did the Europeans commit genocide against the Native Americans?

Question

what do you think?

Answer 1

Yes...for your information, Europeans(who tried to settle down in America) killed a lot more people than Hitler did...it is quite funny that all European nations and US blaming Hitler...because they did exactly the same thing all around the world...I say every western nation is guilty of terrible genocide (except for Canada, maybe? But who know?)

Answer 2

Yes. By 'Europeans' I hope you include the citizens of the USA after the War of Independence- it didn't just end when 'The Land of the Free [except for the slaves] and The Home of the Brave [that we'll murder/ infect with smallpox/ stick on crappy land that nobody wants]' declared everybody [of European descent (except the Irish)] to be 'created equal under god'.

The conquest of the Americas was the biggest genocide in the history of mankind.

Bet the US would react in the same way Arab countries have towards Isreal if two outside nations awarded the Indians an independant country to call their own within US boundarys.

At least the Canadians have declared Nunavut a First Nation's province. Even if it is still land that the whites dont want its a gesture.

Further to Randys comment- naming a lake for example 'Squaw (a derogatory term for a vagina in Algoquian) Lake' or a football team the Redskins (also derogatory) is like calling a place ****** River to black people- it doesn't honour the indian people it insults them. As does the term 'Noble Savage' which you have used.

It is ignorance of the true history of your country that is a big part of the problem. I am english and know more about American history than most Americans I know.

And to Canprof- Manifest Destiny was a declaration of an intention of the destruction of the Indian people. As was the policies made by many of the US presidents of the time. And for that matter by many British, Spanish and French Governors before them.

Brush up on your American history folks. What you are taught in US schools is still an 'airbrush over the bad bits' view of things.

Germans are obligated to learn about the Holocaust. I think after nearly 120 years since Wounded Knee its about time Amerian education faced the truth about their history too.

Answer 3

CanProf makes both interesting and realistic comments.

When different cultures meet and interact it is unlikely that either will maintain a consistency of their cultural histories, both (or in this case more than two) will change. When those competing cultures are fixated on the same territories and when there are very different concepts making up these cultures it is most likely that at least one will significantly diminish in population.

Tribal cultures, such as those of indiginess American peoples, have little chance to succeed when competing with cultures more ‘advanced’ such as the European cultures. An example of this could be given for when Roman culture advanced (circa 50 CE) into the English Isles containing the Celtic tibal peoples. Although the differences between these two cultures (as to weaponry) were less different than that between the Euopean cultures and the American tribal cultures the differences between cultural structures were every bit as wide. In neither case did the tribal cultures have a chance to win in outright competition. Same is true of the meeting of the Romans and the Germanic tribes.

None of these three circumstances contained an intent to iliminate the other culture. Rather, some form of assimilation and control was the general intent. And, in truth that is what occurred in all three situations. Further, a case could be made that the conquring people assumed many of the attributes of those conqured. For example, the Roman gods took on many of the aspects of the (so called) Pagan religious rites and requirements. So too in the Americas, there is no place one can travel without seeing place names and honor to the the tribal peoples who lost in this cultural competition.

It has become a politically correct spin on historical events to denigerate the acts of the European and point to the wrongs done to the noble savage, clearly this is a misuse of history.

Answer 4

Yes, but there was much more going on as well.
The French sent missionaries who converted without violence all overwhat became Canada and New England. They started missions and actually tried to help people.
The English limited American expansion to the Appalachian mountains.

At the same time, the English completely removed the natives from the area east of there.
The French also sent soldiers.
The Spanish wiped out an entire civilization.

The real trouble wasnt Europeans though. When the US became our own country the genocide really started. Manifest Destiny called for our expansion ocean to ocean and cared nothing for those in the way. News of defeat of the US Calvary reaching the gov't and the people at the time of the centinnel celebration just made things worse. Then it was without doubt an attempt at removal of a people.

Does speaking out against this mean we are hypocrites now though? Definately not. It merely means that we've learned from our past and dont want to see others destroyed for such stupid reasons.

Answer 5

This is a difficult question to deal with. If we want to say that as a consequence of European actions the indigenous populations of the Americas suffered a demographic collapse then yes, quite true. That was more or less the final melding of the world's formerly separate disease pools. But stories of smallpox infested blankets notwithstanding most of that occured as an entirely unintended and unexpected consequence of a group of people from the Old World coming to the New World.
To my way of thinking "genocide" should be reserved for a deliberate policy aiming at the destruction of a population. Even at the height of the American expansion onto the Great Plains it was never the policy or intention of the government or Army to exterminate the "Indians".
It might also be pointed out that the only tribe/people actually to go extinct is the Beothuk of Newfoundland, and that incident itself is very complex.
Good question to which there is no simple answer.

Answer 6

assuming you propose the two Europeans and individuals of eu descent.... confident, by using a mixture of intentional and unintended skill. The latter isn't an attempt to circumvent accountability, yet quite to make sparkling that seventy 5-ninety% of Natives died from transatlantic ailments for which that they had no immunity. yet stick to-up efforts have been the two easily planned or rationalized, and meet any definition of genocide in play right this moment, regardless of if it surpassed off over an prolonged volume of time than different in call for genocides.

Answer 7

sure the euro's did damage but no where NEAR as much as the AMERICAN.

The REAL genocide didn't happen until AFTER this became AMERICA.

The french were here for furs, silver not much else.
Spaniards wanted gold, the common foot soldiers wanted to go HOME.
The english were happy with their little 13 colonies because they just wanted to get rid of the dreks of their society.

Other euro's were here for the same things, not to stay but to gather and go HOME.

When the americans got their freedom, the virus was loosed and they spread across this country and tried really hard to wipe us out. There are official policies in the national archives that use the words "extermination, eradication, removal" As if we were roaches.

Got news for ya blue eyes, WE ARE STILL HERE

Answer 8

I think that no american of european descent will be amused by this question. The fact is that Native Americans were all but wiped out in the greedy quest for resources and in particular land. Those that stood in the way of "progress" were simply wiped out and the survivors were placed in apartheid style reservations. Later Americans invented the word genecide so they could point at other countries who adopted similar policies in an effort to appease the American consience.

Answer 9

yes

Answer 10

Of course they did...just think of all those families that were ended, their family trees no longer alive...