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To: Jhana who wrote (50247)

8/4/2022 10:29:52 AM

From: koan

Respond to of 51717

In what way do you think I over simplify it?

If I have something wrong I want to correct it.

I have never found in history, one group of people being particularly more humane, or enlightened than another for similar time periods. With the exception of the ancient Greeks humans evolved more or less together.

In Alaska the Inuit controlled the entire Alaskan coast and kept the Athabascan in the interior because the coast had less bugs and more food.

The Tlingit kept the Aleuts as slaves, or other way around, can't remember.

"
Warfare in AboriginalHochelaga around 1535 (Library and Archives Canada (C-10489))

Despite the myth that Aboriginals lived in happy harmony before the arrival of Europeans, war was central to the way of life of many First Nation cultures. Indeed, war was a persistent reality in all regions though, as Tom Holm has argued, it waxed in intensity, frequency and decisiveness. The causes were complex and often interrelated, springing from both individual and collective motivations and needs. At a personal level, young males often had strong incentives to participate in military operations, as brave exploits were a source of great prestige in most Aboriginal cultures. According to one Jesuit account from the 18th Century, ‘The only way to attract respect and public veneration among the Illinois is, as among the other Savages, to acquire a reputation as a skilful hunter, and particularly as a good warrior … it is what they call being a true man.’ Among west coast societies, the material goods and slaves acquired through raiding were important avenues to build up sufficient wealth to host potlatches and other give-away ceremonies. At a community level, warfare played a multifaceted role, and was waged for different reasons. Some conflicts were waged for economic and political goals, such as gaining access to resources or territory, exacting tribute from another nation or controlling trade routes. Revenge was a consistent motivating factor across North America, a factor that could lead to recurrent cycles of violence, often low intensity, which could last generations. Among the Iroquoian nations in the northeast, ‘mourning wars’ were practiced. Such conflicts involved raiding with the intent to capture prisoners, who were then adopted by bereaved families to replace family members who had died prematurely due to illness or war.

Archaeological evidence confirms the prominent role of warfare in indigenous societies well before the arrival of permanent European settlers. As early as the year 1000, for example, Huron, Neutral, Petun and Iroquois villages were increasingly fortified by a timber palisade that could be nearly 10 metres in height, sometimes villages built a second or even third ring to protect them against attacks by enemy nations. Craig Keener has described how these structures became larger and more elaborate through to the 1500s, with logs as large as 24 inches in diameter being used to construct the multi-layered defences, an enormous investment in communal labour that the villagers would not have made had it not been deemed necessary. Sieges and assaults on such fortified villages therefore must have occurred before Europeans arrived, and were certainly evident in the 17th and 18th Centuries. War also fuelled the development of highly complex political systems among these Iroquoian nations. The great confederacies, such as the Iroquois Confederation of Five Nations and the Huron Confederacy, probably created in the late 16th Century, grew out of their members’ desire to stem the fratricidal wars that had been ravaging their societies for hundreds of years. They were organized around the Confederacy Council, which ruled on inter-tribal disputes in order to settle differences without bloodshed. The Councils also discussed matters of foreign policy, such as the organization of military expeditions and the creation of alliances.

Warfare In Pre-Columbian North America - Canada.ca

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There is a famous Spanish priest in the early 1500s who chronicled the colonial abuse of forced labor by natives and convinced a new young king to largely stop the system in Spanish America. There are speeches in the Senate opposing Jackson's Indian Removal Act of 1830, and a Supreme Court decision against it that Jackson ignored.

No doubt many more. They were minority voices, but there were voices. You oversimplify colonial history globally.

To: Jhana who wrote (50247)	8/5/2022 11:03:37 AM
From: koan	Respond to of 51717

I thought I should clarify, what we did to the Native American Indians was too often terrible. Same goes for Africans and slavery. My only point which I was far to cavalier about, was that all human in general have been pretty barbaric until just a few decades ago. Slavery until 1865 was outrageous, or segregation until 1964 was outrageous. Women not being able to vote until 1920 and subjugated by men until about last year was outrageous, as has been our treatment of the LGBTQ community. Patriarchal societies are outrageous, as is gender inequality. . Looking at history only in the last few years has the world seemed to wake up to humans barbarism. If you watch the wonderful sweet movie "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" on Netflix, you will see how well South Korea is addressing many of those issues of gender inequality and patriarchal societies, and just trying to implement modern humanitarian ideals. Free the dolphins-lol! Sorry about being a bit callous.