Ernährt ihr euch von diesem Gold?

Ressourcenraub versus Nachhaltigkeit als Thema kolonialzeitlicher Amerika-Chroniken

Abstract

From the very beginning, the Spanish conquest of the Americas was closely linked to the pursuit of quick economic profit. The focus laid on securing precious metals such as gold and silver, which were often captured by force. In the following, this article will explore the question of how the theft of resources and the accompanying destruction of nature, indigenous habitats, and ultimately a genocide driven by specific colonial exploitation were negotiated in the colonial America chronicles. On the basis of the colonial texts, it will be shown that the debate on sustainability can also be developed historically, since the question of how to deal with available resources has been raised from the beginning of colonization on - admittedly in a different terminology and perspective than today. The conquest of the Americas can be seen as a gigantic raid in which not only gold and silver, but also people (as slaves or in the encomienda system) fell to the use of the conquerors. Interestingly, however, this appropriation process was always critically questioned, not only by indigenous but also by Spanish missionaries.