American Holocaust: The Conquest of the New World

American Holocaust
The Conquest of the New World
David E. Stannard
ISBN: 978-0-19-508557-0
Publisher: Oxford University Press

OVERVIEW: I must confess to some measure of preoccupation with what happened to the previous inhabitants of the Americas (having never truly bought-in to the typical gloss-over-it coverage to which I've been exposed). If you too would like to know the naked truth, backed up by thousands of accounts and verifiable facts, this book can either answer that question or at least get you started. I cannot; however, promise you'll like the answer. Starting with recent discoveries that place the population in north, meso, central and south Americas far above what was previously believed, the author, armed with deep research and nauseatingly-thorough documentation, takes us through what we know happened, what we believe happened and what others tell us happened starting in the late 15th century - differentiating each in a refreshingly mature manner. This is a sobering book that pulls no punches to avoid injuring ancestral sensitivities; it simply tells us like it is - and while enlightening, it is a deeply-important read for those with conscience. At 258 small-type/large-page paperback pages, it'll take some time (and is not cheap, for the arcane among us who still read physical 'books'). It's also richly annotated with more source-citations than even I expected. One word for this book: Important

PRO'S:

• Thorough beyond expectation; Events, attitudes traced, cultural trends leading up to the decimation of the pre-Columbian populations and much, much more
  
• A heroic attempt at Objectiveness: Where numbers are disputed, the author responsibly states so (adding his support/belief along with others)
  
• Real/Personal: The work is littered with written accounts from all the players, bringing a slice of humanity to the events recounted
  
• Much insight provided on not just what happened and when, but varying views and potential motivations on the "why"; neither culture, nor reigning power structures nor religion is spared their role in any event
  
• The macabre is stated very matter-of-fact, as if reporting rather than editorializing. Where there is horror, such is not from inflammatory language, but more likely the sensitivities of the reader
  
• Extremely well documented (I cross checked quite a few aspects when my skepticism arose - not a one was misstated)
  

CONS:

• Although the few drawings, paintings and photos enclosed enhanced the information presented, I'd have liked to have seen more
  
• The impact for me, personally, upon reading the raw, first-hand accounts of many of the events by Spanish, British and (subsequently-labeled) "Americans" was rather traumatic - in other words: Its a bit depressing
  
• While the author's presentation was as even-handed as I think it could have been, I did sense an over-repetition of some of the more horrific instances. Although I can't know, I believe this an expected consequence of the author's intended myth-busting. Be that as it may, I did occasionally find some constant repetition distasteful
  

HIGHLIGHTS:[INDENT]- Depopulation over time (pp X, 85, 128)
- Population of the Americas, Pre-Columbian (pp 10-16)
- Myth of "Just Nomads" dispelled (pp 19)
- Living Conditions in 15/16C Europe (pp 57-61)
- Spain, on the day Columbus Left (pp 62)
- Initial Spanish Atrocities (pp 69-72)
- Spanish Gold/Silver mining in Central/South America and the problem of Slaves Dying (pp 72, 74, 85, 118)
- Cortex at Tenochtitlan (pp 77-79)
- Occurrences of Rape (pp 84)
- Pacification into North America (pp 98-100)
- Columbus' Captured Tokens for the Queen die (pp 101)
- Europeans Seek Sanctuary amongst the Natives (pp 103)
- It gets ugly in Jamestown (pp 105-110)
- Cultural Differences in how War is to be Conducted, examined (pp 110)
- Block Island Massacre (pp 112)
- Racist Attitudes among the Founding Fathers (Washington, pp 119; Jeffferson, 120, 240; A. Jackson, 121, 240; T. Roosevelt, 245)
- Conquering Colorado (pp 134)
- CA Governor calls for "total eradication" (pp 144)
- Examination into the Psychology of Modern Denials of the Death Count (pp 152)
- A. Hitler's admiration of the U.S.'s Genocidal efficiency (pp 153)
- 12/13C Views of the condition of Human Life (cultural) (pp 158)
- 15C Views on Witchcraft, Sensuality and "Beasts" (pp 161)
- Persecuted Medieval Christians turned Persecutors (pp 174)
- Constantine and Slavery (pp 180)
- 16C European views of Indigenous Peoples (pp 216, 227)
- Christianity's Rationale (pp 219)
- Great Britain's entrance into the Americas (Conditions) (pp 223)
- Spanish and British Motives compared/contrasted (pp 236)
- Massachusetts Bay Gun Law (pp 241)
- Psychology of Indian Hatred (pp 243)
- Oppression and Dehuminization Continues today (pp 257)
- "Nothing of Importance" - Columbus (pp 258)
[/INDENT]NOTABLE QUOTES:[INDENT]"Denial of massive death counts is common - and even readily understandable, if contemptible - among those whose forefathers were the perpetrators of the genocide. Such denials have at least two motives: first, protection of the moral reputations of those people and that country responsible..."

"While the Caribbean's millions of native people thereby effectively liquidated in barely a quarter of a century, forced through... Spanish savagery and greed, the slavers turned next to the smaller islands off the mainland coast. The first raid took place in 1515 when natives from Guanaja in the Bay Islands off Honduras were captures and taken to forced labor camps in [the now] depopulated Cuba. Other slave expeditions followed, and by 1525, when Cortes arrived in the region, all the Bay Islands themselves had been entirely shorn of their inhabitants."

"The Columbian Quincentennial celebrations have encouraged scholars worldwide to pore over the Admiral's life and work, to investigate every rumor about his ancestry and to analyze every jotting in the margins of his books. Perhaps the most revealing insight into the man, as into the enduring Western civilization that he represented, however, is a bland and simple sentance that rarely is notice in his letter to the Spanish sovereigns, written on the way home from his initial voyage to the Indies. After searching the costs of all the islands he had encounted for signs of wealth and princes and great cities, Columbus says he decided to send "two men up country" to see what they could see. "They traveled for three days, " he wrote, "and found an infinite number of small villages and people without number, but nothing of importance."
[/INDENT]MY RATING: 9.8