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Darkness They Could Not See: The Book That Gives the Taínos a Voice
The novel, Darkness They Could Not See, is about Christopher Columbus’s first voyage to the “West Indies.” It is historical fiction in epic proportions. Arguably, there is no greater controversy in history than Christopher Columbus.
Looking back 526 plus years, the opinions are many. Some say he was a murderer and rapist. Others say he was a bold and brilliant seaman, perhaps the best of his day, and that he paved the way to sail west. Many — especially the descendants of the indigenous people of the Caribbean — say that he became a genocidal oppressor who destroyed an entire population of Taínos.
His defenders point out that he was merely doing the business of the time, and no guiltier than the slave owners Jefferson or Washington. Still others say he never set foot in North America and besides, he wasn’t the first to explore the Western Hemisphere.
Darkness They Could Not See confronts these issues head-on. It wasn’t an easy topic to broach. Google Christopher Columbus and over 44 million results pop up. A YouTube search will result in nearly 400,000 videos and hundreds of Columbus books are available on Amazon.
So what makes this one different?
Darkness They Could Not See doesn’t lecture. Instead, it puts its readers into the story, and suddenly the history comes alive. In Darkness, the teachers are the characters telling the story.
• Pedro the cabin boy, who sneaked onto the Santa Maria to steal food, and didn’t realize both the genius and the dark side of his new boss
• The Taíno Bloodwoman Higuemota — daughter of the Jaragua cacique, Anacaona — who falls in love with the cabin boy
• And the Admiral of the oceans, passionately driven by an inner voice despite what everyone around him, including his officers and crew, said
What makes this book different is this: the author takes ‘what happened’ and builds it into a story — a story that shines a spotlight on history. A story you will long remember.
Looking back 526 plus years, the opinions are many. Some say he was a murderer and rapist. Others say he was a bold and brilliant seaman, perhaps the best of his day, and that he paved the way to sail west. Many — especially the descendants of the indigenous people of the Caribbean — say that he became a genocidal oppressor who destroyed an entire population of Taínos.
His defenders point out that he was merely doing the business of the time, and no guiltier than the slave owners Jefferson or Washington. Still others say he never set foot in North America and besides, he wasn’t the first to explore the Western Hemisphere.
Darkness They Could Not See confronts these issues head-on. It wasn’t an easy topic to broach. Google Christopher Columbus and over 44 million results pop up. A YouTube search will result in nearly 400,000 videos and hundreds of Columbus books are available on Amazon.
So what makes this one different?
Darkness They Could Not See doesn’t lecture. Instead, it puts its readers into the story, and suddenly the history comes alive. In Darkness, the teachers are the characters telling the story.
• Pedro the cabin boy, who sneaked onto the Santa Maria to steal food, and didn’t realize both the genius and the dark side of his new boss
• The Taíno Bloodwoman Higuemota — daughter of the Jaragua cacique, Anacaona — who falls in love with the cabin boy
• And the Admiral of the oceans, passionately driven by an inner voice despite what everyone around him, including his officers and crew, said
What makes this book different is this: the author takes ‘what happened’ and builds it into a story — a story that shines a spotlight on history. A story you will long remember.
392 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 17, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 23, 2024
Columbus Voyage #1
Thoroughly enjoyed reading this adventure into the first yoyage of Columbus. Written in four voices, you get a point-counter point of what may have transpired. Lacks the polish of a seasoned writer and left me scratching my head in respect to some historical anomalies; however, it did leave me wanting the writer to continue on with a book #2.
Thoroughly enjoyed reading this adventure into the first yoyage of Columbus. Written in four voices, you get a point-counter point of what may have transpired. Lacks the polish of a seasoned writer and left me scratching my head in respect to some historical anomalies; however, it did leave me wanting the writer to continue on with a book #2.
June 30, 2021
Great book. The title is amazing, it gives me goosebumps. This is the story of my people, both my beloved Taínos and the Spaniards. I enjoyed reading this period drama about my ancestors. I enjoyed more the pieces about Taínos, and I found myself rushing through the cabin boy and, specially, the Admiral parts. Maybe it is because I am way more interested in the Taínos, since they are the innocents in this story.
The real history hits too close to home. It makes me mad and sad. I feel rancor and impotence every time I think about how the Spanish people destroyed my island Ayiti and it’s people, my people. The genocide, the rape, the monstrosities. What was stolen from us. The language we will never speak, the knowledge that wasn’t passed down, the stories we will never hear, the culture we will never truly own. It’s all very sad. It makes me feel as if something big was stolen from me way before I was born.
Book is a little slow until the encounter. Then I couldn’t stop reading and read 100 pages a day!
The real history hits too close to home. It makes me mad and sad. I feel rancor and impotence every time I think about how the Spanish people destroyed my island Ayiti and it’s people, my people. The genocide, the rape, the monstrosities. What was stolen from us. The language we will never speak, the knowledge that wasn’t passed down, the stories we will never hear, the culture we will never truly own. It’s all very sad. It makes me feel as if something big was stolen from me way before I was born.
Book is a little slow until the encounter. Then I couldn’t stop reading and read 100 pages a day!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews