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.
Havia algum trabalho forçado no corte de madeira e na construção de navios, com serviço militar obrigatório como remadores e soldados para expedições às Molucas e às costas da Ásia, mas em nenhum lugar as atrocidades indizíveis que no México, em Hispaniola e na América do Sul levavam as mães a estrangular seus filhos ao nascer e tribos inteiras a preferir a autoimolação à morte em vida nas minas e nos currais de escravos.
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 modo bastante diferente do que ocorreu na América, onde ilhas e distritos inteiros foram despovoados, para trazer posteriormente a maldição da escravidão negra, nas Filipinas o fato que se apresenta é que a população nativa realmente aumentou e o padrão de vida foi elevado sob a tutela severa, porém benevolente, dos padres missionários.
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.
A grande distância e as dificuldades da viagem impediam a vinda de muitos aventureiros irresponsáveis da Espanha e, felizmente para a população nativa, nenhuma grande riqueza mineral foi jamais descoberta nas Ilhas Filipinas.
The system of government was, in its essential features, a simple one.
O sistema de governo era, em suas características essenciais, um sistema simples.
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.
Os padres missionários reuniam os habitantes das cidades e aldeias ao seu redor ou formavam novos povoados, e com o uso profuso de símbolos e simbolismo ensinavam ao povo a Fé, enfatizando em particular "o temor a Deus", tal como por eles administrado, reconciliando o povo com sua sujeição ao incutir as virtudes cristãs da paciência e da humildade.
Vocabulary
- Havia
- There was; past imperfect of 'haver'
- algum
- Some; any; an indefinite amount or number
- trabalho
- Work; labor; employment or effort
- forçado
- Forced; compelled against one's will
- no
- In the; contraction of 'em' and 'o'
- corte
- Cutting; court; royal or judicial assembly
- de
- Of; from; preposition indicating origin or belonging
- madeira
- Wood; timber used for construction or fuel
- e
- And; conjunction connecting words or clauses
- na
- In the; contraction of 'em' and 'a'
- construção
- Construction; the process of building something
- navios
- Ships; large vessels for sea travel
- com
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means
- serviço
- Service; duty performed for others or the state
- militar
- Military; relating to armed forces or war
- obrigatório
- Obligatory; mandatory; required by law or authority
- como
- As; like; how; conjunction or preposition of comparison
- remadores
- Rowers; people who propel boats using oars
- soldados
- Soldiers; enlisted members of an army
- para
- For; to; preposition indicating purpose or destination
- expedições
- Expeditions; organized journeys for exploration or conquest
- às
- To the; contraction of 'a' and 'as'
- costas
- Coasts; the land bordering a sea or ocean
- da
- Of the; contraction of 'de' and 'a'
- mas
- But; however; conjunction indicating contrast
- em
- In; at; preposition indicating location or time
- nenhum
- None; no; not any person or thing
- lugar
- Place; location; a specific spot or area
- as
- The; definite article feminine plural form
- atrocidades
- Atrocities; extremely cruel or horrific acts
- indizíveis
- Unspeakable; too horrible or extreme to describe
- que
- That; which; what; relative pronoun or conjunction
- do
- Of the; contraction of 'de' and 'o'
- Sul
- South; the cardinal direction opposite north
- levavam
- Led; caused; imperfect of 'levar' meaning to drive
- mães
- Mothers; female parents of children
- a
- To; the; preposition or feminine definite article
- estrangular
- To strangle; to kill by squeezing the throat
- seus
- Their; his; her; possessive pronoun masculine plural
- filhos
- Children; sons; offspring of parents
- ao
- At the; upon; contraction of 'a' and 'o'
- nascer
- Birth; to be born; the act of coming into existence
- tribos
- Tribes; groups of people sharing common ancestry
- inteiras
- Entire; whole; complete without any part missing
- preferir
- To prefer; to choose one thing over another
- autoimolação
- Self-immolation; sacrificing oneself, often by fire
- à
- To the; contraction of 'a' and 'a' feminine
- morte
- Death; the end of life
- vida
- Life; the state of being alive
- nas
- In the; contraction of 'em' and 'as'
- minas
- Mines; underground tunnels for extracting minerals
- nos
- In the; contraction of 'em' and 'os'
- currais
- Corrals; enclosures for confining livestock or captives
- escravos
- Slaves; people owned and controlled by others
- De
- Of; from; preposition indicating origin or relation
- modo
- Way; manner; method of doing something
- bastante
- Quite; enough; sufficiently or considerably
- diferente
- Different; distinct; not the same as another
- ocorreu
- Occurred; happened; past tense of 'ocorrer'
- onde
- Where; in which place or situation
- ilhas
- Islands; land masses surrounded by water
- distritos
- Districts; administrative divisions of a region or country
- inteiros
- Entire; whole; complete without missing parts
- foram
- Were; went; past tense plural of 'ser' or 'ir'
- despovoados
