Post colonialism is a literary theory that began in the 1950s with Alfred Sauvy developing the term “Third World,” and became popular in the 1990s. It focuses on the subjugation of the Third World by the First World, or, more generally the subjection of one population by another. Though it is most often political conquest that is referred to as colonialism, it is also found in the domination of culture, language, and economy. Edward Said’s Orientalism also influenced post colonialism, questioning the dichotomy between the European and the “other,” or those in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Post colonialism, according to Gilbert and Tompkins, does not only study the time period after imperial governments, but rather lingers with social hierarchies, power structures, and economic inequality. Postcolonial literature focuses on clashes and erasures in cultures and identities.
El cuento “La llegada de Colón” por Alejo Carpentier describe en dos partes como Cristóbal Colón descubierto el “Mundo Nuevo.” Primero, el autor describe la historia de la perspectiva del tercer persona, y, después, de la perspectiva de Colón. Los pensamientos de Colón nos dicen que los Europeos sintieron superior a los nativos, y justifica el subyugación. Con el foco en la narrativa en Colón y los Europeos, el cuento muestra la idea de Eurocentrismo, una idea del postcolonialismo, y también la distinción del “otro,” o los nativos. Los dos partes del cuento influyen narrativa dominante de la llegado de Colón, cuando los nativos no tienen ni una voz ni humanidad en el cuento.