian churches, demonstrating the resistance and resilience of indigenous peoples in the face of colonization.

💡Black Legend

The Black Legend is a term used in the script to describe the narrative that portrays the Spanish as uniquely cruel and brutal towards indigenous peoples. While acknowledging the truth of Spanish atrocities, the script also points out that this narrative was used by later settlers, such as the English, to justify their own colonization efforts and to present themselves as morally superior.

Highlights

Introduction to the historical context of the 16th century, emphasizing the pre-European settlement era of North America.

Discussion on the misconception of 'primitive' societies, challenging the notion of linear progression of human advancement.

Overview of the diversity of Native North American societies, including farming, social structures, and trade networks.

Estimation of the pre-Columbian population in North America, with a range between 2 and 10 million people.

The devastating impact of European-borne diseases on Native populations, with a mortality rate far exceeding decimation.

The peak of civilizations like the Zuni and Hopi around 1200 CE, and their decline due to environmental factors.

Generalization of Native American tribes based on their natural resources, such as west coast tribes relying on fishing and hunting.

Formation of tribal confederacies like the Iroquois Confederacy and their social and political organization.

Religious practices of Native Americans, focusing on spiritual ceremonies and a belief in a Creator-god.

Contrast in property views between Native Americans and Europeans, with land as a common resource rather than an owned entity.

Class distinctions and wealth distribution in Native American tribes, with a more even spread compared to Europe.

Role of women in Native American societies, including matrilineal descent, religious leadership, and property ownership.

The Spanish exploration and colonization efforts in Florida and the American Southwest, including the establishment of Santa Fe.

The Pueblo Revolt of 1680, a large-scale uprising against Spanish colonization, and its aftermath.

The Black Legend, a narrative of Spanish cruelty towards Native Americans, and its use by later settlers for justification.

The importance of considering multiple perspectives and the voices that go unheard in historical narratives.

Transcripts

Hi, I’m John Green and this is Crash Course U.S. History—

No, Stan, that’s not gonna work actually.

I mean, we’re talking about the 16th century today, when this was neither United nor States.

By the way, this globe reflects the fact that I believe that Alaskan statehood is illegitimate.

In fact, we’re gonna call this whole show US History, but inevitably it’s going to involve other parts of the world.

And also, not to brag, a small part of the moon.

Sorry, we can be a little bit self- aggrandizing sometimes here in America.

[Patriotic Rock Music]

So to begin U.S. History, we’re not going to talk about the United States or this guy.

We’re going to talk about the people who lived here before any Europeans showed up.

[Theme Music]

North America was home to a great variety of people, so it’s difficult to generalize but here’s what we can say:

1. When the Europeans arrived, there were no “classical style civilizations” with monumental architecture and empires like the Aztec or the Incas;

And 2. Native North Americans had no metal work, no gunpowder, no wheels, no written languages, and no domesticated animals.

However, they did have farming, complex social and political structures, and widespread trade networks.

Mr. Green, Mr. Green! So they were pretty backwards, huh? Well, I mean, or at least primitive.

Primitive is a funny word, Me from the Past, because it implies a romanticization—

the simple people who never used more than they needed and had no use for guns—

and it also implies an infantalization.

It’s like you believe that just because you have an beeper and they didn’t, they were somehow less evolved humans.

But you can’t see the human story as one that goes from primitive to civilized.

That’s not just Eurocentric; that’s contemporary-centric.

The idea that we’re moving “forward” as a species implies a linear progression that just does not reflect the reality of life on this planet.

I get that you like to imagine yourself as the result of millennia of advancement and very pinnacle of humanness.

But from where I’m sitting, that worldview is a lot more backwards than living without the wheel.

So no one knows exactly how many people lived in North America before the Europeans got here.

Some estimates are as high as 75 million, but in the present US borders the guesses are between 2 and 10 million.

And like other Native Americans, their populations were decimated by diseases, such as smallpox and influenza.

Actually, it was much worse than decimation.

As many of you have pointed out “decimation” means 1 in 10. This was much worse than that.

It was closer maybe to 8 in 10, which would be an oct-icimation.

So, there had been civilizations in North America, but they peaked before the Europeans arrived.

The Zuni and Hopi civilization, roundabout here, peaked around 1200 CE.

They had large multiple family dwellings in canyons which they probably left because of drought.

