Haunted by Spain

8/10/2019 Haunted by Spain

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Haunted by Spain: The Past and Identities in English and French America

Jonathan Hart,

Alberta, Canada

One of the aspects of early identity formation in the imperial and colonial era and later

in the phase of nation-building, was the way Spain haunted England and France, Canada

and the nited States! "oo#ing bac#, the importance of Spain can be occluded,

especially in the period of Anglo-American ascendancy from $%&' or, more certainly,

from $($), with the defeat of *apoleon! +ut this repression, displacement and

negligence of Spain is less certain if we loo# forward from the landfall of Columbus in

$.! /he 0ery pillars of Anglo-American myths of the ma#ing of nation and empire,li#e 1alter 2alegh and John Smith, loo#ed in part to the Spaniards! Cort3s was a model

for them despite the ma#ing of the +lac# "egend of Spain in the wa#e of "as Casas!

/he Anglo-American use of Columbus as a differentiation from England after the 1ar

of 4ndependence and the Columbian 1orld E5position of $(' are cases in point! +ut

Columbus6 haunting is also accompanied by the +lac# "egend, which was brought bac#

out in the Spanish-American 1ar of $((! /he French te5ts, whether in *icolas "e

Challeu5 or in 7ontaigne, also represented the Spaniards in ambi0alent ways and

sometimes denounced them outright! Since then, the stereotyping of Hispanics hasreli0ed some of these negati0e and ambi0alent feelings in these representations! Spain

set many precedents in the *ew 1orld and produced many te5ts about the Americas,

but in the mythology of England and France and their colonies and former colonies, it

could be relegated or critici8ed! For indigenous peoples, the situation is more comple5

still, and the haunting they suffer is from in0asion and genocide, not 9ust in relation to

the Spanish, but to other Europeans and their descendants as well! /his article will also

briefly discuss *ati0e perspecti0es by contemporary *ati0e artists li#e Jeannette

Armstrong and +uffy Sainte-7arie!:$;

/he haunting by Spain is comple5 and is not something that is emphasi8ed in the myths

or fables of identity of the English-spea#ing peoples of the Atlantic basin!


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Atlantic world more generally! Here, 4 ha0e selected from a wide array of topics and

e5amples a number that ma#e more intricate the story of French and English identities

in the Americas as well as that of Canada and the nited States than those myths based

more on a language and nation do! Crossing boundaries and reminding the European

narrati0es of *ati0e 0iews is important for this reconfiguration of these identities and

the role of Spain and Hispanic culture in the ma#ing of colonies and nations! Although

elsewhere 4 ha0e discussed the role of sla0ery and of Africans in the *ew 1orld, 4 ha0e

chosen not to e5amine that #ey =uestion here to #eep the focus! /he >ortuguese then

?utch then English @+ritish Bnot to mention others B were sla0ers on a great scale, and

the abolition of sla0ery was, despite the continued hardship for people of African

descent in the Americas, one of the great triumphs o0er e5ploitation and cruelty!

Europeans, Africans and *ati0es all interacted and mi5ed to create new identities, which

is something 4 ha0e stressed in other wor#!

Here, 4 shall e5amine Columbus6 representations, *ati0e 0iews, early French and

English responses to the Spaniards, translations, refiguring and reimagining Columbus,

ambi0alent representations of Spain, the end of Spain in the *ew 1orld, later

representations, *ati0e >oets, and >oets and *ati0es as means to show, in the e0idence

of te5ts and images, how mi5ed these myths of identity are! /ropes and stereotypes

cross linguistic, religious, economic and political borders e0en as those boundaries shift!

/he French and the English, not to mention the ?utch and the 4talians, all use and abuseSpain in their te5ts and borrow from one another! /he imagery in te5ts and images is not

a simple story of opposition or resistance, of emulation or displacement, but a shifting

series of stories, myths and ideologies! >erhaps the surprise is how durable these

representations of Spain are and how they tra0el in space and time in their ambi0alent

and contradictory ways! /hey criss-cross the Atlantic from the late fifteenth century to

the present! /he messiness of te5ts ma#es it difficult to generali8e about the haunting of

Spain, so 4 ha0e elected here to show some of the contours of the traces of Spain in that

mimetic networ#! 4 begin with Columbus and the *ati0es!

Columbus6 2epresentations and *ati0e iews

One of the difficulties for pre-Con=uest *ati0e documents, as James "oc#hart mentions

in relation to the *ahuas of central 7e5ico, is that e0en the most informati0e among

them were mostly redone under Spanish influence during the $)Ds and after @"oc#hart

''D! /he Europeans and their American settlers fre=uently wrote about the *ati0es

from the 0antage of con=uest and triumph @?eloria Jr! .-'D!


