Zin depicts the Spanish colonizers as vicious who murdered and enslaved Native Americans. He describes the Native Americans as kind, intelligent, strong and handsome. Zin portrays the Natives as "noble savages" who welcomed the colonizers with openness and generosity by freely sharing their possessions. The document criticizes how historians have biased views by either demonizing or romanticizing other cultures.

1. ZIN’S A PEOPLES
HISTORY
Saydee Bennett
11-28-11
Period 2 English 11

2. Zin’s Bias
“When the Spaniards took prisoners they hanged them
or burned them to death. Among the Arawaks, mass
suicides began, with cassava poison. Infants were killed
to save them from the Spaniards. In two years, through
murder, mutilation, or suicide, half of the 250,000
Indians on Haiti were dead.”
I think Zinns bias is that the Spaniards are vicious cold
hearted people who worked the indians to death, took
them prisoner raped their women and children, and

3. Zin’s Bias
“They ... brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many
other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks'
bells. They willingly traded everything they owned... . They were well-
built, with good bodies and handsome features.... They do not bear
arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it
by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron.
Their spears are made of cane... . They would make fine servants....
With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do
whatever we want.”
Zin made the Natives out to be kind hearted, intelligent but no so
much, strong and handsome.

4. Noble Savage
“Arawak men and women, naked, tawny, and full of
wonder, emerged from their villages onto the island's
beaches and swam out to get a closer look at the
strange big boat.”
I believe he is romanticizing the noble savage.

5. Noble Savage
“The Indians, Columbus reported, "are so naive and so
free with their possessions that no one who has not
witnessed them would believe it. When you ask for
something they have, they never say no. To the
contrary, they offer to share with anyone...."
He Depicts the native americans as strong, handsome,
and very giving people.

6. Conclusion
We demonize people by opinion. We do not do it to
people of our own culture because we believe we are
the better more proper race. We romanticize people
because they are a different more mystical race, theirs
more mystery to them.