The year before Columbus. ('benefits' of European civilization) (editorial)

We don't intend to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Columbus' voyage to the "New World." Our reasons become evident if we ask what the Americas were like in 1491, the year before he arrived. The land was covered by luxuriant forests and fertile plains. The lakes and rivers were as clear as wine and sun. The wildlife supported by this environment was indescribably rich. At least 50 million aboriginal people inhabited the continents, their spiritual life based on the closest possible harmony with nature. They had their choice of thousands of vegetable and animal species to form their diet. Moreover, their environment provided them with an abundance of products that were free and effective solutions to medical problems.

Striking was the tolerance of these people given the rick diversity of their religious beliefs. There were excesses, as in the case of the Aztecs …