Part I: B.C. | Rajah Versus Conquistador
When in 1521 Ferdinand Magellan plied chief Humabon with gifts, thrilled him with words extolling the power of the Spanish King and God, and proceeded to convert him and his followers, thought worlds collided. Humabon did not have a Pigafetta to record the native side of the encounter. The events that followed however—Magellan’s death in the shallows of Mactan, the massacre of his men—illustrated what has been demonstrated time and again: acts of conquest and conversion are not always what they seem.
— Resil Mojares, Brains of the Nation (2006)
All warfare is based on deception.
— Sun Tzu, The Art of War (5th Century BC)
On his way to the kingdom, the dynastic founder is notorious for exploits of incest, fratricide, patricide, or other crimes against kinship and common morality; he may also be famous for defeating dangerous natural or human foes. The hero manifests a nature above, beyond, and greater than the people he is destined to rule—hence his power to do so.
— Marshall Sahlins and David Graeber, On Kings (2017)
Scapegoating is the ultimate act of statesmanship.
— René Girard, A Friday afternoon seminar with René Girard (recorded lecture, 2006)
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