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their own, they did their best to eradicate it, because it posed a threat to the Scripture

@the +ible they brought with themG @+rotherston $)! Columbus and Spain are

recurring tropes, but Columbus himself is a good place to begin in the intricacies of

representation, imitation and identity! /e5ts and images seem to affect life and beget

more te5ts and images!

Columbus appears to ha0e found encouragement in >ierre d6Ailly6s Imago Mundi,

which stressed the shortness of distance across the Atlantic from Europe to 4ndia

@d6Ailly $D-$$! :.; /he opening of the Letterof Columbus about the first 0oyage

begins S42, As 4 #now that you will be pleased at the great 0ictory with which Our

"ord has crowned my 0oyage, 4 write this to you, from which you will learn how in

thirty-three days, 4 passed from the Canary 4slands to the 4ndies with the fleet which the

most illustrious #ing and =ueen, our so0ereigns, ga0e to meG @Columbus .! :';/his

letter, of which no original sur0i0es, has been reconstructed from four Spanish 0ersions

as well as three 4talian 0ersions and one "atin 0ersion and is the report of first contact

between Columbus and the 4ndians!G Although Columbus6 moti0ation is difficult to

interpret, it appears that he was stressing the abundant land and the timid people in order

to highlight potential settlement, con0ersion and material e5ploitation @Columbus &-!

/he *ati0es fled the Spaniards, but later came to gi0e them whate0er possessions, li#e

gold, the Spaniards desired! Columbus said that he soon pre0ented his men from trading

worthless things for gold @Columbus (-$$!

?uring the first three decades of the con=uest @$.-$)$, there was no *ati0e

chronicler of the encounter! +artolom3 de "as Casas wrote a defence of the *ati0e

population @+rotherston .$! :;Against Juan


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when they inter0ene directly in important affairs of state, an Algon#in account of

Europeans entering *orth America @se0enteenth century! /he /upi taunt of French

missionaries in +ra8il @$&$. includes a carbetG or the form used by bra0es to taunt

ri0als through instances of the bra0es6 prowess! /he account of Europeans arri0ing in

the late si5teenth century on the mid-Atlantic shore of *orth America occurs near the

end of the second part of the 1alum Olum of the "enape-Algon#in! /his section

describes in chronicle form the list of successi0e "enapesachems@chiefs o0er a few

centuries @+rotherston .(-'., (-)'! /he representation of the *ati0es and the

Amerindian representation of the Europeans ha0e left e0idence in the wa#e of

Columbus!

After Columbus6s landfall in the *ew 1orld, the papacy also played a role in

legitimi8ing e5ploration! /he French and the English had not ta#en up Columbus6

enterprise of the 4ndies as Spain had, so they had to try to catch the Spanish! 4n this they

had to contra0ene the wishes and the gift of the pope! /he bull of 7ay , $'

responded to Columbus6 first 0oyage to the *ew 1orld and di0ided the parts of the

world yet un#nown to Christians into two spheres, one for Spain and the other for

>ortugal! /he pope, who had 4berian connections, issued a direct threat to those who

might not accept his donation under the penalty of e5communication late sententiaeto

be incurred ipso factoG @?a0enport 4 %%-%(! :);4n earlier bulls, li#eRomanus pontifex,

this #ind of threat against other Christian princes brea#ing the e5clusi0e rights of theparties was named in the donations! Although the Spanish and the >ortuguese accepted

the terms of this bull, they shifted the line of demarcation from $DD leagues to '%D

leagues west of the Cape erde 4slands in the /reaty of /ordesillas in $! E0en

though Spain ad >ortugal claimed the spheres of ownership that the pope had set out,

they ga0e each other rights of passage across each other6s territory! Spain and >ortugal

also confirmed the changes to the bull Inter caeterain the /reaty of 7adrid in $)!

Furthermore, the bull Ea quaeof $)D&, issued after asco da


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northwestern Atlantic @1illiamson .D! /he Company of Ad0enturers to the *ew

Found "ands ser0ed as a model for later companies that helped to e5tend English trade

and settlement to new lands!

Early French 2esponses

"i#e Columbus, +inot >aulmier de


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war! His account portrays the #indness which the *ati0es showed by rescuing one of the

young French sailors in rough seas @1roth $.), $') and Julien et al! $&, )(-!

