The Social Cancer: A Complete English Version of Noli Me Tangere — Page 6
There was some compulsory labor in timber-cutting and ship-building, with enforced military service as rowers and soldiers for expeditions to the Moluccas and the coasts of Asia, but nowhere the unspeakable atrocities which in Mexico, Hispaniola, and South America drove mothers to strangle their babes at birth and whole tribes to prefer self-immolation to the living death in the mines and slave-pens.
Hubo algo de trabajo forzado en la tala de madera y la construcción naval, con servicio militar obligatorio como remeros y soldados para las expediciones a las Molucas y las costas de Asia, pero en ningún lugar las atrocidades indescriptibles que en México, La Española y América del Sur llevaron a las madres a estrangular a sus hijos al nacer y a tribus enteras a preferir la autoinmolación a la muerte en vida en las minas y los corrales de esclavos.
Quite differently from the case in America, where entire islands and districts were depopulated, to bring on later the curse of negro slavery, in the Philippines the fact appears that the native population really increased and the standard of living was raised under the stern, yet beneficent, tutelage of the missionary fathers.
De manera muy distinta al caso de América, donde islas y distritos enteros fueron despoblados para traer más tarde la maldición de la esclavitud negra, en Filipinas se constata que la población nativa realmente aumentó y el nivel de vida mejoró bajo la tutela severa, pero benéfica, de los padres misioneros.
The great distance and the hardships of the journey precluded the coming of many irresponsible adventurers from Spain and, fortunately for the native population, no great mineral wealth was ever discovered in the Philippine Islands.
La gran distancia y las penalidades del viaje impidieron la llegada de muchos aventureros irresponsables procedentes de España y, afortunadamente para la población nativa, nunca se descubrió gran riqueza mineral en las Islas Filipinas.
The system of government was, in its essential features, a simple one.
El sistema de gobierno era, en sus características esenciales, un sistema sencillo.
The missionary priests drew the inhabitants of the towns and villages about themselves or formed new settlements, and with profuse use of symbol and symbolism taught the people the Faith, laying particular stress upon "the fear of God," as administered by them, reconciling the people to their subjection by inculcating the Christian virtues of patience and humility.
Los sacerdotes misioneros reunían a los habitantes de pueblos y aldeas a su alrededor o formaban nuevos asentamientos, y mediante el uso profuso de símbolos y simbolismo enseñaban al pueblo la Fe, haciendo especial hincapié en «el temor de Dios», tal como ellos lo administraban, reconciliando al pueblo con su sujeción mediante la inculcación de las virtudes cristianas de la paciencia y la humildad.
Vocabulary
- Hubo
- There was/were; past tense of haber
- algo
- Something; an unspecified thing or amount
- de
- Of, from; common preposition indicating origin or possession
- trabajo
- Work, labor; activity done for a purpose
- forzado
- Forced, compelled; done against one's will
- en
- In, on, at; preposition indicating location or time
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article
- tala
- Logging, felling; cutting down trees for timber
- madera
- Wood, timber; material from trees used in construction
- y
- And; conjunction connecting words or phrases
- construcción
- Construction, building; process of erecting structures
- naval
- Naval; relating to ships or a navy
- con
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means
- servicio
- Service, duty; work performed for others or the state
- militar
- Military; relating to armed forces or warfare
- obligatorio
- Obligatory, mandatory; required by law or rule
- como
- As, like; conjunction or preposition of comparison
- remeros
- Rowers; people who propel a boat using oars
- soldados
- Soldiers; armed military personnel serving in an army
- para
- For, in order to; preposition indicating purpose or destination
- las
- The; feminine plural definite article
- expediciones
- Expeditions; organized journeys for exploration or conquest
- a
- To, at; preposition indicating direction or destination
- costas
- Coasts, shores; land areas bordering seas or oceans
- pero
- But; conjunction indicating contrast or exception
- ningún
- No, none; adjective indicating absence of something
- lugar
- Place, location; a specific area or spot
- atrocidades
- Atrocities; extremely cruel or horrific acts of violence
- indescriptibles
- Indescribable; too extreme or awful to put into words
- que
- That, which, who; conjunction or relative pronoun
- La
- The; feminine singular definite article
- del
- Of the; contraction of de and el
- Sur
- South; cardinal direction opposite to north
- llevaron
- They led, caused; past tense of llevar
- madres
- Mothers; female parents of children
- estrangular
- To strangle; to kill by compressing the throat
- sus
- Their, his, her; possessive adjective for third person
- hijos
- Children, sons; offspring of a person
- al
- To the; contraction of a and el
- nacer
- To be born; to come into the world at birth
- tribus
- Tribes; social groups sharing culture and ancestry
- enteras
- Entire, whole; complete without any part missing
- preferir
- To prefer; to choose one option over another
- autoinmolación
- Self-immolation; sacrificing oneself, often by fire
- muerte
- Death; the end of life
- vida
- Life; the state of being alive
- minas
- Mines; underground excavations for extracting minerals
- los
- The; masculine plural definite article
- corrales
- Corrals, enclosures; pens for confining people or animals
- esclavos
- Slaves; people owned and forced to work by others