Crash Course World history fans will remember that environmental degradation often causes the decline of civilizations.

I’m looking at you, Indus Valley, and also you, Entire Future Earth.

But complex civilizations weren’t the rule in North America.

And now we’re about to begin generalizing, a bad habit historians have, partly because there’s a limited historical record.

But also because Eurocentric historians have a bad habit of primitivizing and simplifying others.

So I want to underscore that there was huge diversity in the pre-Columbus American experience,

and that talking about someone who lived here in 1,000 BCE, and talking about someone who lived here 2,000 years later is just inherently problematic.

That said, let’s go to the Thought Bubble.

Most native groups in most places organized as tribes, and their lives were dominated by the natural resources available where they lived.

So, west coast Indians primarily lived by fishing, gathering, and hunting sea mammals.

Great plains Indians were often Buffalo hunters.

These tribal bands often united into loose confederacies or leagues, the best known of which was probably the Iroquois Confederacy, also called the Great League of Peace.

This was kind of like an upstate New York version of NATO, but without nuclear weapons or the incessant international meddling or Latvians.

Okay, it was nothing like NATO actually.

Religion usually involved the vibrant spiritual world with ceremonies geared toward the tribe’s lifestyle;

hunting tribes focused on animals, agricultural tribes on good harvests.

And most Indian groups believed in a single Creator-god who stood above all the other deities, but they weren’t monotheistic in the way that Christians who came to the new world were.

American Indians also saw property very differently from Europeans.

To first peoples, land was a common resource that village leaders could assign families to use— but not to own— and most land was seen as common to everyone.

As Black Hawk, a leader of the Sauk tribe said:

“The Great Spirit gave it to his children to live upon and cultivate as far as necessary for their subsistence;

and so long as they occupy and cultivate it, they have a right to the soil.”

Thanks, Thought Bubble.

So, many of us tend to romanticize American Indians as being immune from greed and class, but in fact there were class distinctions in Indian tribes.

Rulers tended to come from the same families, for instance.

That said, wealth was much more evenly distributed than it was in Europe.

And while most tribal leaders were men, many tribes were matrilineal, meaning that children become member's of their mothers family.

Also, women were often important religious leaders.

Women also often owned dwellings and tools although not land because again that idea did not exist.

Also, in many tribes, women engaging in premarital skoodilypooping wasn’t taboo.

In general, they were just much less obsessed with female chastity than Europeans were.

I mean, I will remind you, the first English settlement in America was called “Virginia.”

The idea that Native Americans were noble savages, somehow purer than Europeans, and untouched by their vices is not a new one.

Like, some of the earliest Europeans saw the Indians as paragons of physical beauty and innocent of European’s worst characteristics.

But for most Europeans, there was little noble about what they saw as pure Indian savagery.

I mean, Indians didn’t have writing, they suffered from the terrible character flaw of being able to have sex without feeling ashamed, and most importantly they weren’t Christians.

The Spanish were the first Europeans to explore this part of the world.

Juan Ponce de Leon arrived in what is now Florida in 1513 looking for gold and the fabled fountain of youth.

In 1521, he encountered a Calusa Brave’s poison-tipped arrow and died before discovering that the Fountain of Youth is, of course, delicious Diet Dr. Pepper.

Mmm, oooh, I can taste all 23 flavors.

There were many more Spanish explorers in the first half of the 16th century, including one Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca who wandered through the American southwest looking for gold,

which I mention entirely because I think that guy’s last name means cow head.

Of course, none of these people found any gold, but they did make later European colonization easier by bringing over the microbes that wiped out most native populations.

So, the Spanish wanted to colonize Florida to set up military bases to thwart the pirates who preyed on silver-laden Spanish galleons coming out of Mexico.

But Spanish missionaries also came over, hoping to convert local native populations.

This of course worked out magnificently. Just kidding. It went terribly.

And many of the missions were destroyed by an uprising of Guale Indians in 1597.

And I will remind you, mispronouncing things is my thing.

In general, colonizing Florida sucked, because it was hot and mosquito-ey.

Spain was much more successful at colonizing the American Southwest.

In 1610, Spain established its first permanent settlement in the Southwest at Santa Fe, New Mexico, and you couldn’t really say that it flourished, since Santa Fe’s population never got much above 3000.

But it had a great small town feel.

