I often think what life in this continent would be like had there never been any colonialism. But if Europe still had contact with the native peoples and their nations through trade. How would the people here have evolved?
Probably using the same system that they evolved elsewhere. Humans be humans
You might enjoy the book 1491 a lot - it goes over what populations existed before contact, and even explores the period when people would make decisions between whether they would stay a colonial resident or join a native country - and vice versa. Turns out it was very much down to the person.
Of course, it also has the mind-blowing fact that we lost roughly 92% of the population of the Americas to disease - which is how the Europeans walked into the “New World” so easily, but also why they had to start importing slaves from Africa. The author frames it as if we just suddenly lost all of China - and laments the cultural exchange we’ve lost as a result.
10/10 read, would recommend if you like the topic.
Make America Turtle Island Again
Land Back.
There would have been no genocide in the modern view if it weren’t for those crass, profit seeking, and bloodthirsty Europeans that invaded. They really need to take the responsibility for their actions. And the bulk of that genocide occurred before the US existed because the diseases those Europeans brought to the Americas that the existing inhabitants had no immunity to.
Yep. The genocide stopped the second the USA declared independence. It did not continue for even a second after that, and there wasn’t a single other genocide since then.
Truly perfect comment to write on July 4th. Uncle Sam would be proud of you. If you also massacred a bunch of children, that is.
Right, the genocide definitely stopped in 1776. Yup. That was the end of it. Mhm.
Exactly, don’t look at me! It was already like that when I got here!
he is the one who can really wear the “make America great again” hat
Are you sure about that?
Fairly certain existing people didn’t use resource extraction to fuel imperialism worldwide and invent and perpetuate the trans Atlantic slave trade, yes.
There was still a slave trade in North and South America prior to the Europeans coming, it was just their own people being enslaved rather than an importation of people from Africa. South and Central American empires were not all sunshine and rainbows; although North America did not have a standing civilization as far as I know, the tribes that did exist enslaved and killed each other constantly. People are shitty regardless of the continent they are born on.
Did I say these things did not exist before then?
Really? Cuz the word on the street is that your mom fuels imperialism worldwide and invents and perpetuates the trans Atlantic slave trade.
I lol’d
That really isn’t what I was arguing but if you want to change the discussion then I’m open to it.
Really ironic reply considering the post you were replying to didn’t mention genocide or any particular reason it was better.
You mean before the genocide? It’s a pretty good guess.
No tribes totally wiping another out before then? History is not that kind. I doubt it was a utopic land before someone else arrived.
Historically speaking, it heavily depended on where you were. Supposedly many East-Cast tribes, especially the Cherokee were already conglomerates of several other tribes.
Horses were also a new element in the world of Native Americans, and surely had a good bit to do with leveling the playing field between warring tribes.
source: old man wisdom, dyor
All i’m saying is there’s no violence that westerners have done that wasn’t already done at some other time before they arrived. The difference is the distance, the scale and of course the cultural and ethnic differences. I’ve found that the more different the dominating group is from the victim group the more well atrocities are remembered. It’s still ethnically visible for hundreds upon hundreds of years. Like for instance the Aztecs were extremely brutal in wiping out other tribes and enslavement as well as torture but no one really complains about that today. It’s all a wash. Their people and the people they tormented are hard to tell apart now in contrast to people of Spanish dissent and of course to this day there’s a white preference in the region. It’s just easier to see and draw lines when people look more visibly different.
I see. There is no difference except for the differences.
Like for instance the Aztecs were extremely brutal in wiping out other tribes and enslavement as well as torture but no one really complains about that today.
In contrast to the Aztecs the colonial powers are still in power and are still enacting violence and genocide.
If you want to argue a point I did not make then that changes the discussion. My point was, and still is that these acts are not unique to westerners. There have been lands controlled by others much longer than 500 years. There’s been rape, genocide, enslavement, and torture long before a human set foot in Europe. These behaviors aren’t unique to white or European people or honestly even homo sapiens.
I was directly replying to a statement you made. Did I misunderstand that statement?
It wasn’t really a small group of conquistadors that took down the Aztecs. It was the conquistadors along with a bunch of tribes that were willing to ally themselves with some strange men that spoke a different language and had a completely different culture. The conquistadors were able to find allies because of how horrible the Aztecs were.
European history is full of examples of tribes invading from somewhere else. Those invaders were doing so because they had to leave where they lived was invaded by someone else. It’s similar in pre-Columbian America.
It’s only when cities started having strong walls and organized militaries that the ethnic cleansing and genocide became less commonplace, enough so these atrocities became noteworthy and better documented. Humans are tribalistic and violent, there’s no special ethnicities that were above being that way.
No, the difference is the level of violence. They also brought germ warfare and gunpowder.
That isn’t really what I was arguing but if you want to change the discussion then I’m open to it.
?
“those dirty savages were killing each other before they were invaded and killed by noble
white peopleEuropeans who brought civilization and peace? I’m just asking questions here I’m definitely not making excuses or trying to diminish what happened”Humans are pretty horrifically violent across time. For example before the Spanish arrived there were the Aztecs who were wiping out entire tribes, enslaving them, and torturing them quite gruesomely. I’m not saying the Spanish are good guys or that the Aztecs are bad guys. I’m specifically saying humans are violent and metal as fuck essentially regardless of circumstance.
People been enslaving, genociding, torturing, raping one another long before anyone even lived in Europe.
And then the Europeans did it even harder.
Yes they did, so far. It’s kinda a function of the fact that there were just more people. It’s hard to genocide 2 million people when the global human population is only 10,000 for instance. Now back to the actual point I was making, these behaviors aren’t new, not even new to homo sapiens much less whites or westerners.
There was 100 million Native Americans before the Europeans showed up bucko, lol. Learn some history before you spout off. It was the largest genocide in human history.
there were wars yes. “totally wiping another out” tho? that was a european import.
even if it was the case that First Nations were genociding each other (which again, it’s not), that still doesn’t justify european colonialism in any way.
Are you sure about that? Killing off an entire tribe, enslaving the women, not a new concept in the slightest.
I didn’t say it was a utopia. When people refer to a genocide of Native Americans, people usually know which one.
I mean yeah the difference was that westerners came from further away, had a very different culture, ethnicity, language and so on, and most notably subjugated people on a much larger scale.
In other words, the Europeans did it harder.
So far, yes. Although other regions and people have had their own atrocities not to be ignored by history or awareness. My point still stands that these behaviors are not and have never been uniquely western or even uniquely homo sapien. Nature is fucked and so far, the more intelligent an organism becomes the more fucked it gets.
So the point of your statement is to minimize the atrocities committed by the Europeans on the natives, got it.
He was the genocider before he became the genocidee
