What is something that sounds 100% false but is actually 100% true?

lemonadebunny@lemmy.ca to Asklemmy@lemmy.ml – 613 points –
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European settlers committed genocide in America on such an incredible scale that the global climate cooled.

I don't people consider the transmission of the black death a Chinese genocide of Europe. The vast majority of death in the America where cause by illness, not direct Europe action. Is it a travesty? yes. would it have happened with out Europeans? No. however It was not intended just like how the black death wasn't intended.

That's just false. This was done with conscious intent, and this is actually documented. For example, Amherst said in a letter to Bouquet that 'This is a good idea to spread smallpox just be careful you don't get it yourself, You will do well to try to inoculate the Indians by means of blankets, as well as to try every other method that can serve to extirpate this execrable race.'

The text of Amherst's letter reads;

"You will do well to try to inoculate the Indians by means of blankets, as well as to try every other method that can serve to extirpate this execrable race. I should be very glad your scheme for hunting them down by dogs could take effect, but England is at too great a distance to think of that at present," wrote Amherst in a 1763 letter.

d'Errico wrote in his study of Amherst that "None of these other letters show a deranged mind or an obsession with cruelty." Amherst's "venom" was only directed at Indigenous peoples, he added.

While this person may have planned on using small pox blankets, what the original commenter, and the person you responded too are talking about is the fact that 55 million Native American died between 1492-1600. This introduction of disease was largely accidental

55 million Native Americans died as a result of a systemic genocide by any means necessary, including intentional biological warfare. This is a pretty well documented historic fact. Here are a couple of more examples for you:

The Cherokee Round up that you reference happened in 1838 (200 years after the end of my statistic). I agree that there was systemic genocide, physical and cultural, but 90% of the indigenous population of North America died before those policies even started

It hasn't stopped to this day. The policies have stayed the same. Settlers came with the goal of eradication of the native population, and that's what's been happening from the start to this very day.