PragerU

It is undeniable that Native Americans suffered terribly after the arrival of European settlers, but was this the result of malice or tragic inevitability? Jeff Fynn-Paul, professor of economic and social history at Leiden University and author of Not Stolen: The Truth About European Colonialism in the New World, explores what happened when the Old World met the New. SUBSCRIBE 👉 https://www.prageru.com/join Script: Let’s say Columbus and his flotilla of three small ships never made it to the Western hemisphere. Do we imagine he would have been the last explorer to head west from Europe looking for a new trade route to India? Of course not. Once the New World was discovered, the maritime European powers—England, the Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal had a strong motivation to establish colonies. If they didn’t, they’d be at a competitive disadvantage to their rivals. It’s human nature to move toward new opportunities. Often in frantic, haphazard ways. Think of the California Gold Rush. No one convened a conference and said, “How can we best extract gold from the American River without disturbing the natural beauty of the land?” No, masses of people rushed into the area at the first opportunity. So it was with the discovery of the New World. As soon word got out that the world didn’t end in an abyss somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, fishermen and traders sailed across the sea on their own, in hopes of scoring a fortune. Yes, their superior technology in firearms gave them an edge over Native Americans in a fight. But who wanted a fight? Most of these early adventurers did everything they could to avoid a confrontation. Of course, no one anticipated that the natives would have almost no defense against the microbes that these adventurers brought with them. It wasn’t planned and it couldn’t have been prevented. It just happened. By the time Jamestown was founded in 1607, disease had already reaped its terrible toll. Even before the Europeans arrived, the population of North America was sparse. Farming without draft animals and hunter-gathering can only support a tiny population at the best of times. In contrast, the barley, wheat, and rye culture of the Old World can support far greater numbers. Add this to the fact that the population of Europe was rapidly expanding while arable land on the continent was declining and the movement west across the Atlantic was inevitable. Nothing could have stopped it. This brings us to the question of cultural adaptation and how it works. It is now commonly believed that Europeans destroyed Native Culture. The problem with that narrative is this: whenever a good idea comes along, one which clearly increases living standards, people tend to adopt it. Even as they discovered America, Europeans were in the process of adopting dozens of superior Chinese inventions and ideas: paper money, gunpowder, pasta, and fine porcelain are only the most famous. Should we accuse China of ‘cultural imperialism’ when they ruined ‘native’ Italian cuisine by introducing Marco Polo to spaghetti? Likewise, Native Americans were quick to adopt the many useful Old World ideas which Europeans happened to carry with them. Again, most of these had not even been invented by Europeans but had been adopted by Europeans from other cultures. Why grind corn laboriously by hand for several hours a day, when you can use millstones instead? Why hunt with bow and arrow, when you can use a rifle? Why run when you can ride a horse? Why not domesticate cattle when they provide huge boosts in caloric intake for your family? Why refuse to adopt the wheel, for goodness sake? ​By the time Columbus set sail the Old World had dozens of clear technological and institutional advantages, which for the most part, New World populations were eager to adopt as soon as they saw them. View Full Script: https://l.prageru.com/47ERv3s #europe #nativeamerican #history

PragerU hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the massive expansion of our Los Angeles headquarters and the growth of our PragerU in schools initiative. PragerU CEO Marissa Streit welcomed staff, donors, friends, and strategic partners, including Ryan Walters, the Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction, to take part in the ceremony. SUBSCRIBE 👉 https://www.prageru.com/join #prageru #education #school

#israel #palestine #middleeast

@realtalkwithmarissa #grantcardone #money

@XAVIAER #palestine #shorts

@realcjpearson San Francisco cleans up its streets to impress the Communist leader of China. The British government is accused of murdering an 8-month-old baby. Hundreds of thousands of Israel supporters gather for a peaceful march in D.C., while pro-Palestinian protesters attack our nation's capitol. Miss Universe parent company goes bankrupt after allowing men to compete as women. And thousands of TikTok users are fans of Bin Laden? SUBSCRIBE 👉 https://www.prageru.com/join #news #palestine #sanfrancisco

@realcjpearson #middleeast #palestine #israel

One side wants the other side dead. It's not complex. Don't let the left overcomplicate the Middle East conflict. Hamas is very upfront about their goal: to destroy Israel and wipe it off the map. Why are pro-Palestinian protestors denying this fact? #middleeast #palestine