- Depopulated; emptied of inhabitants or residents
- trazer
- To bring; to carry something to a place
- posteriormente
- Subsequently; later; after a previous event or time
- maldição
- Curse; a wish for harm to befall someone
- escravidão
- Slavery; the condition of being owned as property
- negra
- Black; dark; feminine adjective for the color black
- o
- The; masculine singular definite article
- fato
- Fact; a thing known to be true
- se
- Oneself; reflexive pronoun or conditional conjunction
- apresenta
- Presents; shows; displays something to others
- é
- Is; third person singular of 'ser' meaning to be
- população
- Population; the total number of people in an area
- nativa
- Native; indigenous; originally belonging to a place
- realmente
- Really; truly; in fact or in reality
- aumentou
- Increased; grew; past tense of 'aumentar'
- padrão
- Standard; level; a measure of quality or achievement
- foi
- Was; went; past tense singular of 'ser' or 'ir'
- elevado
- Elevated; raised; lifted to a higher level
- sob
- Under; beneath; below in position or authority
- tutela
- Guardianship; tutelage; protective care over someone
- severa
- Severe; strict; harsh in manner or judgment
- porém
- However; but; yet; conjunction indicating contrast
- benevolente
- Benevolent; kind; well-meaning and generous toward others
- dos
- Of the; contraction of 'de' and 'os'
- padres
- Priests; ordained ministers in the Catholic Church
- missionários
- Missionaries; people sent to spread religious faith
- A
- The; feminine singular definite article
- grande
- Great; large; big in size or importance
- distância
- Distance; the amount of space between two points
- dificuldades
- Difficulties; challenges; things that are hard to do
- viagem
- Journey; trip; travel from one place to another
- impediam
- Prevented; hindered; imperfect of 'impedir'
- vinda
- Coming; arrival; the act of coming to a place
- muitos
- Many; a large number or quantity of things
- aventureiros
- Adventurers; people seeking excitement or fortune boldly
- irresponsáveis
- Irresponsible; reckless; lacking a sense of accountability
- felizmente
- Fortunately; happily; in a lucky or favorable way
- nenhuma
- No; none; not any feminine noun or thing
- riqueza
- Wealth; richness; abundance of valuable resources
- mineral
- Mineral; relating to mined substances from the earth
- jamais
- Never; ever; not at any time
- descoberta
- Discovered; found; past participle of 'descobrir'
- Ilhas
- Islands; land masses completely surrounded by water
- O
- The; masculine singular definite article
- sistema
- System; an organized set of principles or methods
- governo
- Government; the group that rules a country
- era
- Was; imperfect tense of 'ser' meaning to be
- suas
- Its; their; possessive pronoun feminine plural form
- características
- Characteristics; distinguishing features or qualities of something
- essenciais
- Essential; fundamental; absolutely necessary or important
- um
- A; one; indefinite article or the number one
- simples
- Simple; easy; not complicated or elaborate
- Os
- The; masculine plural definite article
- reuniam
- Gathered; assembled; imperfect of 'reunir' to unite
- os
- The; masculine plural definite article
- habitantes
- Inhabitants; people who live in a particular place
- cidades
- Cities; large urban settlements with many residents
- aldeias
- Villages; small rural communities or settlements
- seu
- His; her; its; possessive pronoun masculine singular
- redor
- Surroundings; the area around a person or place
- ou
- Or; conjunction indicating an alternative choice
- formavam
- Formed; created; imperfect of 'formar' to establish
- novos
- New; recent; not existing before
- povoados
- Settlements; populated places; small communities or villages
- uso
- Use; usage; the act of employing something
- profuso
- Profuse; abundant; present in large or excessive amounts
- símbolos
- Symbols; objects or signs representing ideas or concepts
- simbolismo
- Symbolism; use of symbols to represent deeper meanings
- ensinavam
- Taught; instructed; imperfect of 'ensinar' to teach
- povo
- People; a nation or community sharing common identity
- Fé
- Faith; belief; trust in religious or moral principles
- enfatizando
- Emphasizing; highlighting; stressing the importance of something
- particular
- Particular; specific; relating to one specific thing
- temor
- Fear; reverence; deep respect mixed with awe
- Deus
- God; the supreme divine being in monotheistic religion
- tal
- Such; so; of that kind or degree
- por
- By; through; for; preposition of cause or means
- eles
- They; them; third person masculine plural pronoun
- administrado
- Administered; managed; past participle of 'administrar'
- reconciliando
- Reconciling; making compatible; bringing opposing things together
- sujeição
- Subjection; submission; being under another's authority
- incutir
- To instill; to implant ideas or values in someone
- virtudes
- Virtues; moral qualities considered good and admirable
- cristãs
- Christian; feminine plural adjective relating to Christianity
- paciência
- Patience; the ability to wait calmly without complaint
- humildade
- Humility; modesty; having a low opinion of oneself
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