Should Spain compensate the Bahamas for the exploitation of Indians found there by Christopher Columbus?

Question

History has recorded that in 1492, Christopher Columbus traveling on behalf of Spain landed on San Salvador Island in the Bahamas and were greeted by Arawak Indians who lived there. All of the Arawaks were eventually taken away by The Spaniards from all of the Islands never to be seen again.

Answer 1

My roommate from the Bahamas told me the history of the Islands.

The Arawaks were the indigenous people that existed before Columbus found the island. He sold the Arawaks into slavery, and the people that managed to escape dislocation died from the diseases that he brought with him.

So the question is: how can Spain give reparations to a people they wiped out?

The answer they can't. Money, honor, and apologies do nothing for the dead. The only compensation is to make sure that the exploitation and slavery of a people (which still goes on today) is stopped.

Answer 2

Honestly, the way I see it, Spain owes an apology. But then again so do most of the world. You can't ask someone to compensate what their forefather's did. It was their mistake, their wrong-doing, not this generation's.

Answer 3

Not at all

Answer 4

My ancestors were Vikings and wild Irish..should I pay compensation to Britain and France etc?

Answer 5

No.

We could have a whole debate about exactly what happened and whether or not what happened to the Arawak people was worthy of compensation today. Then follow up with a second debate about whether or not the modern nation of Spain can be held responsible for actions taken in the name of Spain 500 years ago. In the general case of native populations exploited by Europeans those debates are important, but for this specific discussion they are outweighed by a more important point.

The question is, who will receive the compensation? If all of the Arawaks were "taken away ... never to be seen again" then the people who now live in the Bahamas are obviously not related to the Arawaks who were removed. If anything, they are likely to be the people who benefited from their removal. So paying compensation to the Bahamas would be compensating people for something that did not happen to them or to their ancestors.

Answer 6

Why do you think all the Native Americans now speak English?

Or that all of South America now speaks Spanish?

They were on a long list of people who were taken over their land, destroyed and removed.

what about the Aborigines in Australia, almost driven to extinction by the English.

Brazilian rain forests has several tribes of Indians who have almost wiped out each other with their constant wars.

Life happens, get over it.

Answer 7

History doesn't work like that.  Neither does national responsibility.  If it did, what about the following, then:

1.  Greeks compensate the Turks for the Trojan invasion in 1180 BC.

2. Iraq compensate the Jews for the great Captivity of 603 BC.

3.  Italians compensate most of Europe for the Roman Empire's enslavement of populations and exploitation of natural resources.

4.  Norwegians compensate the Irish for the Viking invasions of AD 480-620 when countless people (up to one quarter of the population) died brutally and treasures stolen, especially from churches.

5.  Spain compensate various South Amercian countries for the estimated 30,000 tons of silver extracted by slave labour from mines and mountains in the 16th Century.

6.  ...and  so on and so on until...

7.  USA compensate UK for financial assets stolen during the war of independence; compensate most west African countries for the ensalvement of their people in tobacco, cotton and sugar plantations; compensate various European countries for stealing original technical ideas after WW2, such as the jet engine, the electronic computer, the ballpoint pen, penicillin etc etc.

You see, if we went down this road, every country in the world would be involved in historical litigation without limit.  No doubt, this would please the lawyers but would not reflect the responsibilities of present-day individuals for the misconduct of a small group of their ancestors.

Answer 8

More Arawaks were killed by Caribe native peoples than by Spanish.  There are no more Arawaks, so who would benefit?

Answer 9

no they should not be. History has been cruel to the weak and conquered, and if you go far enough back all countries or tribes or people can find someone they would have to pay back for the conquering.