7oreo0er, erra88ano described the beauty of the men and women of one of the

aboriginal peoples @1roth $.%-(, $') and Julien et al! $&, &-)! Some of his ideal

representations *ati0es and land were reminiscent of Columbus and foreshadowed

7ontaigne! "i#e Columbus and ope would answer Charles 6s hope for a condemnation

of those who would oppose or ignore the bull of Ale5ander 4!


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page of *icolas "e Challeu56s discourse on this e0ent displayed outrage with the

Spanish Discourse of the history of "lorida, containing the treason of the #paniards,

against the su$%ects of the &ing, in the year '()(* +ritten in truth $y those ho are left*

- thing so lamenta$le to hear, that as premeditatedly and cruelly executed $y the said

#paniards. -gainst the authority of our #ire, the &ing, to the loss and in%ury of all our

/ingdomG @"e Challeu5 $! :$$;/he royal commission ga0e 2ibault authority in the

enterprise but forbade him e5pressly to attempt no in0asion of any other countries or

islands whatsoe0er, particularly of none which would be under the lordship of the Iing

of SpainG @ibid! $D! /he ghost of Spanish authority and the possibility of Spanish

retaliation haunted the 0oyage e0en in its commission! "e Challeu56s conclusion

summari8ed of the narratorMauthor6s 0iews on the Spanish cruelty! From the general

abuse of the French by the Spanish, "e Challeu5 mo0ed to the heroic portrait of Jean

2ibault!:$.;"e Challeu5 described the bad faith, cruelty, barbarity of the Spanish they

ha0e cut the beard of a lieutenant of the Iing!G :$';/he 0olume ended in a ritual

dismemberment of a ser0ant of the French #ing, a synecdoche for the entire French

nation! "e Challeu56s wor# is a seminal te5t in the ma#ing of the +lac# "egend and in

the relations of the French and English to the Spanish!

7ichel de 7ontaigne also represents the Spanish! 4n his essay on cannibals 7ontaigne

focuses on the French and Europeans in relation to the *ew 1orld, but in ?es CochesG

he concentrates on the Spanish! :$; 4n ta#ing possession of the land, they tell the*ati0es that their #ing is the greatest >rince in the inhabited earth, to whom the >ope,

representing


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stationed in France with the Staffords! ?uplessis-7ornay presented to the French #ing

an unpublished wor#, ?iscours au Henri 444! Sur les moyens de diminuer l6Espaignol,G

in April $)(! :$%;4n this wor#, ?uplessis-7ornay said that >hilip 44 was a tyrant who

was undermining France, the *etherlands and Europe and maintained that France and

England should bloc#ade Spanish shipping and that France should attac# ships in the

Spanish in the *ew 1orld to intercept the bullion that permitted the #ing of Spain to

tyranni8e Europe! *ot only did ?uplessis-7ornay6s anti-Spanish themes echo li#e

positions in Francis ?ra#e and


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After 7ary ascended the throne, Eden brought out another wor# L The Decades of the

nee orlde of est India0 a translation of >eter 7artyr that shifted from competing

with the Spanish to a 0ision of a 9oint imperial destiny brought about by the marriage of

>hilip and 7ary! :.D;/he title emphasi8ed Spain as an e5ample and a champion of a

united Christendom! Eden reports that he was in the crowd on August $(, $)) to watch

the procession of >hilip and 7ary and says that he decided on translations that would

celebrate the glory of >hilip6s ancestors in the *ew 1orld, which in turn would glorify

>hilip! /he EpistleG remembers great mythological feats the author represents and the

glory of the spread of Christianity in the 1est 4ndies @Eden $))), a.r! :.$; 4n

contemplating such e0ents of fame and splendour, Eden recollects that in his youth he

had read >eter 7artyr6sDecades * * * ,which was dedicated to the illustrious Ferdinand,

>hilip6s grandfather and made no mista#e as to who was in possession of the *ew

1orld! :..;Eden also notes hilip6s father,

Charles ! All Spanish glory led to >hilip @ibid! b$! :.';Eden thin#s that he had license

to praise the #ings of Spain as heroes among men and stresses that >eter 7artyr was by

the most holy catholy#e and puissaunt #ynge Ferdinando appoynted a commissionarie

in thaffayres of 4ndiaG @ibid! a$0 B a.r! 4n this logic of imitation, Eden portrays himself

as following 7artyr in a tradition of Spanish historiography in which the historians also

participated in history!

