---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Eduardo Galeano notes that America was…"
description: "\"Eduardo Galeano notes that America was conquered, but not discovered, that the men who arrived with a religion to impose and dreams of gold never reall..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58e/rebecca-solnit-569_america_eduardo-galeano-notes-that-america-was-c_2137453.jpg"
---

#  Eduardo Galeano notes that America was conquered, but not…

![“Eduardo Galeano notes that America was conquered, but not discovered, that the men who arrived with a religion to impose and dreams of gold never really knew where they were, and that this discovery is still taking place in our time.” quote by Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58e/rebecca-solnit-569_america_eduardo-galeano-notes-that-america-was-c_2137453.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58e/rebecca-solnit-569_america_eduardo-galeano-notes-that-america-was-c_2137453.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58e/rebecca-solnit-569_america_eduardo-galeano-notes-that-america-was-c_2137453.jpg)

> “Eduardo Galeano notes that America was conquered, but not discovered, that the men who arrived with a religion to impose and dreams of gold never really knew where they were, and that this discovery is still taking place in our time.”

[Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The quote critiques the myth of discovery, highlighting ongoing colonization through cultural and economic domination.

**In simple terms:** Colonialism continues via culture and economics.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and challenge modern forms of colonization.

Themes

colonialism history power culture

Mood

reflective critical

Type

analytical political

When to use this quote

- education reform
- policy making
- community activism
- media representation

Key Concepts

imperialism myth of discovery economic exploitation

Questions to Reflect On

- How do modern policies reflect colonial mindsets?
- What can individuals do to resist cultural domination?

A Different Perspective

It may oversimplify complex historical interactions.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [America Conquered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america-conquered-4435103/) [Arrived Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrived-religion-4435105/) [Columbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/columbus/) [Conquered Discovered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conquered-discovered-4435104/) [Discovered Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovered-men-830757/) [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Eduardo Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eduardo-galeano-223688/) [Galeano Notes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/galeano-notes-4435106/) [Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gold/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Notes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notes/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/)

## Related quotes

> [“I look over at my hero shelf and see Philip Levine, Rainer Maria Rilke, Virginia Woolf, Shunryu Suzuki, Adrienne Rich, Pablo Neruda, Subcomandante Marcos,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/i-look-over-at-my-hero-shelf-and-see-philip-levine-rainer-maria-rilke/)

[Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/)

> [“The best place for discovering what a man is is the heart of the desert. Your plane has broken down, and you walk for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/the-best-place-for-discovering-what-a-man-is-is-the-heart-of-the/)

[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/)

> [The fisherman of the Colombian coast must be learned doctors of ethics and morality, for they invented the word sentipensante, or ‘feeling-thinking’ to define…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/the-fisherman-of-the-colombian-coast-must-be-learned-doctors-of/)

[Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/)

## More by Rebecca Solnit

> [“Georgia O’Keeffe moved to rural New Mexico, from which she would sign her letters to the people she loved, “from the faraway nearby.” It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/georgia-o-keeffe-moved-to-rural-new-mexico-from-which-she-would-sign/)

[Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/)

> [Joy doesn't betray but sustains activism. And when you face a politics that aspires to make you fearful, alienated and isolated, joy is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/joy-doesn-t-betray-but-sustains-activism-and-when-you-face-a-politics/)

[Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/)

> [“To love someone is to put yourself in their place, we say, which is to put ourself in their story, or figure out how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/to-love-someone-is-to-put-yourself-in-their-place-we-say-which-is-to/)

[Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/)

> [“People have always been good at imagining the end of the world, which is much easier to picture than the strange sidelong paths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/people-have-always-been-good-at-imagining-the-end-of-the-world-which/)

[Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/)

> [“Whose maps are we trying to read? And what are we trying to draw? It's so common to live in a place without truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/whose-maps-are-we-trying-to-read-and-what-are-we-trying-to-draw-it-s/)

[Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/)

> [“I was being cured of soldiering on endlessly: my job was now to be still, which had become almost easy at last.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/i-was-being-cured-of-soldiering-on-endlessly-my-job-was-now-to-be/)

[Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/)

> [In the aftermath of 9/11, people had not a good time, but a deep, profound, rousing time, woke up from their ennui and isolation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/in-the-aftermath-of-9-11-people-had-not-a-good-time-but-a-deep/)

[Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/)

> [“I wonder now about Demeter and Persephone. Maybe Persephone was glad to run off with the king of death to his underground realm, maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/i-wonder-now-about-demeter-and-persephone-maybe-persephone-was-glad/)

[Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/)

> [ \[In mountaineering, if\] we look for private experience rather than public history, even getting to the top becomes an optional narrative rather than the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/in-mountaineering-if-we-look-for-private-experience-rather-than/)

[Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/)

> [For me, being in a car or on an airplane is like being in limbo. It's this dead zone between two places. But to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/for-me-being-in-a-car-or-on-an-airplane-is-like-being-in-limbo-it-s/)

[Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/)

> [“How do you calculate upon the unforeseen? It seems to be an art of recognizing the role of the unforeseen, of keeping your balance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/how-do-you-calculate-upon-the-unforeseen-it-seems-to-be-an-art-of/)

[Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/)

> [Walking shares with making and working that crucial element of engagement of the body and the mind with the world, of knowing the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/walking-shares-with-making-and-working-that-crucial-element-of/)

[Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/)

> [“Marriage equality is a threat: to inequality. It’s a boon to everyone who values and benefits from equality. It’s for all of us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/marriage-equality-is-a-threat-to-inequality-it-s-a-boon-to-everyone/)

[Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/)

> [“Mountaineering is always spoken of as though summiting is conquest, but as you get higher, the world gets bigger, and you feel smaller in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/mountaineering-is-always-spoken-of-as-though-summiting-is-conquest/)

[Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/)

> [“A procession is a participants' journey, while a parade is a performance with an audience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/a-procession-is-a-participants-journey-while-a-parade-is-a/)

[Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/)

[Explore all 469 Rebecca Solnit quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/)

## More America quotes

> [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/)

[Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/)

> [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/)

[Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/)

> [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/)

[Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/)

> [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/)

[Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/)

> [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/)

[Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/)

> [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/)

[Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/)

> [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/)

[Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/)

> [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/)

[Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/)

> [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/)

[Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/)

> [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/)

[Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/)

> [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/)

[Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/)

> [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/)

[Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/)

[Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Eduardo Galeano notes that America was conquered, but not discovered, that the men who arrived with a religion to impose and dreams of gold never really knew where they were, and that this discovery is still taking place in our time.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Rebecca Solnit"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/eduardo-galeano-notes-that-america-was-conquered-but-not-discovered/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "America"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/eduardo-galeano-notes-that-america-was-conquered-but-not-discovered/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58e/rebecca-solnit-569_america_eduardo-galeano-notes-that-america-was-c_2137453.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58e/rebecca-solnit-569_america_eduardo-galeano-notes-that-america-was-c_2137453.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58e/rebecca-solnit-569_america_eduardo-galeano-notes-that-america-was-c_2137453.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Eduardo Galeano notes that America was conquered, but not discovered, that the men who arrived with a…” — Rebecca Solnit",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Rebecca Solnit",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Eduardo Galeano notes that America was...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/eduardo-galeano-notes-that-america-was-conquered-but-not-discovered/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/eduardo-galeano-notes-that-america-was-conquered-but-not-discovered/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