@XAVIAER #police #shorts #podcast

Watch Fireside Chat on PragerU.com #parents #shorts #usa

@realtalkwithmarissa ft. @GrantCardone Watch the latest episode of Real Talk on PragerU.com #grantcardone #college #money

#behaviour #truth #business

@realtalkwithmarissa @GrantCardone SUBSCRIBE 👉 https://www.prageru.com/join Are Americans being shamed for their success? Why are failure, apathy, and victimhood in vogue? Very few people are as bold as Grant Cardone about his success. From a car salesman to a millionaire in just 5 years, he says that anyone can achieve success in America with the right mindset and work ethic. Want to feel like nothing can stop you from reaching your goals? Listen in. Check out Grant Cardone's new book, The Wealth Creation Formula: How To Go From Middle Class to Wealthy. - https://l.prageru.com/49yNmQx #money #grantcardone #podcast

Jill Simonian & Richard Lim of PragerU Kids myth-bust and discuss the wrongful slander about this most unifying American holiday. Subscribe for free at PragerUkids.com to get what you need to educate children.

Watch the latest episode of Stories of Us on PragerU.com #communism #russia #socialism

@realtalkwithmarissa Nael Zoabi, a proud Muslim, Arab, and Israeli citizen, discusses the current Middle East conflict with PragerU CEO Marissa Streit. #hamas #israel #palestine

#muslim #arab #israel

@aldobuttazzoni #army #war #shorts

Born and raised in post-WWII Czechoslovakia, Marian Tupy witnessed firsthand the devastation caused by communism. He left his homeland, became a U.S. citizen, and uses his experience to warn against the dangers of communism. As many Americans take for granted our political and economic freedoms, Marian firmly believes the American experiment has worked—and it must be protected. SUBSCRIBE 👉 https://www.prageru.com/join #shortdocumentary #communism #ww2

@XAVIAER #parents #culture #shorts

@aldobuttazzoni #food #health #USA

@realcjpearson #shorts #jellyroll #speech

The Bible never commands us to love our parents, but it does command us to honor them. So, why have so many adult children decided to hurt their parents in one of the worst ways possible? SUBSCRIBE 👉 https://www.prageru.com/join Script: There is a pandemic in the Western world—especially, but not only, in America—that few are talking about, let alone addressing. This pandemic doesn't actually kill people. But it does ruin lives, crush families, and cause debilitating pain—far more than most cases of COVID-19. What pandemic am I talking about? The pandemic of people who do not speak to one or both of their parents. Why have these people decided to hurt their parents in one of the worst ways possible—to the extent of not even allowing their parents contact with their grandchildren? There are three primary reasons. The first is the rise of the therapeutic mentality. Prior to the explosion of psychotherapy, people were governed by “shoulds.” But beginning in the 1960s, the therapeutic model replaced the moral model as the guide to one's behavior. A popular phrase at the time was, “there are no shoulds.” I will use a family story to illustrate this point. Despite the fact that his mother was a very difficult woman, my father called her every night, and every night she would yell at him. As a child, I heard this, because instead of holding the phone to his ear, my father would periodically place the phone on the kitchen table. Had my father been born a generation later and told a therapist how much he dreaded calling his mother, the therapist would likely have led my father to believe there was no reason he should talk to her. The therapist would have declared my grandmother “toxic” and given my father “permission” to avoid calling her. A culture that declared, “there are no shoulds,” would have concurred. But my father lived in the age of shoulds. Moreover, he was a religious Jew who had been taught the Ten Commandments since childhood—the Fifth of which is, “Honor your father and your mother.” And he believed, as did most Americans, that the Ten Commandments were given by God. In our secular age, the Ten Commandments are largely ignored. In fact, there are no God-given commandments. Instead, you do what you feel is right. If you don't feel like talking to your mother or father, you don't. My father, governed by the Ten Commandments and many other shoulds, called his mother every night despite the fact that he rarely felt like doing so. A second reason for this pandemic is parental alienation. This is usually caused by one parent against the other during or after a divorce—frequently, though certainly not always, by the mother against the father. She is so angry at her ex-husband that she has decided to hurt him in one of the worst possible ways—by convincing one or more of their children that their father is a terrible human being, unworthy of their love, respect or even time. The children should have nothing to do with him. View full script: https://l.prageru.com/4795Kh9 #family #parents #life

@aldobuttazzoni #veteran #usa #manonthestreet

#america #history #slavery