The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee

Though the northern Atlantic region had been briefly explored by Leif Eriksson in the 11th century, the Age of Exploration did not truly begin until Christopher Columbus landed in the Bahamas on October 12, 1492. Like other explorers, Columbus set sail in search of riches. Before the Ottoman Turks’ conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the Silk Road was the pathway to all lucrative goods. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and silk were transported from the East to the West, while gold, silver, and precious stones moved eastward. Knowledge, religions, populations, and diseases also moved along this route. However, the conquest made it impossible to travel safely along the Silk Road, leaving merchants and rulers in Venice, Genoa, Barcelona, and Lisbon to contemplate other ways of getting the goods that they desired. It thus became necessary to sail west to reach the East.

During his sojourn in what is now the Caribbean, Columbus “quickly became an agent of violence” (22). Michele da Cuneo, a friend of Columbus who accompanied him on the explorer’s second voyage, wrote about his capture and rape of a Carib woman. In 1495, Columbus shipped 550 Indigenous people to Spain to be sold. Nearly half died during the journey, and their bodies were thrown into the ocean.