Colonialism and genocide

Memorial in Berlin-Neukölln to the Victims of the Herero and Namaqua genocide perpetrated by the German Empire against the Herero and Nama peoples of Namibia
Tibetan people in protest against their treatment by China

The connection between colonialism and genocide has been explored in academic research.[1] According to historian Patrick Wolfe, "[t]he question of genocide is never far from discussions of settler colonialism."[2] Historians have commented that although colonialism does not necessarily directly involve genocide, research suggests that the two share a connection.[3]

Colonialism has been reinforced during various periods in history, even during progressive eras such as the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment, a period in the history of 17th and 18th Century Europe which was marked by dedication to progressive reform, natural social hierarchies were reinforced, Europeans who were educated, white, and native-born were considered high-class and less-educated, non-European people were considered low-class. These natural hierarchies were reinforced by progressives such as Marquis de Condorcet, a French mathematician, who believed that slaves were savages due to their lack of modern practices, despite the fact that he advocated the abolition of slavery. [4] First, the colonization process usually works to attack the homes of those who are being targeted. Typically, the people who are subjected to colonizing practices are portrayed as lacking modernity, because they and the colonialists do not have the same level of education or technology.[4]

The term genocide was coined in the 20th century by Raphael Lemkin to describe the Armenian genocide, although genocides have been committed since ancient times. Years later, the term was unanimously accepted by the United Nations and it was defined as an internationally illegal practice as a part of Resolution 96 in 1946. Various definitions of genocide exist. However, the Convention of Genocide has defined genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.” All definitions of genocide involve ethnicity, race, or religion as a motivational factor.[4] Genocide scholar Israel Charny has proposed a definition of genocide in the course of colonization.[5]

The example of Tasmania is cited, where white settlers wiped out Aboriginal Tasmanians, an event which is genocide by definition as well as an event which is a result of settler colonialism.[6] Additionally, instances of colonialism and genocide in California and Hispaniola are cited below. The instance of California references the colonization and genocide of indigenous tribes by European Americans during the gold rush period.[7] The example in Hispaniola discusses the island's colonization by Columbus and other Spaniards and the genocide inflicted on the native Taíno people.[8]

  1. ^ Kühne 2013; Moses & Stone 2013; Benvenuto, Hinton & Woolford 2014; Benvenuto & Woolford 2015; Docker 2015; Short 2016; Crook, Short & South 2018; Weber & Weber 2020.
  2. ^ Wolfe 2006.
  3. ^ Pappe, Ilan (2017-05-02). Ten Myths About Israel. Verso Books. p. 47. ISBN 978-1-78663-019-3. As a result of these twin logics, whole nations and civilizations were wiped out by the settler colonialist movement in the Americas. Native Americans, south and north, were massacred, converted by force to Christianity, and finally confined to reservations. A similar fate awaited the aboriginals in Australia and to a lesser extent the Maoris in New Zealand. In South Africa, such processes ended with the imposition of the apartheid system upon the local people, while a more complex system was imposed on the Algerians for about a century.
  4. ^ a b c Melber, Henning (2017-10-03). "Explorations into modernity, colonialism and genocide: Revisiting the past in the present". Acta Academica: Critical Views on Society, Culture and Politics. 49 (1): 39–52. doi:10.18820/24150479/aa49i1.3. hdl:2263/63265. ISSN 2415-0479.
  5. ^ Charny, Israel W. (1994). "Toward a generic definition of genocide". In Andropoulos, George J. (ed.). Genocide : conceptual and historical dimensions. Internet Archive. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 76. ISBN 978-0-8122-3249-3. Genocide in the Course of Colonization or Consolidation of Power: Genocide that is undertaken or even allowed in the course of or incidental to the purposes of achieving a goal of colonization or development of a territory belonging to an indigenous people, or any other consolidation of political or economic power through mass killing of those perceived to be standing in the way.
  6. ^ Moses & Stone 2013, pp. 71–78.
  7. ^ Lindsay, Brendan C. (January 2014). "Humor and Dissonance in California's Native American Genocide". American Behavioral Scientist. 58 (1): 97–123. doi:10.1177/0002764213495034. ISSN 0002-7642. S2CID 144420635.
  8. ^ "Hispaniola | Genocide Studies Program". Genocide Studies Program, Yale University. Archived from the original on 2022-03-23. Retrieved 2022-10-10.