> I'm sure if the Mayan civilization never collapsed they would be a colonizing force not unlike the Europeans. Appropriating land and labor for use in capital exploitation is not a distinctly European phenomenon.
I fully agree with that and even commented as much recently. My point was not "invading bad" but the types of invasions that happened in Europe historically and subsequent developments and technology sharing laid the ground work for an efficient cultural exchange. There was a well functioning regional economy in mediterrenean rim countries for many centuries. It would be even more shocking if greek and roman authors were unknown to the rest of the regions they traded with.
A good comparison is east asia. Chinese cultural influence and literature from antiquity and before can still be seen in korea, japan, vietnam,etc... before the 20th century the works of pluto or aristotle I'm sure were mostly unknown in asia (even in colonies)and africa. Even in the americas, it is either colonizers who brought that cultural literature or natives that had to be exposed to the material against their will.
The prevalnce of cultural artifacts like literature is caused by military victory and conquest.
In modern timed for example, certain tv shows or movies from the US are universally (almost) known.
