anticipate a possible future without denying the past,it should,I believe,emphasize new possibilities by disclosing those hidden episodes of the past when,even if in brief flashes, people showed their ability to resist,to join together,occasionally to win.I am supposing, or perhaps only hoping,that our future may be found in the past's fugitive moments of compassion rather than in its solid centuries of warfare. That,being as blunt as I can,is my approach to the history of the United States.The reader may as well know that before going on. What Columbus did to the Arawaks of the Bahamas,Cortes did to the Aztecs of Mexico,Pizarro to the Incas of Peru,and the English settlers of Virginia and Massachusetts to the Powhatans and the Pequots. The Aztec civilization of Mexico came out of the heritage of Mayan,Zapotec,and Toltec cultures.It built enormous constructions from stone tools and human labor, developed a writing system and a priesthood.It also engaged in(let us not overlook this) the ritual killing of thousands of people as sacrifices to the gods.The cruelty of the Aztecs,however,did not erase a certain innocence,and when a Spanish armada appeared at Vera Cruz,and a bearded white man came ashore,with strange beasts (horses),clad in iron,it was thought that he was the legendary Aztec man-gedvho had died three hundred years before,with the promise to return-the mysterious Qutzalcoatl.And so they welcomed him,with munificent hospitality. That was Hernando Cortes,come from Spain wit expedition financed by merchants and landowners and blessed by the deputie of God,with one obsessive goal: to find gold.In the mind of Montezuma,the king of the Aztecs,there must have been a certain doubt about whether Cortes was indeed Ouetzalcoatl.because he sent a hundred runners to Cortes,bearing enormous treasures,gold and silver wrought into objects of fantastic beauty,but at the same timebegging him to go back.(The painter Durer a few years later described what he saw jnst arrived in Spain from that expedition-a sun of gold, a moon of silver,worth a fortune Cortes then began his mapch of death from town to town,using deception,turning Aztec against Aztec,killing wwh the kind of deliberateness that accompanies a strategy- to paralyze the will of the population by a sudden frightful deed.And so,in Cholulu,he invited the headmenofthe Cholula nation to the square.And when they came,with thousands of unarmed retainers,Cortes's small army of Spaniards,posted around the square with cannon,armed with crossbows,mounted on horses,massacred them,down to the last man.Then they looted the city and moved on.When their cavalcade of murder was over they were in Mexico City,Montezuma was dead,and the Aztec civilization, shattered,was in the hands of the Spaniards. All this is told in the Spaniards'own accounts. In Peru,that other Spanish conquistador Pizarro,used the same tactics,and for the same reasons-the frenzy in the early capitalist states of Europe for gold,for slaves,for products of the soil,to pay the bondholders and stockholders of the expeditions,to finance the monarchical bureaucracies rising in Western Europe,to spur the growth of the new money economy rising out of feudalism,to participate in what Karl Marx would later call "the primitive accumulation of capital."These were the violent beginnings of an intricate system of technology,business,politics,and culture that would dominate the world for the next five centuries.anticipate a possible future without denying the past, it should, I believe, emphasize new possibilities by disclosing those hidden episodes of the past when, even if in brief flashes, people showed their ability to resist, to join together, occasionally to win. I am supposing, or perhaps only hoping, that our future may be found in the past's fugitive moments of compassion rather than in its solid centuries of warfare. That, being as blunt as I can, is my approach to the history of the United States. The reader may as well know that before going on. What Columbus did to the Arawaks of the Bahamas, Cortes did to the Aztecs of Mexico, Pizarro to the Incas of Peru, and the English settlers of Virginia and Massachusetts to the Powhatans and the Pequots. The Aztec civilization of Mexico came out of the heritage of Mayan, Zapotec, and Toltec cultures. It built enormous constructions from stone tools and human labor, developed a writing system and a priesthood. It also engaged in (let us not overlook this) the ritual killing of thousands of people as sacrifices to the gods. The cruelty of the Aztecs, however, did not erase a certain innocence, and when a Spanish armada appeared at Vera Cruz, and a bearded white man came ashore, with strange beasts (horses), clad in iron, it was thought that he was the legendary Aztec man-god who had died three hundred years before, with the promise to return-the mysterious Quetzalcoatl. And so they welcomed him, with munificent hospitality. That was Hernando Cortes, come from Spain with an expedition financed by merchants and landowners and blessed by the deputies of God, with one obsessive goal: to find gold. In the mind of Montezuma, the king of the Aztecs, there must have been a certain doubt about whether Cortes was indeed Quetzalcoatl, because he sent a hundred runners to Cortes, bearing enormous treasures, gold and silver wrought into objects of fantastic beauty, but at the same time begging him to go back. (The painter Durer a few years later described what he saw just arrived in Spain from that expedition-a sun of gold, a moon of silver, worth a fortune.) Cortes then began his march of death from town to town, using deception, turning Aztec against Aztec, killing with the kind of deliberateness that accompanies a strategy￾to paralyze the will of the population by a sudden frightful deed. And so, in Cholulu, he invited the headmen of the Cholula nation to the square. And when they came, with thousands of unarmed retainers, Cortes's small army of Spaniards, posted around the square with cannon, armed with crossbows, mounted on horses, massacred them, down to the last man. Then they looted the city and moved on. When their cavalcade of murder was over they were in Mexico City, Montezuma was dead, and the Aztec civilization, shattered, was in the hands of the Spaniards. All this is told in the Spaniards' own accounts. In Peru, that other Spanish conquistador Pizarro, used the same tactics, and for the same reasons- the frenzy in the early capitalist states of Europe for gold, for slaves, for products of the soil, to pay the bondholders and stockholders of the expeditions, to finance the monarchical bureaucracies rising in Western Europe, to spur the growth of the new money economy rising out of feudalism, to participate in what Karl Marx would later call "the primitive accumulation of capital." These were the violent beginnings of an intricate system of technology, business, politics, and culture that would dominate the world for the next five centuries. No Profit Use Only