MovieChat Forums > The Mission (1986) Discussion > So Europe, how's that reparations fund c...

So Europe, how's that reparations fund coming along?


You know, for 500 years of exploitation, murder, slavery, rape, robbery and cultural destruction of "The New World". Yeah England, France,Holland, Spain and Portugal, I'm looking at you...

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Brazil is richer than Portugal...

This world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel.

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No, it's not. And seriously the unfairness that these peoples underwent should have been compensated. But it's not like the Americans gave much to the Natives.

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Portugal is in the middle of an economic crisis; Brazil is a booming economy, soon it will be one of the richest countries in the world. I don't think you know what you're talking about.

Anyway, if the Brazilian are so cross about what the colonizers did to them, why haven't they demolished the cities, roads, harbours, churches they built, and returned to the jungle? Brazil has had some 200 years to go back to its pre-Colombian roots.

This world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel.

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So... If the rich steal from the poor, then waste the money and become poor themselves... They can just get away with it? That's some fine reasoning right there. In fact, let's make Chile and Perú send some money over to Spain, right? I mean, they are basically our cousins and are clearly struggling...

Or... Maybe we could just send a few ships, conquer them, burn their churches to the ground and enslave them to build altars?

Kidding. We're not barbarians like they were. We love peace. Hugs from latinamerican!

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Brazil richer lol... That's the funniest thing I've heard in a while.

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Yeah, Egyptians, Italians, Greeks, Chinese, Russians, Germans, Americans, Spanish, Iranians, Mongolians and nearly everyone in the world should pay each other reparations for the things their ancestors have done during the past few milleniums.


What clichés? Thats a word the wannabe critics use when they want to whinge.

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Colonialism ended not too long ago my friend. Surely there are still alive many Europeans who exploited the Americas, Africa, and Asia.

Perhaps Africa wouldn't be so bad today if they ever received due compensation from what was stolen from them up until the 1940s and 1950s.

Heck the European countries won't even give back the art and ancient artifacts of those countries they colonized.

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So what? Germany owns French pantings; France owns Italian sculptures, et cetera. The idea that art should reside in the country of its origin is ridiculous. Art travels a lot, that's why it's art.

Africa's greatest problem is a class of African-born corrupt politicians and civil servants who suck their own countries' dry. Billions in reparations have been paid, to no avail. You're ignorant if you truly think countries like Nigeria and Angola are poor. They're some of the richest countries in the world, with vast oil reserves and diamond mines. And yet Nigeria imports its own oil. You know why? Because they can't build a refinery that works, or won't. The fact that the people live in abject poverty has nothing to do with the countries being poor, for they're not; it has to do with the resources being in the hands of a small aristocracy that used the decolonization and the myth of democracy to replace the former colonial elites. The master changes, but the slaves remain. And frankly, I think it's more disgusting that many Africans today are enslaved and driven to misery by their own people. Sleep on that, educate yourself.

This world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel.

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"Information is not knowledge.”
Albert Einstein

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The trouble is almost all of the indigenous tribes of South America that were colonised by the Spanish and Portuguese have died. No one left to give money to.

Its that man again!!

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True; giving money to - say - Argentina, would be just giving money to the political class who are almost wholly the descendants of European colonists. Also, colonialism in South America ended in the 19th century, there's nobody alive to compensate, and nobody responsible.

I'm hardly demanding that Normandy pay England reparations (also, my Norman blood kind of negates this, but still!).

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[deleted]

Hey, British Columbia. ;) What is "awareness education"?

I think we all should keep in mind that facts and deductions are two different thinks.

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[deleted]

Well, being a chilean and all. I think we should just bury the hatchet, ok? If you can sleep at night knowing that all the progress your country has made was on the back of others, fine. If not, come do voluntary service for a year here. You know we need more teachers, and some hand labor if you're willing to work in a farm.

We offer all our love and gratitude in return. If that's not good enough, we also have hugs, kisses and interesting cute little animals you can look at while drinking a cold beer. Peace out.

PS: Don't join a *beep* mission please. We just want knoweldege and money, keep the ideals to yourselves. Thank you.

