GVSU Honors Blog!

Olivia, that is a good point! There was really no gender equality at all in those days. Men somehow thought that women were incapable of doing things that men did, when in fact this was not true at all. It is a very good thing that we as a society have largely moved past this extreme viewpoint.

I found the lectures on mining, sugar, and piracy to be the most interesting part of the class so far - especially pirates! Since every aspect of pirates has been romanticized by the filmmaking industry, these pirates stop seeming like real people; somehow, they start to come across as fake, a product of someone's creativity - like they never actually existed. But they were every bit as real as we are! It's fascinating to learn about how pirates actually lived, from their ten-hour work days all the way to their interactions with powerful European governments. I can't imagine taking over a Spanish treasure ship full of silver! And it's amazing to realize what an impact these people had on the trajectory of the global slave trade. And speaking of African Americans, I had no idea that they were often pirates too! I am eager to learn more about pirates in class next week.

Hi Ben! I definitely agree that Erauso led a wild life. Learning about all her escapades was interesting to me as well - she, as a biological woman, did things beyond what most biological men would not even do! Erauso proves what an important character trait that boldness is, and she also serves as a role model in adapting to challenges. Thanks for your thoughts!

This week, we looked at (and read in the Socolow reading) a number of examples where Latin American men completely dehumanize women. According to the men of the day, a woman could not learn, could not run a family, could not be a leader in any circumstance, and ultimately, could not make any decisions on her own! As is mentioned above, such an attitude brings women down to a level that is completely below that of men. While men and women have been created differently from each other, this fact absolutely does not justify the idea of male supremacy. A male is not better than a female because he has certain biological characteristics. A female may not be as strong as a male, and therefore cannot perform the same tasks as a male. She, however, is not any less of a human because of that! We therefore should always treat men and women with equal respect. And, unlike Latin American men, we need to give men and women equal opportunity to exercise their respective talents.

Hi Lillie! I definitely agree with you - there is some bias in every historical writing, and it often seems impossible to figure out exactly how much there is. I tend to agree that Garcilaso deserves the benefit of the doubt here; he seems to have put forth a significant effort to eliminate bias. I missed the part where Garcilaso admits he has bias, but that's really interesting! In a strange way, that almost gives him more credibility - often, the more that someone tries to pretend there is no bias, the more bias is actually present. Hopefully, through this class, we are learning to better judge between fact and exaggeration in writing.

Recently, including yesterday, we have been talking about how the Spanish conquistadors were Christians, and how they committed untold numbers of atrocities in the name of Christianity. And it has really made me think. Because I am a Christian, and have been my whole life. I believe there is a merciful God Who delights in forgiving sins, and that the core of the Christian gospel lies in that fact. And I believe Christians are called to spread this "good news" to everyone else in the world. Then, I look at the Spanish Christians of the 1500s and wonder what Christianity has come to. I read Victoria's post from last week, as well as Amanda's response, and know that they are wondering the same thing. If the Spaniards can call themselves Christians, while forcing Christianity on the natives, then is Christianity really the peaceful, loving religion it claims to be? Since so many Christians in history are outright hypocrites about what they believe, doesn't this sugges...