Most Americans either have forgotten or simply do not know about the real native population of America. A bunch of people thinks that this place belongs to them for many years and that they are real masters of the land. However, this is a false belief that should be replaced by the truth. Historical justice should triumph over people’s ignorance. A lot of scholars, historians, and people who do carefully consider the conquering of America as acts of human brutality, which caused painful sufferings and humiliation of Indians – the native people of America. David Stannard in his book “American Holocaust” shows the results of his historical research as to how America was conquered and what impact it had on its native population.
David Stannard and his work “American Holocaust” give us a close look at the natural life and society in the New World before the invasion of Columbus. In this book, Stannard states that the destruction of the aboriginal peoples of the Americas, in a “string of genocide campaigns” by Europeans and their descendants, was the most massive act of genocide in the history of the world The way the conquest was effected, the author considers as a holocaust towards native Americans. The period before Europeans headed by Columbus came to the land was not completely peaceful; nevertheless, the Native Americans enjoyed their isolation from the rest of the world and developed their culture and social rules in their ways. After the arrival of Columbus, thousands of people were treated as slaves, they were roughly exploited. As Europeans introduced diseases into the New World millions of Native Americans who were not immune died. Stannard notes that there is a tragic irony because Native Americans were famous for their extremely good health. At the same time, the writer mentions that it was next to impossible for Columbus to predict such deplorable results. Mass deaths of Indians resulted in an eruption of an unknown disease that took even more lives, both Native Americans and Europeans. This work reveals several awful deeds before America became the USA.
All in all, in his work “American Holocaust” Professor David E. Stannard airs certain implicit ideas on how to prevent modern society from doing thoughtless actions, because the results may be very impressive in the negative sense. This book may be treated as a bitter lesson that can be applied to today’s society so that the mistakes of the past are not made now or in the future. This research paper shows how tolerance and respect towards all the nations in the world significant is; the author pictured how people lose control when they realize they excel other in weapons or knowledge. This causes the most terrible vices as slavery or racism. Eventually, it is a good reminder for all of us of real Native Americans. It well maybe, after realizing that not all things are our property, we will learn to respect other cultures, nations and will become more versed about simple things, that surround us.
Works Cited
David E. Stannard. American Holocaust: Columbus and the conquest of the New World. USA: Oxford University Press, 1993.