/he boo# became a monument to action! +y returning to papal authority on which

Spain6s claim to the *ew 1orld rests, Eden resembles English and French writers about

the *ew 1orld before and after him! /he role of the pope in the donation of territory is

something that is repeated o0er and o0er in te5ts about the Americas @Eccles %-(! /he

legacy of these bulls still made a mar# in France and England with writers, li#e Eden,

who concerned themsel0es with the *ew 1orld! *onetheless, these countries continued

to challenge the grounds of papal authority in these matters! 4n $., Columbus helped

to defeat the greate serpente of the sea "e0iathanG who misted the eyes of men and

#ept them from these new lands @Eden $))), a'r! Eden sees >ro0idence in the glorious

reign of the ryght noble, prudent, and Catholi#e #inge of Aragon ?on Ferdinando

grandfather to /hemperours maiestie by his eldest dowghter, Q to the =ueenes

hyghnesse by his seconde dowghter the most 0ertuous lady =ueene Catherine her graces

moother,G which #new more famous deeds than those the


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Spain more e5plicit /he Spanyardes haue shewed a good e5emple to all Chrystian

nations to foloweG@ibid! c$r! Eden wants the English to follow the e5ample of Spain

and become spiritual 4sraelites from one promised land to another! /he haunting by

Spain can be ambi0alent as Eden can e5press impatience for his own country6s lagging

behind Spain much the way 2ichard Ha#luyt the ounger, 7arc "escarbot, and others

in England and France!

4n praising Spain, Eden re0eals the deficiencies of his own country6s contribution to

coloni8ation of the *ew 1orld and understood the moti0es of the Spaniards for

coloni8ation were gold and liny, to the 2oman emperor @ibid! $%'0, d'0-d0, $%'0-$%&r!

?uring the $)&Ds a shift occurred from Eden6s wor# in the $))Ds! >rotestants from

France challenged Spain in the *ew 1orld! /hese Huguenots became positi0e

e5amples, for English >rotestants, but soon their destruction at the hands of the Spanishin Florida pro0ided, in France and England, a negati0e instance of Spanish cruelty! /his

0iolence against the Huguenots in Florida became one of the main strands of the +lac#

"egend of Spain! /hrough translation, the English increased the intricacy of their

response to the ghost of Spain by doing more than imitating Columbus and the Spanish

coloni8ation of the *ew 1orld! /he English writers began to build up their own case

against the Spanish!

Humphrey


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England should ha0e a school of na0igation! 4n $)%(, the =ueen did not create this

school, but she granted ortugal by a0oiding where these countries had coloni8ed but

claiming any lands the English would occupy! armenius, a

Hungarian,


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final rhetorical appeal to Eli8abeth 4 to support a con=uest, he returned to the ancient

lost opportunity that Henry 44 had to employ Columbus in his enterprise @2alegh !

2alegh tries to draw something positi0e from the wound of Columbus, that is Henry the

Se0enth6s lost opportunity to ha0e bac#ed the enterprise of the 4ndies and the

disco0eryG of the *ew 1orld!

1ith the ascension of James 4 in $&D', these contradictions in English representations of

Spain persisted and continued despite a peace with Spain in $&D! Some Englishmen

found a positi0e e5ample in Spain6s coloni8ation of the *ew 1orld! 2obert Johnson had

much to say about the Spanish in !ova 5ritannia @$&D, a promotional tract about

irginia @Johnson a'r! :.&;Johnson appeals to boo#s and maps as a record of the

English claim to irginia the assertion of earlier assertions of a claim was made to

constitute a proper claim! As in 2ichard Ha#luyt the ounger6s ?iscourseG @$)(,

here the spectre of Ale5ander6s papal donation in the $Ds still has the power to haunt

those who in England who would promote coloni8ation in the northern America @ibid!

ar-a0! /he worry about possession soon comes into focus, addressing the claims of

Spain and >ortugal @ibid! a0! He as#s what this papal donation is to the English @ibid!!

Johnson deems the papal donations legendarie fablesG@ibid! b$r!

/he presence of Spain was not so easy to occlude! /he ghost of Spain and its ruin of the

French >rotestant colonies in Florida in the $)&Ds haunted the English te5ts ofe5pansion @ibid!! Johnson claims that the first discouery and actuall possession ta#en

thereof, was in the raigne, and by the subiects of 2enry the seuenth of England, at

which time did #painealso discouerT and by that right of discouery, doeth retaine and

hold their !oua 2ispania, and all other limmits 0pon that coastG @ibid! b.r-b.0!

Johnson is trying to establish spheres of influence, English based on Columbus6 and

Cabot6s disco0eries @ibid!! 4n the conte5t of a mi5ture of self-criticism and patriotism,

Johnson represents the story of Columbus, another part of the haunting of Spain @ibid!

b'r!

