3 ms·

IMO, it goes a step further than that, though. The motivations for most of the conquistadors was wealth— in the form of gold and new trade routes. What would a

IMO, it goes a step further than that, though. The motivations for most of the conquistadors was wealth— in the form of gold and new trade routes. What would an alien civilization who has built the necessary capabilities to get to us want with our resources? Especially when all of them can be mined in far greater quantities along the way.

tshaddox 5y ago
Did conquistadors ever encounter any indigenous people with no immediate access to valuable resources, and if so, did the conquistadors behave in the way this article predicts aliens to behave? Did they simply desire to teach those indigenous people? I'm no expert, but I tend to doubt it. Conquistadors slaughtered children on some occasions, which doesn't strike me as something motivated entirely by wealth.
- mynameisvlad 5y ago
  One of the primary official motivations in terms of the entire conquest (taking a step back from individual desires of wealth and prosperity) was the Catholicization of the settled lands. The Conquistadors as a whole were people. People can be good, people can be shitty. And the same can certainly be said for any potential aliens. But I am not aware of any official campaign which included slaughtering children, or anyone else for that matter. In fact, one of the earliest laws drafted (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laws_of_Burgos https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laws_of_Burgos) includes an explicit article forbidding it and other forms of maltreatment: > 24: The Indians are not to be physically or verbally abused for any reason. And the laws were even expanded to further protect women and children.
  - tshaddox 5y ago
    Where to even start? How about this declaration, one year after those very nice sounding Laws of Burgos: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Requirement_of_1513 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Requirement_of_1513

tshaddox 5y ago

Did conquistadors ever encounter any indigenous people with no immediate access to valuable resources, and if so, did the conquistadors behave in the way this article predicts aliens to behave? Did they simply desire to teach those indigenous people? I'm no expert, but I tend to doubt it. Conquistadors slaughtered children on some occasions, which doesn't strike me as something motivated entirely by wealth.

mynameisvlad 5y ago
One of the primary official motivations in terms of the entire conquest (taking a step back from individual desires of wealth and prosperity) was the Catholicization of the settled lands. The Conquistadors as a whole were people. People can be good, people can be shitty. And the same can certainly be said for any potential aliens. But I am not aware of any official campaign which included slaughtering children, or anyone else for that matter. In fact, one of the earliest laws drafted (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laws_of_Burgos https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laws_of_Burgos) includes an explicit article forbidding it and other forms of maltreatment: > 24: The Indians are not to be physically or verbally abused for any reason. And the laws were even expanded to further protect women and children.
- tshaddox 5y ago
  Where to even start? How about this declaration, one year after those very nice sounding Laws of Burgos: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Requirement_of_1513 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Requirement_of_1513