TODOROV’S CONQUEST OF AMERICA

TODOROV’S CONQUEST OF AMERICA

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Todorov’s Conquest of America

In this essay, I argue that it is vital to select a suitable way of discovering the other to avoid conflicts or misunderstandings that could occur. Globalization now provides the opportunity for people to move from one place to the other in search of dwelling places, working, and learning opportunities. It is vital to know the best ways of reaching out to areas that are unknown to someone. The study settles on love as the best way of knowing other cultures and people but encourages individuals to first understand the strengths and weaknesses of the different approaches such as discovery and conquest.

Discovery – Strengths and Weaknesses

Discovering is the process of finding a place, an object, or information, especially for the first time. Discovery as a way of knowing other cultures and people has its strengths and weaknesses, which may either compel or discourage someone from using or not applying the mechanism.[1] One of the significant advantages of the approach is it encourages the discoverers to use their creativity, knowledge, intuition, and imagination to search for new places, information, and facts. Another strength the discovery approach of knowing others is it encourages independence and autonomy and gives a person the freedom to choose their companions. The advantages of using the discovery model; nevertheless, do not mean that it lacks flaws.

The discovery approach, like all models, however, has a few weaknesses that could derail the effort to know other cultures and peoples. The model requires an appropriate framework because the endless exploration and searching for answers might be complex and confusing.[2] A person seeking to understand other cultures or people, for example, might first have to conduct some studies on the groups they are likely to associate or relate with. The other weakness of the discovery model is its difficulty in predicting the outcome of the process. A person moving to another region, for example, might not know what to expect from the people or culture, which might require them first to spend some time learning the local beliefs and practices.   frA number of past discoveries offer clear insight into the strengths and weaknesses of using the discovery approach.

One notable discovery is that of America by Christopher Columbus in 1492.  Columbus led three ships – the Santa Maria, the Nina, and the Pinta in exploration to reach the Indies via the west where he knew he could find the riches of spice, white pearl, and gold awaited.[3] Columbus’ voyage had to wait for several weeks to see land, which they believed was America. Columbus and his team met the Red Indians, who, according to his narration, were naked.[4] They saw a lot of water, very tall and green trees, and fruits of different kinds. It is possible to identify particular strengths and weaknesses of the discovery approach through Columbus’ expedition, which could help people today to make suitable decisions on how to approach other cultures and individuals. The discovery showed how one must be creative as well as involve their selves actively to identify or find what they want. A person, in this case, may get to know other cultures by taking the initiative to explore unknown areas and learning their lifestyle and practices. Columbus’ expedition also shows how one could enjoy autonomy and independence as they interact with people from the cultures they meet for the first time. The challenges, Columbus experienced during his discovery of America, nevertheless, could inform of the weaknesses the style presents. During most of the journey, Columbus did not know where he was heading to, which made the crew impatient. A discoverer in many situations would not see the outcome of their initiatives, and some who lack patience and hope might not develop a strong relationship with others or achieve their goals and objectives.

Conquest – Strengths and Weaknesses

Conquest is the practice of military overpowering an enemy force or group using arms. Military history offers many examples of conquests. An excellent example of conquest in the past was Hernan Cortes’ attack of the Aztecs when he led the Spanish to claim Mexico for Spain. Corte started as an explorer at the age of 19, and one of his great missions was an expedition to Cuba, and later in 1518, he proceeded to Mexico.[5] The Spanish conquistador strategically incited some native inhabitants against others and ultimately overthrew the extensive and influential Aztec empire and Montezuma, who was its leader. King Charles, I rewarded Cortes by appointing him the governor of Spain in 1522. 

Today, military officers conquer other nations or territories to expand their jurisdiction, overcome an enemy force, or show their prowess. Usually, when the military personnel engages in the fights and after winning, they interact with some of the people as well as the culture of the people in the new land and even get the chance to know some of the local practices. Conquering a given territory further allows others from the winning side to increase their population in the newfound place, which also creates the chance to discover other cultures and people.[6] Using the conquest method to identify different cultures and people has some strength, which could encourage its usage. One of the advantages of conquest is it offers the chance to enter a particular place when certain constraints prevent smooth entry, as with the case where some enemy forces prevent access to the territory. Conquering a territory further allows the winner to explore the new area without any restrictions because of the victory they get following the confrontation.