/his praise for Spain recurred in England from 2ichard Eden onward and balanced anti-

Spanish sentiment! /he constant re0isiting of the origins of rights to the *ew 1orld and

of the mythical, factual, and legal interpretations of the papal bulls, Columbus6

disco0ery, and Cabot6s 0oyages decades before and after Johnson supports an argument

for a comple5 ambi0alent in the English attitude to Spain! Johnson and his English

compatriots found themsel0es in a similar position to the Spanish! 4n Spain, "as Casas

had =uestioned the treatment of the *ati0es and ictoria had called into doubt the

legitimacy of the Spanish and European claim to possession of the *ew 1orld! :.%;4n
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Johnson, an incipient +ritishness connected the Scots and the English implicitly through

Iing James @ibid! e'r!"i#e Ha#luyt in rincipal !avigations, Johnson defined

Englishness and +ritishness parado5ically through Continental sources! English identity,

e0en as it was being made +ritish, is founded on other languages! /hrough the

translation of study, English writers were establishing a translation of empire!

Another figure connected with the promotion and e5ploration of irginia, John Smith,

could praise and critici8e Spain! Here is some of his criticism His 7aiesty of #paine

permits none to passe the >opes order for the East and 1est Indies, but by his

permission on, or at their perils! 4f all the world be so iustly theirs, it is no iniustice for

Englandto ma#e as much 0se of her own shores as strangers do! ! ! !G @Force 44 .$!

Smith, who elsewhere would imitate the heroic model of Cort3s, ends his wor# by

e5horting his reader to read hisDescription,and whate0er defects might be found there!

/he author hopes to stir 0p some noble spirits to consider and e5amine if worthy

1ollum$uscould giue the #paniardsany such certainties for his designe, when Nueene

Isa$el of #paineset him foorth with fifteene saileG @ibid! 44 .'! Smith both uses the

e5ample of Spain for inspiration for the bold 0ision and royal support of the Columbian

enterprise and of coloni8ation and, ne5t in this passage, discarded the Spanish model of

precious metals for the instance of the *etherlands! /he ?utch gained wealth had been

made from fishing!

Smith6s- Description of !e England@$&$& has se0eral dedications! /he styling of

Smith as admiral imitated Columbus6s title! Smith writes that 1olum$us, 1orte4,

it4ara, #oto, Magellanes,and the rest serued more then a prentiship to learne how to

begin their most memorable attempts in the +est Indies,Gand he does not wish to #eep

0s bac# from imitating the worthinesse of their braue spirits that ad0aunced themselues

from poore Souldiers to great CaptainesG @Force 44 &-%!4n Smith, Columbus recurs as a

bold 0isionary @ibid!! Smith calls attention to the notion of imitation!

Cort3s was also an e5ample to be emulated! Another tract on irginia declares 4 dare

say, that the resolution of 1aesarin Fraunce, the designes of-lexanderin ortugale in the East,

were not 0pon so firme grounds of state and possibilityG @Force 444 .$! :.(;Here is

another of the promotional wor#s of the Council of irginia and shows the mi5ture of

classical and 4berian e5amples of empire that were common in this ear in the English

narrati0es of the *ew 1orld!
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"ater in the se0enteenth century, during the English Ci0il 1ar, /homas


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Some e0ents of Columbus6 life also became the sub9ect of paintings among 2omantic

artists and painters! 4n $('( EugUne ?elacroi5 depicted Columbus and his son, ?iego,

at the monastery at "a 2Pbida in $(, where the prior, Juan >eres de 7achena helped

them in their enterprise to find a western route to Asia! /his depiction emphasi8es

religion and learning and not national identity! ?elacroi56s companion piece of $('

portrays the return of Columbus from the *ew 1orld and represents Columbus with

*ati0es and riches before Ferdinand and 4sabella, the rulers who bac#ed his enterprise

@Honour $%), 'D&-%! /his painting has more national themes, though of Spain and not

France!

/he nineteenth century prints also depicted the great e0ents of Columbus6 life, and the

most popular of these was a set of lithographs by *icholas Eustache 7aurin between

about $(') and $()D, which represented Columbus6 landfall, his reception at +arcelona,

his egg-tric#G and his return in chains to Spain after the third 0oyage @ibid! '$.!