- De
- Of, from; common preposition indicating origin or relation
- manera
- Manner, way; the method or style of doing something
- muy
- Very; adverb intensifying an adjective or adverb
- distinta
- Distinct, different; clearly separate or unlike something else
- caso
- Case, instance; a particular situation or example
- donde
- Where; relative adverb indicating a place or location
- islas
- Islands; land masses surrounded by water
- distritos
- Districts; administrative divisions of a region or country
- enteros
- Entire, whole; complete without missing any part
- fueron
- Were, went; past tense of ser or ir
- despoblados
- Depopulated; emptied of inhabitants or residents
- traer
- To bring; to carry something to a place
- más
- More; greater in quantity, degree, or extent
- tarde
- Late, later; after the expected or usual time
- maldición
- Curse, affliction; something bringing great misfortune
- esclavitud
- Slavery; the condition of being owned as property
- negra
- Black; dark color, or relating to African-descended people
- se
- Reflexive pronoun; used with reflexive or passive constructions
- constata
- It is established, confirmed; verified as fact
- población
- Population; the total number of people in an area
- nativa
- Native; belonging naturally to a particular place
- realmente
- Really, truly; in reality or in actual fact
- aumentó
- It increased, grew; past tense of aumentar
- el
- The; masculine singular definite article
- nivel
- Level, standard; degree of quality or attainment
- mejoró
- It improved; past tense of mejorar
- bajo
- Under, beneath; preposition indicating subordination or control
- tutela
- Tutelage, guardianship; protection and guidance over others
- severa
- Severe, strict; harsh or rigorous in manner
- benéfica
- Beneficial, charitable; producing good or helpful results
- padres
- Fathers, priests, parents; male parents or clergy
- misioneros
- Missionaries; people sent to spread religious beliefs abroad
- gran
- Great, large; of considerable size or importance
- distancia
- Distance; the space between two points or places
- penalidades
- Hardships, penalties; difficulties or sufferings endured
- viaje
- Journey, trip; travel from one place to another
- impidieron
- They prevented, hindered; past tense of impedir
- llegada
- Arrival; the act of reaching a destination
- muchos
- Many; a large number of people or things
- aventureros
- Adventurers; people who seek excitement and risky endeavors
- irresponsables
- Irresponsible; lacking care or regard for consequences
- procedentes
- Coming from, originating; arriving from a specific place
- afortunadamente
- Fortunately, luckily; in a way that is favorable
- nunca
- Never; at no time or not at any time
- descubrió
- Discovered; found or revealed for the first time
- riqueza
- Wealth, richness; abundance of valuable resources or money
- mineral
- Mineral; natural inorganic substance found in the earth
- Islas
- Islands; land areas surrounded by water
- El
- The; masculine singular definite article
- sistema
- System; an organized set of principles or methods
- gobierno
- Government; the group that rules and administers a state
- era
- Was, were; imperfect past tense of ser
- características
- Characteristics; distinguishing features or qualities of something
- esenciales
- Essential; absolutely necessary or extremely important
- un
- A, an; masculine singular indefinite article
- sencillo
- Simple, straightforward; easy to understand or do
- Los
- The; masculine plural definite article
- sacerdotes
- Priests; ordained religious ministers serving a congregation
- reunían
- They gathered, assembled; imperfect past tense of reunir
- habitantes
- Inhabitants, residents; people who live in a place
- pueblos
- Towns, peoples; small communities or groups of people
- aldeas
- Villages; small rural settlements smaller than a town
- su
- His, her, their; possessive adjective for third person
- alrededor
- Around; in a circle or on all sides
- o
- Or; conjunction presenting an alternative option
- formaban
- They formed, created; imperfect past tense of formar
- nuevos
- New; recently made or not existing before
- asentamientos
- Settlements; places where people establish communities
- mediante
- By means of, through; using something as an instrument
- uso
- Use, usage; the act of employing something for a purpose
- profuso
- Profuse, abundant; produced or existing in large quantities
- símbolos
- Symbols; objects or signs representing ideas or concepts
- simbolismo
- Symbolism; use of symbols to represent ideas or meanings
- enseñaban
- They taught; imperfect past tense of enseñar
- pueblo
- People, town; a community or group of inhabitants
- Fe
- Faith; strong belief or trust, especially religious belief
- haciendo
- Doing, making; present participle of hacer
- especial
- Special; distinct from the ordinary or exceptional
- hincapié
- Emphasis; special stress placed on a point
- temor
- Fear, dread; a feeling of anxiety about danger
- Dios
- God; the supreme being in monotheistic religions
- tal
- Such, so; indicating a quality or degree of something
- ellos
- They; third person plural subject pronoun
- lo
- It, him; masculine singular direct object pronoun
- administraban
- They administered, managed; imperfect past tense of administrar
- reconciliando
- Reconciling; bringing opposing elements into harmony
- sujeción
- Subjection, control; the state of being under authority
- inculcación
- Inculcation; teaching values through persistent repetition
- virtudes
- Virtues; good moral qualities or positive character traits
- cristianas
- Christian; relating to the religion based on Christ's teachings
- paciencia
- Patience; ability to wait calmly without frustration
- humildad
- Humility; the quality of being modest and not proud
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