October 15, 2019
Dear Subscriber:
Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of
view. Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme
for this week is Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day, which are celebrated
on Oct. 14.
I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com
.
A poem for Indigenous Peoples’ Day about bringing Indian
slaves back to Spain, based on passages from a letter
by Michele da Cuneo, who accompanied Columbus on his second voyage and wrote
the letter after his return to Italy in 1495:
THE ENSLAVEMENT OF THE CARIBBEANS:
COLUMBUS’ SECOND VOYAGE
From a letter by
Michele da Cuneo, who accompanied Columbus on his second voyage and wrote the
letter after his return to Italy in 1495:
When our caravels
were ready to depart,
We gathered 1,600
Indians, male and female,
And on the 17th
of February 1495
Loaded aboard 650
of the best, both men and women.
The rest were offered
to whoever wanted them.
And so it was.
When everyone was
supplied with slaves,
About 400 were
freed to go where they wished,
Among whom were
females with nursing infants,
Whom they flung to
the ground as they fled,
Fleeing like
desperate persons
Seven or eight days
from our settlement,
Beyond mountains
and great rivers,
So that it would be
nearly impossible
Ever to take them
again.
As pleased God we
had such favorable winds
That we reached the
island of Madeira in 23 days.
But by that time
some 200 of the Indians had died,
And we cast them
into the sea.
Soon after this we
reached Cadiz,
Where we unloaded
the slaves,
Half of whom were
sick.
They are not made
for work,
Fear greatly the
cold,
And do not live
long.
© by Nicholas Gordon
If you enjoyed this poem, please like, comment on, or share
it so that it might be seen and enjoyed by others. To see this poem on my site,
go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/theens.html.
For more poems for indigenous peoples’ day, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/indigenouspeoplesdaypoems.html
.
This week’s theme: Columbus Day and Indigenous People’s Day
10/15: The Enslavement of the Caribbeans: Columbus’ Second Voyage
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