Columbus has become part of a larger symbolic field than Spain! /he biography of

Columbus as a man is not always conflated with the national story of Spain or the

narrati0e of the Spanish empire! 4n $(%D Claudius Jac=uand painted in oil an image

showing Columbus in his last moments! 4n this painting, Columbus loo#s old and weary

and shows his chains to his son, something that calls attention to his humiliation in $)DD

when he returned to Spain in chains and his death in obscurity and po0erty in alladolid

in $)D& @ibid! '$! :';

Ambi0alent 2epresentations of Spain

Columbus helped to ma#e Spain famous and infamous and so it is important to

remember that these later images were rooted in earlier ones! /he Spanish in the *ew

1orld pro0ided a negati0e and positi0e e5ample! /he +lac# "egend of Spain occurred

through images as well as through words! /here were ?utch, rotestant element and used "as Casas6


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criticism of Spanish mistreatment of the indigenous peoples against Spain! 4n >art 4 of

?e +ry6s collection of tra0el accounts to America and the third 0olume of three de0oted

to2istoria del mondo nuouoby eru @Honour $%), -)!

/e5tual representations of Columbus and Spain appeared side by side with 0isual ones!

+y $)$$, there were already 0ersions of Columbus6s Letter in si5 countries, 4talian,

"atin and ortuguese in 4ndia

from ar#er .$-'!

?uring the middle decades of the si5teenth century, the English and French continued to

see Columbus and Spain as a model for coloni8ation in the Americas! 4n $))), 2ichard

Eden proclaimed that /he Spanyardes haue shewed a good e5emple to all Chrystian

nations to foloweG but also 9ustified the gold @Arber c$r! Andr3 /he0et6s 6niversal

1osmography@$)%), which deri0ed from his e5perience with illegagnon in +ra8il,

represented Spain in a positi0e light @?ic#ason $-$$! /he Spaniards were the first to

disco0er >eru and the *ati0es were cruel and bestial @Julien et al! $&, 44 .! :'&;

rbain Chau0eton was critical of Spanish abuses in the *ew 1orld @Chau0eton $r!

:'%;Chau0eton6s summary described +en8oni6s account of how the lands were found

and how the Spanish brought with them a0arice, cruelty, and other 0ices to oppress the

peoples there @ibid! $0! :'(;

John Smith, as we saw, could fashion himself on the heroic model of Cort3s and

commend Columbus and Nueen 4sabella but recommend the imitation of the

HollandersG who gained more wealth from fishing than from gold @Force 44 .'!

ortugal, the first meetings of *ati0es and Europeans, the death of the Huguenots in

Florida, the 2e0olt in the *etherlands, the Spanish Armada L recurred in the French

and English writings about the *ew 1orld @+oucher 44 (D! Columbus and Spain

haunted these images and te5ts!

Almost three hundred years after the Columbian landfall, +ritish America was splitting

apart during the 1ar of 4ndependence and an interest in Columbus and Spain continued

in wor#s li#e ?a0id 2amsey6s The 2istory of the -merican Revolution @$%( and

Jeremy +el#nap6s meditation on the DDth anni0ersary of Columbus6 landfall! :D;
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+el#nap focuses on Columbus @+el#nap $! His Columbus was a scientist who could

sail @ibid! .(! /he shift from England to America as the promised land included the use

of Columbus as a figure for the nited States, to form its identity and mission in history!

Columbus became a figure of liberty @ibid! $! 4n *orth America in the late eighteenth

century and beyond, the figures of Columbus and ColumbiaG were widespread as in

names li#e the Columbia 2i0er, +ritish Columbia, the ?istrict of Columbia! Harriet

7unroe6s 1olum$ian 7de@$(' was written at the re=uest of the Joint Committee on

Ceremonies of the 1orld6s Columbian E5position @7unroe )! :$; Columbia

supplements Columbus as a shifting signifier, sometimes a land and other times a lady

and a goddess!

/he End of Spain in the *ew 1orld

Spain had long been on the minds of the English and then their American descendents

as a positi0e and negati0e e5ample! A translation of empire occurred from >ortugal to

Spain to the nited States, a successor to +ritain in the hemisphere! 4n $(.', /homas

Jefferson wrote to James 7unroe that adding Cuba to the nited States would round

out our power as a nationG @Jefferson % 'DD! :.;Spain had lost most of its possessions

to independence in the early nineteenth century! /he Spanish-American 1ar of $((

mar#ed the end of the Spanish empire!

/he Spanish-American 1ar lasted from 7ay to ?ecember $(( @>3re8 $&-..! /he

nited States was able to anne5 uerto 2ico and the >hilippine and to super0ise

an independent Cuba! :';/he Americans had foresworn anne5ing it in the /eller

Amendment to the war resolutions of $((! /he end of the Spanish empire came

=uic#ly indeed!