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The history of the human race has been the history of one group of people going over to someone other weaker people's territory and taking their stuff and subjugating them. It was going on for thousands of years before white Europeans did it. Their biggest crime is that they were the last ones to do it before modern morality and ethics were born in the Renaissance and we collectively realized it wasn't very nice.

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I respectfully disagree. Yes what the European countries did was terrible, but the events of this film took place 266 years ago. I'm pretty sure no current Europeans had anything to do with it. Nobody should be held accountable for what their distant ancestors did.






Schrodinger's cat walks into a bar and doesn't.

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Good Evening.

I know the OP posted this quite some time ago but Synopsis of this Movie is already offensive enough to anyone that knows history, but then trip in this Crap Load of Ignorance in the form of some of these comments, I had to say something:

A) Portugal was, from all the European Colonizing Countries, the least violent of them all, so much that when some of the Former Portuguese Colonies were taken over by someone else, they claimed themselves Portuguese by Preference (Timor and Macau are two Examples)

B) Unlike the Americans (and I presume the OP IS ONE), the Portuguese never Exterminated any of the Native People in their colonies. Modern People from Brazil are mostly INDIGENOUS PEOPLE that Speak Portuguese, which can also be said for most of the South American Countries. Obviously condemning the Actions of any Colonizing Empire of the Past, if people these days cannot tell the clear difference between South American inhabitants and their European Colonizers, then their not just stupid, their blind. People from South America might have inherited the Language, Culture, Religion, and some of the Genetics, but their clearly not White Europeans. By the way, were are the "Red Skinned Americans" ? Oh that's right, NOWHERE, because they were LITERALLY EXTINCT. That's just how Genetics works my friends, if South American People had been Terminated by their Colonizers, like shall we say in North America, they would all be White, like the Europeans, or most North Americans. Clearly this is not the case.

C) Again, not condoning the Actions of any Colonizing Empire, Portugal is one of the very few, if not the only Colonizing Country that in Modern Days is Poorer than most of it's Former Colonies, and this, again, reinforces the fact that Portugal had, in most cases, a more laxed Attitude Towards its Colonies than other European Empires, which is one of the Reasons why Portugal was never able to Capitalize on their Colonies as well as other Empires.

D) I find it ironic to say the least that the Synopsis mentions "Spanish Jesuits try to protect a remote South American Indian tribe in danger of falling under the rule of pro-slavery Portugal.", when it's know to anyone (in Europe at Least) how Barbaric and Violent Spanish are and always were by Comparison to the Portuguese. Just to enlight some of you, Portugal had to gain Independence from Spain in order to become a Country (Or a Kingdom at the time). Also the Spanish completely annihilated at least two Well Established South American Empires, while the Portuguese don't have a record of annihilating any of it's Colonies Indigenous People.

E) People from Brazil can become natural Citizens of Portugal, like most People from Former Portuguese Colonies with the same effort one takes to renew his Drivers Licence, which I'm quite sure, its a standard Practice from most former European Empires, right? Also I can't wait for the Next US Presidential, to root for an Native American Candidate, or maybe someone from American Samoa, you know the Place US annexed, without given the Locals their rights, leaving them without a Nation, and this was, oh yes long AFTER the European Colonization of the South America has ended. Oh and Texas, that was Mexico right ? Sorry I didn't realize colonization was an North American Exclusive these Days, maybe the CIA should take me to Guantánamo to correct this right ?

To finish this LONG post (for which I apologize and thank in advance for anyone that got this far), the Portuguese might be guilty of Slavery and other questionable practices, but unfortunately Portugal is also guilty of not being rich enough to Buy Hollywood, otherwise this Movie Synopsis could have been: "Portuguese Jesuits try to protect a remote South American Indian tribe in danger of falling under the rule of pro-slavery Spain.", and it would be MUCH MORE HISTORICALLY ACCURATE by the way.

To the OP: You have some nerve, and some Morality to even ask a question like this, by the way, how's the Reparations going to the American Natives ? Oh sorry, unlike other Empires you made sure nobody's left receive any money, and you continue to occupy the invaded territory, that's a better idea... After all you are the "most powerful Country in the World", so you must doing something right...!!

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