From Robert Royal, Catholic author, scholar and commentator :
“The world has largely forgotten that after Columbus a seminal debate arose in Spain about the newly encountered peoples. Some argued that they were “slaves by nature,” a phrase from Aristotle, meaning people incapable of governing themselves.
“But the great Dominican philosopher Francisco de Vitoria argued, along with the “defender of the Indians” Bartolomé Las Casas, that they clearly had their own institutions and laws, and that both they and Spaniards needed to be shown a better way. This wasn’t immediately effective, ideas rarely are. But it was the beginning of international human rights law and the Christian-inspired movement to abolish slavery.
It’s worth giving thanks that Christians had “reconquered” Spain by 1492; if Islam was still in power there, the Americas – the entire world – would, to say the least, be very different today.
“History is complicated, but tells hard truths. So celebrate Indigenous Peoples if you like (preferably, on another day). Christians believe all peoples are made in His image and likeness. But shun today’s replacement of our Western tradition. Columbus and we, too, deserve more than a little respect.”