4n the popular imagination in the nited States, the +lac# "egend of Spain was

widespread enough to ma#e the triumph o0er this tyranny a righteous cause! American

imperialism beyond the *orth American landmass meant that the nited States would

ha0e to defeat Spain to succeed it! /he interest of the American public in the Cuban

conflict, was, as ?a0id /ras# notes, a phenomenon that re#indled the congenital

American a0ersion to the lingering Spanish presence in the *ew 1orldG @/ras# %'!

7oreo0er, another aspect of the +lac# "egend persisted! "as Casas was reprinted in the

conte5t of tensions between Spain and the nited States in the late $(Ds! +lac#ening

the name of Spain or accusing it of crimes went bac# to te5ts in French, English and

other languages in the decades after Columbus! "as Casas was not alone among the

Spaniards in being critical of the actions of his compatriots! 4n +oo# 444 of his 2istory
http://www.interamerica.de/volume-4-2/hart/#footnote41http://www.interamerica.de/volume-4-2/hart/#footnote41http://www.interamerica.de/volume-4-2/hart/#footnote42http://www.interamerica.de/volume-4-2/hart/#footnote43http://www.interamerica.de/volume-4-2/hart/#footnote43http://www.interamerica.de/volume-4-2/hart/#footnote41http://www.interamerica.de/volume-4-2/hart/#footnote42http://www.interamerica.de/volume-4-2/hart/#footnote43


18/21

of the Indies, "as Casas reports that in ?ecember $)$$, Father AntRn 7ontesino, a

?ominican or +lac# Friar, preached two Ad0ent sermons! 4n these, 7ontesino faced the

Spanish colonists and condemned them for ensla0ing the *ati0e population much to the

ire of the colonists, who protested to the #ing!

/he opponents of Spain were still critici8ing Spain more than four hundred years after

Columbus6 landfall in the western Atlantic! For instance, on July ., $((, the Sunday

Comic 1ee#lyG in The +orld, a newspaper in *ew or#, represented under two figures,

+y ?ayG and +y *ight,G a circle of images of Spanish crimes! :;/he growth of the

national and imperialG identities of the nited States was partly defined in terms of

Spain and its empire, something long in the imagination of the English-spea#ing

peoples, first in England and then in its former colonies in northern America!

"ater 2epresentations

From the $(Ds to the present the figures of Spain and Columbus persist in the nited

States and Canada, as heirs to the French and English in northern America! 4n $(.

+en9amin Harrison, called up the people of the ! S! to celebrate Columbus ?ay! 4t has

been celebrated annually since $.D and was made a legal federal holiday there in $%$

@the second 7onday in October! 4n the twentieth-century Columbus was being

institutionali8ed nationally in the nited States but was also being =uestioned as asymbol!

/he commemoration in $. of Columbus6 landfall was represented on the internet and

in film and tele0ision! /he article on Columbus inEncyclopedia 5ritannica 7nlineof

that period states /he past few years ha0e also seen a ma9or shift in approach and

interpretationT the older pro-European and imperialist understanding has gi0en way to

one shaped from the perspecti0e of the inhabitants of the Americas themsel0esG @Flint!

/wo films on Columbus were put together to represent Columbus in the early $Ds! 4n

one, 1hristopher 1olum$us 0The Discovery @$. Columbus is all too human but

passionate Columbus @+renner! 4n the other, '89:, Columbus meets Antonio de

7archena inside "a 2abida @Chut#ow! :);

A re9ection of the term disco0eryG and a preference for commemorationG occurred in

$.! A contro0ersy o0er which part of Hispaniola Columbus landed on happened in

Haiti and the ?ominican 2epublic @Chanel! 1ith a wonderfully resonant title, which

contains its own typology, John Curl6s poem, Columbus in the +ay of >igs,G shows a

typology of past and present @Curl! *ati0e groups ha0e continued their protest on the

web, in the courts and elsewhere! Timeproduced a special issue on Columbus in late


19/21

$$ in con9unction with the Seeds of ChangeG e5hibit at the Smithsonian6s 7useum

of *atural History in 1ashington on Columbus and after @2oyal -$$!

