What Factors Most Greatly Contributed to the Genocide of Natives in Early American History? Guns, Germs, or Steel?
The Europeans had many advantages relative to the Natives in terms of technological advancements and genetic immunity; as factors such as immunocompromisation and lack of modernized resources wiped out the Native population with haste. I believe there are several reasons that primarily accounted for the fact Europeans were able to conquer the Europeans easily – a convoluted mix of materials and diseases that substantially gave them the upper hand in their conquest. Each advantage that the Europeans carried played a different part in their conquest of the Natives; but overall I think that both played an equal part; a symbiotic relationship. The guns and steel carried the most value in the direct battlefield; but diseases carry an insidious effect that will be discussed later. Guns allowed long range fire and horses allowed protection from spears and other close-range weapons due to being high up, as well as providing an escape strategy due to their quick pace compared to the Natives on foot.
Speaking from the standpoint of the benefits of the Europeans rather than the morality of the situation in general, I think that smallpox alone would only aid in easily collecting land and would not help the Europeans benefit as a society from the farming techniques and money made from the lucrative slave business significantly other than from a territorial aspect. If they didn’t have guns and steel; they would still spread diseases to the Natives but it would have been a suicide mission. By the time the disease spread around, the Incas were already under the control of the Europeans as slaves – a social system already implemented to determine the societal worth of different groups. Lacking guns and steel, the Americas would have been lost in the whirlwinds of war; the bodies of the European men scattered across the barren land as the Natives basked in their temporary victory of what one would call “peace”. Unfortunately, this temporary restoration of independence would fall to a demise filled with anguish and suffering as a pandemic swept over the Inca’s unexposed and susceptible immune systems. In the end, all that would be left over is a pointless genocide that did not stem from hatred or disdain but rather overconfident greed that ended in a slew of realities relative to different people lost to disease; cast away for archaeologists to discover countless centuries later. Everything could have been a waste; leaving nothing but mourning families and the government focusing on the money lost to the expedition; a petty aftertaste of the sacrilege of their luxurious aristocrat-esque meals. We don’t know anything for sure, perhaps the lack of technology could have been the end for the Europeans being heavily outnumbered. After all, viruses cannot survive without a host and smallpox only stays in the atmosphere for 24 hours – less with the critical heat of UV rays. Judging by the dry state of soil squeezed of every drop of moisture; the sun was likely in full reach above the lands.
But this is a theory; not a confident introspection into the future if certain paths changed. All of this is the result of synapsing deeply into a topic and providing a singular fixed path where in reality infinite options could have happened; the way things are today are just a coincidence. The people that revolutionized several aspects of civilization as we know it could have never been born – reality is confusing and nobody’s fully aware of how the present is unfolding before us. We have partial control, but time and the universe itself does the rest.
Lingering on the topic of control; not only did technology aid the Europeans in their successful conquest but also psychological elements and strategies of war that carry a meaning despite being blinded by supposedly mindless cruelty. The killing of Atuhualpa, for example, held a meaning in battle besides an insolent need for superiority. Personally, I believe it was a complex and multifaceted mixture of disrespect and an attempt to break up the central government to resist any strategies. The Europeans could not afford that with their scarce number of people while the Incas had many; the Incas were also known for being intelligent and resourceful. Inferences of their decision-making skills can be made based on their highly creative farming methods. Another downside of having technology alone is that supplies run out eventually. Bullets cannot be reused without tedious time and effort of refilling; but spare gunpowder can run out as well. What I’m trying to say is that nothing lasts forever – a statement that can be applied to multiple prospects in life. Sometimes things simply aren’t enough on their own. Supplies alone are too scarce to defeat hundreds of thousands of people; but smallpox can also heave undesirable effects without accompaniment although debatably somewhat better (for the Europeans of course). Psychological elements were also highly important, although only useful when paired with direct combat and technology. You could say that these three pathways were like the Three Sister’s Farming method: each crop useless on their own in the hostile soil but nourishing eachother to cruel and senseless perfection. I’m not going to get into the morality of the conquest because it would be a waste of words; it is extremely straightforward and can be explained in a singular sentence – perhaps none; being wordless and rather a sense of mutual and insintric sadness. But history cannot be looked at directly; only through glimpses of worn documents and battle remnants covered by soil.
