What would be a good response to this?
Over the past generations, the argument on whether the colonization of American from the Native Indians would be considered genocide or harsh invasion. Genocide is defined as deliberately killing a large group of people based off their ethnicity. After completing the reading, this has been a very difficult decision for me to make. During the colonization, millions of Native Americans died from disease, murder, starvation and malnutrition. Diseases such as smallpox and influenza were introduced to the Natives during Columbus's second voyage to American in 1493, and because the Indians had no prior contact with these illnesses, they were unable to build up any immunity and the diseases spread like wild fire (Olster, Jeffrey). It is estimated that millions of Natives lost their lives to the diseases alone, which by definition, would not be considered genocide. The Europeans and the Spanish did not intend to bring disease to the new land, and it was by coincidence that the Natives had no immunity and died from them.
As we discussed in our prior forums, many of the English settlers desired a more business-professional relationship with the Natives, (and I say this term loosely as they were not the friendliest colonists) while the Spaniards were harsher and viewed the people as a means to fulfil their goals; Not even as people at all. As mentioned inGenocide and America, the colonization of the Spaniards was violent and cruel. In 1502, the Spanish governor of Hispaniola massacred between 600-700 Native Americans due to a rebellion over the use of attack dogs (Ostler, J.). The Spaniards came to America in search of gold, and in order to obtain the knowledge and labor required, they used violence and acts of terror to keep the Natives suppressed, to include not only cruel murder, but also by rape. According to one account by Bartolomé de Las Casas, Spaniards would often place bets on who could murder Native slaves in the most violent of ways. Accounts such as these provide proof that malice and murder were absolutely intended upon the colonization of America by the Spanish.
In conclusion, I am still absolutely torn about this decision, because both genocide and harsh invasion occurred. The number one killer that destroyed the Native Americans wasn't murder, it was disease. But taking away this fact, I feel that from the different people that colonized America, the Spaniards absolutely committed genocide. They came to America with one simple goal, and they found a way to meet it. They murdered thousands of Natives for the simple fact that they wanted to claim the land, and in some instances, took pleasure in the murder of these people. The English I believe came to America as a more harsh invasion: During Columbus's voyages, he intended to purpose more business relationships rather than forwardly taking the land and the people with it. Eventually, the agreements became to crumble and war broke out, but they did not arrive in America with the intention of massacring the Native people. This would be a great example of a harsh invasion. Because I am required to make a decision on one or the other, I believe the colonization would be considered genocide.