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You give the conquistadors too much of a pass, and you don't say why the aztecs were "most hated civilization in Mexico". > Epidemics are not genocide by any m

You give the conquistadors too much of a pass, and you don't say why the aztecs were "most hated civilization in Mexico". > Epidemics are not genocide by any measure of definition I suppose, but conquistadors liked their slaves, they used torture freely on anyone they felt like, they compared tenochtitlan to venice IIRC - and then set about destroying it. The native mexicans were subhumans to them (because they weren't christians I think was the main reason) and they treated them with incredible brutality. You whitewash the conquistadors by calling them "opportunistic adventure[r]s".

christkv 6y ago
You are applying you modern bias to history. Whitewashing is religious term and shows a clear unwillingness to accept any narrative that does not fit a narrow domestic view of reality.
- throwaway_pdp09 6y ago
  And yours is the only unbiased view I'm sure. Whitewash: "to gloss over or cover up (something, such as a record of criminal behavior)" (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whitewash https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whitewash) I'm unaware of any religious aspect to the term. > and shows a clear unwillingness to accept... ... to accept your point of view, yes, correct. Provide facts and then we can talk.
- watwut 6y ago
  I mean, contemporary whites criticized the above too. It is not like we found out those are bad only last year or something.
- dang 6y ago
  Please see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24608351 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24608351 and please stop.
inglor_cz 6y ago
Conquistadors do not need any whitewashing. Contemporary European warfare was very brutal. In my corner of Europe, the Catholic-Protestant wars eliminated something between a third and a half of the population, depending on how many armies plundered the particular region.
- throwaway_pdp09 6y ago
  I'm unsure what you mean. Are we each using whitewashing for different things?
  - inglor_cz 6y ago
    It is possible, I am not a native speaker. I wanted to say that the conquistadors probably behaved on par with their contemporaries in the Holy Roman Empire or elsewhere.
    - watwut 6y ago
      Whitewashing typically means "making sound better by removing ugly parts".
earlyriser 6y ago
Most hated civilization probably for the flower wars: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower_war https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower_war

christkv 6y ago

You are applying you modern bias to history. Whitewashing is religious term and shows a clear unwillingness to accept any narrative that does not fit a narrow domestic view of reality.

throwaway_pdp09 6y ago
And yours is the only unbiased view I'm sure. Whitewash: "to gloss over or cover up (something, such as a record of criminal behavior)" (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whitewash https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whitewash) I'm unaware of any religious aspect to the term. > and shows a clear unwillingness to accept... ... to accept your point of view, yes, correct. Provide facts and then we can talk.
watwut 6y ago
I mean, contemporary whites criticized the above too. It is not like we found out those are bad only last year or something.
dang 6y ago
Please see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24608351 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24608351 and please stop.

inglor_cz 6y ago

Conquistadors do not need any whitewashing. Contemporary European warfare was very brutal. In my corner of Europe, the Catholic-Protestant wars eliminated something between a third and a half of the population, depending on how many armies plundered the particular region.

throwaway_pdp09 6y ago
I'm unsure what you mean. Are we each using whitewashing for different things?
- inglor_cz 6y ago
  It is possible, I am not a native speaker. I wanted to say that the conquistadors probably behaved on par with their contemporaries in the Holy Roman Empire or elsewhere.
  - watwut 6y ago
    Whitewashing typically means "making sound better by removing ugly parts".

earlyriser 6y ago

Most hated civilization probably for the flower wars: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower_war https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower_war