I felt one thing the article did well was connecting imperialism to capitalism. Market forces were clearly made the source of the cruelty, much like what we see today. It's immediately clear that the indigenous people were seen of as either useful (as slaves and guides), inconsequential (leaving them outside the gates after battle to be slaughtered), or troublesome (leading to huge militarization and subjugation.

"After they learn our languages I shall return them, unless Your Highnesses order that the entire population be taken to Castille, or held captive here. With 50 men you could subject everyone and make them do what you wished."

The other thing that really intersted me was the need to destroy networks. Europeans pitted tribes against each other and tried in rip people from their families and lands as a way to ensure that the communities could not network a resistance. The French even began the scalping stereotype which I was unaware of. We see the focus on destroying networks also with African slaves being sent to different cities after abduction, the American and European communist and anarchist groups of the 20th century, and Palestinians today with Gaza's isolation from the West Bank. An organized resistance is the best defence from those who seek to control and dominate.

Also, I was unaware of how large the indigenous population was. Upwards of 75 million was much larger than Europe's at the time and it was really interesting reading about pre-columbus life, I wish there was more of that.

"With a few exceptions, the First Nations were classless and communitarian societies, with strong matrilineal features. The political sphere of Indigenous life was not dominated by men, but was in many cases the responsibility of women. Elders held a position of importance and honour for their knowledge. There were no prisons, for the First Nations peoples had well developed methods of resolving community problems, and there was—from the accounts of elders—very little in anti-social crime. Community decisions were most frequently made by consensus and discussions amongst the people."