Re: [Marxism] British Genocide and intentionality

["Edward Crawford" <tcrawford@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Warren" <cwarren@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Activists and scholars in Marxist tradition"
<marxism@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, February 13, 2005 6:40 AM
Subject: [Marxism] British Genocide and intentionality


>
>
> There is little doubt that the British army in colonial America and New
> South Wales deployed smallpox as a weapon of mass destruction.

Whether they did or not it is certain that at a slightly later date in South
Australia the settlers left out poison meat for the "abos". But before
Jenner and vacination eg before about 1805 when it was enforced on the RN, I
would be doubtful, not so much as regards the intentionality, but the fact
that people were very ignorant of disease, the germ theory was not really
accepted in the big London hospitals until the 1880s. So any attempt to use
biological warfare was as likely to kill the perpetrators as otherwise.
Ignorance had a lot to do with the spread of disease as it did in the
Spainsh conquersts of South America etc.
But let me defend the British colonialists (up to a point). However
oppressed the indigenous people in Canada may be today I think I am correct
in saying that there were NO, yes NO "Indian Wars" in Canada from the 1820s
onwards although on the prairies, the tribes ecology etc etc were exactly
the same as in the USA south of the 49th parallel. Sioux etc. There was,
however inadequate and one sided, some sort of legal framework on the
Canadian frontier that was enforced, to some extent, against lawless
settlers - or at any rate the most lawless. This was not so in the "Great
Republic". In Canada the tribes may have been cheated by agreements they did
not understand, but it was not the case that the agreements could never be
enforced particulaly after the Mounties were created. It was much, much
worse in the States.
(The Red River Campaign of 1867, Riel's rebellion, was waged against the
metis, not the tribes.)
Ted Crawford


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