*ati0e >oets, >oets and *ati0es

*ati0e and settler writers ha0e represented the indigenous peoples of Canada, which the

French and English e5plored and settled from the late fifteenth century! +uffy Sainte-

7arie is a good e5ample of addressing the Columbian legacy of colonialism if not

always directly representing Spain or Columbus! Sainte-7arie is a Cree born in

Sas#atchewan but was raised by foster parents in 7aine and 7assachusetts and was

adopted at a Cree powwow when she was eighteen! 4n the $&Ds, Sainte-7arie wrote

songs about concerns that were central to the debate on the iet *am 1ar for *ati0es

and for many other groups @7oses and eopleou6re ?yingG she writes about mis-education in the schools, stressing /hat American

history really began when Columbus set sail out of MEuropeWM And stress that the *ation

of leeches that6s con=uered this landMAre the biggest and bra0est and boldest and bestWG

@ibid! $%&! /his a satire on how the European myths of American identity occlude,

blame or displace *ati0es and glorify Europe and its settlement of the nited States!

Jeannette C! Armstrong, an O#anagan born on the >enticton 2eser0e in +ritish

Columbia, also in0o#es Columbus! 4n History "essonG @$%, pub! $$ sherepresents a parodic 9ourney from Columbus to the present! /his a 0iolent and sic#

world, a long 9ourneyMand unholy searchG @Armstrong $$$! /he legacy of Columbus

and the attempts at healing find their e5pression in the wor# of Sainte-7arie, Armstrong

and other *ati0e poets!

7arie Annharte +a#er, an Anishnabe born in 1innipeg, uses Columbus6 Spanish name

in her poem, Coyote Columbus CafeG @$! She writes about his landfall as )DD

night years agoG @ibid! %$! /he Columbian legacy lea0es a dar# pall on time for

*ati0es! 4ndian time is something the coloni8ed coyote girl must face, and she wonders

if she disco0ered Columbus first, and it is her land and so she is the landlord! +a#er lists

with some irony what Columbus lac#ed cultural awarenessMe=uityMaffirmati0e

actionMpolitical correctnessG @ibid! %'! She alternates ColumbusG with ColonG and

shows that he is lost li/e the rest of us,G as the #indly *ati0eG says @ibid!! /he spea#er

of the poem wonders if Columbus confessed to a priest and considers what he might

ha0e said to gi0e church officials the momentum to sit on boards and become 4ndian

e5perts and addresses former Columbus clonesG @ibid! %'-%)!


20/21

/he coyote girl educates the oppressorG and ends the poem with a =uestion how does

a coyote girl get M a tale outta her mouthXG @ibid! %)-%&!Here, the pun on taleG

emphasi8es the narrati0e and suggests something stopping her mouth, whether it is hers

or the oppressor6s! /here is a tension between self-disco0ery and disco0ery that calls

both into =uestion! Columbus or Colon and his Spanish compatriots is present among

*ati0e poets in Canada, a country in which the French and English coloni8ed! /he

identity of *ati0es and settlers in Canada and the nited States cannot do without Spain

and Columbus then or now!

Other *ati0e writers in *orth America consider the legacy of Columbus for their

cultures and identities! 1riting in the early $Ds, *! Scott 7omaday, a writer of Iiowa

and Chero#ee descent in the nited States, argues for the dignity of the *ati0es /he

na#ed people Columbus saw in $. were the members of a society altogether worthy

and well made, a people of the e0erlasting earth, possessed of honour and dignity and a

generosity of spirit unsurpassedG @7omaday $!


21/21

A further complication is between those of *ati0e and European descent in the

Americas! /he myths of disco0ery, the narrati0es of con0ersion, and the spread of

European languages put pressure on indigenous peoplesLnot to mention in0asion,

disease and widespread #illing that has been traumatic for *ati0e cultures! /he legacy

of Columbus has had conse=uences e0en for the northwest of *orth America in Canada

and the nited States! /he *ati0e writers 4 discussed briefly present another point of

0iew in this official history of European triumph and e5pansion! 4n the last decade or

two of the twentieth century, that myth of identity started to change and subside e0en in

the institutions of education and go0ernment! Columbus and Spain ha0e ta#en on new

twists!

And there are more complications! /he spread of Hispanic populations north of 7e5ico

@the boundaries post $(Ds is one of language because those who spea# Spanish are

from different bac#grounds B*ati0e, African, European, mi5ed! /he representations of

Columbus and Spain ta#e on new meaning, especially in the nited States, as its

Hispanic population increases! /hose of 0arious Hispanic identities may 0ery well ha0e

different 0iews of Columbus and Spain!

Here, 4 ha0e tried to show a few strands of the origins of the ambi0alent and

contradictory representations of Spain, including Columbus, to show that early

modernity has affected later modernity in intricate ways and by-ways! For better or forworse, the landfall of Columbus is one of the great mar#s of modernity, some might say

scars! 4n any case, we are all haunted by Spain and to pretend otherwise is another way

to bury our heads and to deny the role of history in the way forward!

Documents

Haunted by Spain