(photo: "Hatuey monument” by Michal Zalewski)
Before being burned alive by the Spaniards, Chief Hatuey was asked if he wanted to accept Christianity and go to heaven. Hatuey asked if Spaniards go to heaven, to which the priest said that they do. Hatuey then stated that he’d rather go to hell where he wouldn’t see such cruel people.
Here is the God [pointing to a basket of gold and jewels] the Spaniards worship. For these they fight and kill; for these they persecute us and that is why we have to throw them into the sea… They tell us, these tyrants, that they adore a God of peace and equality, and yet they usurp our land and make us their slaves. They speak to us of an immortal soul and of their eternal rewards and punishments, and yet they rob our belongings, seduce our women, violate our daughters. Incapable of matching us in valor, these cowards cover themselves with iron that our weapons cannot break…
