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this post was submitted on 13 Jul 2023
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Asklemmy
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That's just false. This was done with conscious intent, and this is actually documented. For example, Amherst said in a letter to Bouquet that 'This is a good idea to spread smallpox just be careful you don't get it yourself, You will do well to try to inoculate the Indians by means of blankets, as well as to try every other method that can serve to extirpate this execrable race.'
The text of Amherst's letter reads;
d'Errico wrote in his study of Amherst that "None of these other letters show a deranged mind or an obsession with cruelty." Amherst's "venom" was only directed at Indigenous peoples, he added.
While this person may have planned on using small pox blankets, what the original commenter, and the person you responded too are talking about is the fact that 55 million Native American died between 1492-1600. This introduction of disease was largely accidental
55 million Native Americans died as a result of a systemic genocide by any means necessary, including intentional biological warfare. This is a pretty well documented historic fact. Here are a couple of more examples for you:
The Cherokee Round up that you reference happened in 1838 (200 years after the end of my statistic). I agree that there was systemic genocide, physical and cultural, but 90% of the indigenous population of North America died before those policies even started
It hasn't stopped to this day. The policies have stayed the same. Settlers came with the goal of eradication of the native population, and that's what's been happening from the start to this very day.