If it wasn't for those spices.....

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 It's Friday, a day for Ramblings. This post is going to be in many parts, call it my Friday Ramblings series if you will.

Part 1
Back in November, one of my friends texted me asking my mailing address. He said he was reading a book and he thought of me while reading it and he wanted me to read it.
When the book arrived in the mail and I opened the package, I couldn't understand why he would think of me, it's not the genre I usually read, it's a non fiction, I almost always read fiction, he should know me better, why would he send me this book....
But then I started reading the book and I knew why he wanted me to read it and how well he knew me...
I cried every night I read this book, some were happy tears, but most were sad. I was heartbroken while reading it .
The author is a native American.
If it wasn't for the Indian spices.....
For those who do not know,
Christopher Columbus left to find a sea route to India but instead arrived in the Americas, the new land in 1493 .I'm sure You know what happens after.
Another Portuguese sailor named Vasco De Gama eventually found the Sea route and landed in southern India, in the state of Kerala in 1498.
He brought with him Portuguese missionaries who went up and down the coast converting the locals into Christianity, they thought local people needed to be saved who were just living their life and minding their business.
Then came the Dutch, the French and finally the British.
For some reasons, we escaped the Spanish.
I haven't figured out yet how I am going to put the story together, what I want to say yet...
My ancestors were some of the local people who were converted into Christianity.
I recently visited the state of Kerala and visited the church where Vasco De Gama is buried. ( Not because I wanted to but it's a touristy thing to do)
I was not just angry standing there, I was livid.
Not too long ago, I had stood at the headwaters of the Missouri River and all that went on there during Lewis and Clark expedition was on my mind.
The local tour guide took us to the local market at the end and insisted that we buy some of the spices, how fresh they were, blah blah blah.
I didn't buy anything, I couldn't explain anything to him.
If it wasn't for those spices .......


Have you read this book?






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