@Decolonize History

[@Decolonize History @diego_reci39270]

@RecinosRoberts As Churchill famously says, 'History is written by the victors.' While their voices are what we see in modern times, this leaves the question: Whose voices are missing? What other erased histories should we reclaim? Let's discuss that.

[@Decolonize History @diego_reci39270]

Can we please bring up this very important topic in history? 🚨

The Spanish didn't just "discover" new lands. They rewrote history that did not belong to them in order to justify colonization. 😤😤

[@Decolonize History @diego_reci39270]

@RecinosRoberts If the Spainsh truly believed in their superiority, why did they feel the need to justify their actions so much? Question to think about. Why frame conquest as "discovering" if they were aware of their brutality? #questionsthatkeepmeupatnight

[@Decolonize History @diego_reci39270]

@RecinosRoberts In book twelve, the conquest of New Spain, one of the ornamented pillars miraculously took fire and burned. Citizens believed it was a sign but most likely it was the Spaniards trying to destroy sacred objects. Taking away the physical connection people had with their religion.

[@Decolonize History @diego_reci39270]

@RecinosRoberts Well thankfully not all was lost as we have the Florentine Codex to tell us the stories of the Spanish conquest, revealing how the Spaniards imposed their version of history while burning books and sacred objects.

[@Decolonize History @diego_reci39270]

@RecinosRoberts The Spaniards also used writing, as Mignolo explains, colonization wasn't just military, it was also linguistic. By imposing their alphabet & grammar, they were able to control how history was being told and who controlled it *spoiler alert* it was the Spaniards. 🙄 #notshocked

[@Decolonize History @diego_reci39270]

@RecinosRoberts I want to bring in the work of Walter Mignolo, in "Colonization of Amerindian Languages and Memories", he states "Amerindian descriptions of their own social practices and cultural artifacts were replaced by the Spaniards" p13, they did this by burning Amerindian books, and more.

[@Decolonize History @diego_reci39270]

@RecinosRoberts Thank you, when the Spanish destroyed oral traditions and records, they framed the native people as having no "real" history. They used this to make out that conquest was to spread their civilization rather than erasing others.