Unfortunately, the conquest method has some weaknesses that could cause unwanted results. One of the major flaws is the approach employs force to enter a particular place, which may derail the attempts to foster good relations with the locals. Military forces seeking to conquer a place usually come using force, and could even cause heavy bombardment of the area to emerge victorious. Such ways of entering a site often cause massive destruction of property, and could even lead to the death of many people who have nothing to do with the confrontations.[7] A conquest may also be unpredictable because the attacker might fail to win as they expected, and this could derail the attempts to enter the target area and get to know its culture and people.

Love – Strengths and Weaknesses

Many people consider love to be a suitable virtue that could foster peaceful coexistence with others, and it is the reason why most nations would introduce measures that encourage individuals to love each other. Love includes a range of positive and healthy mental and emotional desires, from the simplest pleasure to the most intense interpersonal affection.[8] Usually, people would love those who have kinship ties with them or other personal relationships. Others would develop love due to attraction based on sexual wants or desires, or as a result of benevolence, admiration, or similar interests. Love could also mean the benevolent and unselfish concern for the wellbeing of others, such as the brotherly concern for other people and the fatherly protection of God for everyone.

Choosing love as a way of exploring other cultures and people has several strengths and weaknesses that could help individuals seeking to employ the approach to know others. Using love to approach others is beneficial because it promotes equality in a relationship, meaning that the interests and desires if every person is met and respected to a reasonable measure contrary to prioritizing the needs of one side controlling the relationship.[9] Other than encouraging equality, love is a suitable way of knowing others because it becomes easier to understand what the other thinks or wants because of the trust that develops when love prevails. The people seeking to use love as a way of exploring different cultures and people need to understand that love could as well create some form of inequality if the parties into the relationship do not consider certain crucial factors. The imbalance could arise where one of the parties feels they have more influence over the other because of their financial power or gender status. It is essential, therefore, to consider the effects of using love as an approach when seeking to know other people and cultures to avoid the inconveniences that could arise.

Identifying the Best Approach

Evaluating the three approaches of discovering other cultures and people reveals that love is the best way because it does not expose one to unknown dangers as it happens with the discovery method, and does not apply force as it is when using conquest. Further, love is a suitable way of exploring new people and cultures because it creates the impression that everyone is the same regardless of the differences that exist among individuals. The people aspiring to meet new people and cultures by expressing love to those they meet should be keen to avoid things that could derail the formation of close relationships.

Conclusion

The study explores three various ways of discovering other cultures and people while relying on the proposals by Todorov. A person can learn and become conversant with different cultures through discovery where they encounter the beliefs and practices of other people for the first time because of the effort and motivation they have towards achieving the goal. The approach allows a person to set the framework for meeting the desired objectives and promotes motivation, creativity, and active involvement. The method, however, requires many plans and does not provide a guarantee about the outcome. Another possible way of knowing a particular culture and its people is through conquest whereby a military group attacks and takes over a specific group. The approach is suitable because it allows for entry when certain obstacles make it difficult to penetrate a given area, and also gives one the chance to explore any part of the defeated place. A conquest, however, is inappropriate because it could lead to the destruction of property as well cause the death of many innocent people. The third approach is love, and it is beneficial because it creates room for equality and trust. Still, its weakness is inequality could emerge in situations where either of the parties has more influence over the other. Nonetheless, love remains the best approach to knowing others.

Bibliography

Todorov, Tzvetan. The Conquest of America: The Question of the Other. New York, Harper & Row, 1999.

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[1] Tzvetan Todorov. The Conquest of America: The Question of the Other (New York, Harper &

Row, 1999), 5.

[2] Ibid, 12.

[3] Todorov. The Conquest of America, 15.

[4] Ibid, 30.

[5] Todorov. The Conquest of America, 55.

[6] Ibid, 61.

[7] Todorov. The Conquest of America, 62.

[8] Ibid, 127.

[9] Todorov. The Conquest of America, 128.