And New Mexico is really important because it’s the site of the first large scale uprising by Native Americans against Europeans.

I mean, the native people, who the Spanish called Pueblos, had seen their fortunes decline significantly since the arrival of Europeans.

How much decline?

Well, between 1600 and 1680, their population went from about 60,000 to about 17,000.

Also, the Franciscan friars who came to convert the indigenous people, became increasingly militant about stamping out all native religion.

The Spanish Inquisition just wasn’t very keen on the kind of cultural blending that made early conversion efforts successful.

So, while the Spanish saw all the Pueblos as one people, they also knew there were tribal differences that made it difficult for the Indians to unite and rise up against Spanish.

But nothing unites like a common enemy, and in 1680, a religious leader called Pope organized an uprising to drive the Spaniards out.

Pope organized about 2,000 warriors who killed 400 Spanish colonists and forced the rest to leave Santa Fe.

So, the Spanish colony in New Mexico was effectively destroyed.

The Pueblos tore down all the Christian churches and replaced them with “kivas,” their places of worship.

But, like most awesome uprisings, it didn’t last.

But after the revolt, the Spanish were much more tolerant of indigenous religion and they also abandoned the forced labor practice called encomienda.

Oh, it’s time for the new Crash Course feature the Mystery Document? How mysterious.

The rules here are simple: I read and attempt to identify the mystery document.

If I am right, I do not get shocked by this shock pen. And if I am wrong, I do.

OK, what do we have here?

The Indians … were totally deprived of their freedom and were put in the harshest, fiercest most horrible servitude and captivity which no one who has not seen it can understand.

Even beasts enjoy more freedom when they are allowed to graze in the fields.

But our Spaniards gave no such opportunity to Indians and truly considered them perpetual slaves…

I sometimes came upon dead bodies on my way, and upon others who were grasping and moaning in their death agony repeating, “Hungry, hungry.”

And this was the freedom, the good treatment and the Christianity the Indians received.”

Well, that’s nice.

OK, so the mystery document is always a primary source and since the writer refers to “Our” Spaniards,

I’m gonna guess that he or she -- probably he -- is European.

And a Spaniard sympathetic to the Indians, which narrows the list of suspects considerably.

So, it probably wasn’t de Sepulveda, for instance, who argued that the Indians might not even be human.

OK, Stan, I’m actually pretty confident here.

I believe it is from A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies by Bartolome de las Casas.

No? DANG IT!

Stan just told me I have the author right, but the book wrong. It’s A History of the Indies.

Ugh, I hate shocks, both literal and metaphorical. [Buzzing nosie] Gah!

So we’ve focused a lot on the brutality of the Spanish toward the Indians.

But at least one Spaniard, de las Casas, recognized that his countrymen were…terrible.

This realization is a good thing obviously, but it leads us to one of the big problems when it comes to studying this time and place.

The Black Legend is the tale that the Spanish unleashed unspeakable cruelty on the Indians.

Now that tale is true.

But, that idea was used by later settlers, especially the English to justify their own settlements.

Like, part of the reason they needed to expand their empire was to save the Indians from the awful Spanish.

But were the English so much better? Yeah, probably not.

As we mentioned at the beginning of today’s episode, American Indians didn’t have writing, so we don’t have records of their perspective.

Now, some Europeans, like de las Casas, were critical of the Spaniards, but most considered the Indians heathens, and implied— or even outright said— that they deserved whatever horrible things befell them.

So, at the beginning of our series, I want to point out something that we need to remember throughout.

One of the great things about American history is that we have a lot of written sources.

This is the advantage of the US coming onto the scene so late in the game, historically speaking.

But every story we hear comes from a certain point of view, and we always need to remember who is speaking, why they are speaking, and, especially which voices go unheard— and why.

Thanks for watching, I’ll see you next week.

Crash Course is produced and directed by Stan Muller. Our script supervisor is Meredith Danko.

The associate producer is Danica Johnson. The show is written by my high school history teacher, Raoul Meyer, and myself.

And our graphics team is Thought Bubble.

If you have questions about today’s video, you should ask them in comments.

Everybody who works on Crash Course, as well as a team of historians, will be there to answer them.

Thanks for watching. Please make sure you’re subscribed to Crash Course.

And as we say in my hometown, Don't Forget To Be Awesome.