Triumph and Tragedy: The Duality of History
The most timeless thing in the world is, counter-intuitively, history. Even though it is defined as a product of time, history transcends time itself and often repeats itself. Much joy and misery of our present time has analogues or even roots in events of the past. As such, history is a paradoxical subject to tackle or to analyze, and its consequences are even more mystifying than the causes. Determining whether a historical event was a blessing or a curse, a virtue or a sin, moral or unethical, is always convoluted and never straightforward. There are many examples that we can point fingers to, but the vast majority of them are archaic and the modern person has little correlation or knowledge concerning them. Yet, there are instances of events in history that are both well-known and bewildering. Perhaps the best instance to tackle would be the discovery of the American landmass, whose results have shaped a massive portion of humanity today. Said results however, are indeterminate when it comes to being positive or negative. Was Columbus’s discovery a triumph to the world, or a tragedy to countless innocents?
There are five main necessities that dictated human action since the beginning of time: food, water, shelter, companionship, and curiosity. Curiosity, in particular, was the main driving force for inventors, philosophers, and scientists since the ancient times, and continues to be so in the modern day. People wanted to explore nature, the limits of logic, the possibilities of science, and the extents of the whole world. There was always something to explore and discover, new land and people to find, new technology to interact with, and new cultures to learn about. No one truly knew how much the Earth had in stock, and it was not until space exploration in the 20th century that anyone could claim to have seen it all. Thus, when someone discovered new never-before-seen land, he would be met with much fanfare and applause. It was an accomplishment of great magnitudes to anyone who could manage to do so. And that was certainly the case with Christopher Columbus when he sailed to the Americas. There was a whole landmass they were yet to explore, thousands of people (the Native Americans) to meet and talk to, and varied cultures they have never seen before. According to one account, Columbus and his crew were so ecstatic upon reaching land, that they planted a cross, prayed to the Lord, and kissed the sand beneath themselves. The people in Europe were equally ecstatic, and Columbus’s name had been immortalized in the league of explorers and in all of history. It was a triumph to his name and all of Europe. But the Natives? Not so much.
One of humanity’s greatest strengths is disrupting the natural order of things. Proof for this is evident through the centuries of war, slavery, pillaging, imperialism, colonialism, industrialization, and more. Any newly found land, especially land ripe with treasure, was often plundered and set up to be a colony. The people were exploited as workers and slaves, and entire cultures were erased from existence. If the founder of the land did not do so, then the subsequent visitors would do, which was the case with the Americas. Columbus and his crew were relatively tame with the Native Americans (by 1492 standards that is), but the subsequent British and French colonists were not. They seized the lands of the natives and exploited the people (and their lack of knowledge). Any retaliation would be met with execution. Even when the Europeans did nothing of harm to the Native Americans, their mere visit was fatal. Europeans, who lived in crowded and filthy cities, brought diseases that were alien to the clean and organic environment of America at that time. As a result, disease swept through the land and killed countless Native Americans. While the Europeans were celebrating their triumphs of exploration and treasure, the Native Americans were mourning their tragedies of disease, death, and exploitation.
In short, Columbus’s voyage to the Americas was a coin with a side of triumph and a side of tragedy. The Europeans experienced great success, and the Native Americans experienced great loss. Perhaps the best and most timeless expression of this matter, is courtesy of the great Charles Dickens, who wrote: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way.” And he could not have been more correct. Even today, we live in the best of times, and we live in the worst of times. And as far as it can be inferred, it will remain that way. The dual coin of tragedy and triumph is as timeless as time itself.
References:
Dickens, Tale of Two Cities.