It is natural to view history from our own perspective, but we can learn interesting things by putting ourselves in another position to see how things looked from that side.

Imagine, if you will, that you are a Native Texan living when the first explorers arrive from Spain. It must feel like an alien invasion! The men wear metal breastplates and helmets that gleam in the sun. Their faces are covered with hair (uncommon among native peoples) or a chain mail buffe that makes it difficult to see their features or read their expressions. They ride large, strange beasts that you have never seen before. (Horses were unknown in the New World before the Spaniards arrived.) They tower over you.

Do you feel curious? Scared? Wary? Defensive?

When they speak, their language is strange. You don’t understand. You try to guess what they might be saying. “Who are you?” And you answer. “Tejas–friends!” (Maybe because you hope they won’t attack you.) Many of the words  the explorers wrote down as tribal names translate to “People” (as opposed to whatever it is you and that animal are) or “the best of men” (…so don’t try anything).

And when you learn, through a series of gestures, that they landed on the coast and ran afoul of a mean-tempered tribe there, you exclaim “Attakapa!” The Spaniards write it down as if you’ve told them the name of the tribe they encountered. What you actually said was more like, “Oh, my goodness! Those guys eat folks!”

🙂