The Colombian Exchange and Iberian Legacy In 1619
“Remember the big world all the people were living in”, summoned Dr. Richard Bond of Virginia Wesleyan University, as scholarly minds discussed the effects of transitional patchwork between African-Americans, and Latinos in the colonial American experience. For Native Americans, Africans, Latin Americans, minorities of Latino or Hispanic descent, Spaniards and Portuguese, as well as Europeans, the connection to the development of America is strong. Dr. Bond pointed out that Spain’s presence in 1619 was highly important. Spain set out to create an idea of power and civilization. By striving to build “peaceful models of subjugation”, Spain tried to adopt people into its own way of civilization such as with Aztec emperor, Montezuma and Spanish Conquistador, Cortés. The year 1619 represents a turn in historical destiny. For Native Americans, the ruinous switch from independent to colonized history; for Iberians, the establishment of an influential historical chapter of imperial fame and controversy; for Latin Americans and the Latino diaspora, the birth of distinct cultures out of power-laden encounters with Iberian Europeans, Native Americans, Africans, and the diverse offspring who both conserved and blurred the main racial categories. Immediately following Dr. Bond’s enlightening presentation, college students and professors came together in a roundtable in hopes of figuring out when we all became Americans.