History for Settlers № 1
Originally written by Indigenous activist Terre Chartrand
This is the true history of North American ‘discovery,’ as explained by Indigenous activist Terre Chartrand. I wanted to reproduce her work in its entirely is because it's easy to read, it contains humour and acerbic wit, is on-point with the real historical facts, doesn't infantilize the reader, and clearly communicates the point that North America is stolen land. As many of my readers know, I am becoming increasingly annoyed at the inability of progressives to properly communicate their message without condescension and without requiring an encyclopaedic knowledge of SJW terms. Terre doesn’t do that here, but instead chooses to use humour and a loose style of narrative to tell the tragic tale of the Great White Theft of Turtle Island. If you find it helpful, please share it with the world.
Again, what follows was originally written by Indigenous activist Terre Chartrand. I have made some light edits, mostly just taking out headings. Any commentary by yours truly are confined to footnotes. TodayI share parts one and two, and will continue to share more over the coming few days.
History for settlers. Know your own stories.
Originally written in two parts
This is mostly from memory so it is lacking specifics, and I crunch a hundred years here. I am omitting a lot focusing on what leads to the violent colonisation of the Americas. It will lead to US and Canada and then Canada. Building a picture.
So you are a bit aware of the colonial structures…. A thing I found most useful in learning is to know European history as it pertains to what happened here. The movements of such destructive powers set the stage for some incredibly violent actions.
In the 1400s Europe was in the midst of the Renaissance1 when they “discovered” the americas. There is actual evidence of cross ocean travel and trade all over the damned place long before this, but this time, different things set the stage…
Competition for dominance was fierce and the Catholic Church had absolute power over all monarchies. This was before the reformation and the splitting of the church, Protestantism was not even a thing. Italy was city states. Many of the modern countries we know now have not even been formed. The printing press is invented and people start to have more ideas. The Catholic Church emerges from the great schisms and papal control goes from three back to one. The Black Death which was a scourge in the previous century has given up most of its hold, and the populations of Europe are burgeoning, creative, and building.
In 1492 the hold of the Moors on the lands of Spain ends (no one expects the Spanish Inquisition but here it is).
People are hungry for science and exploration, but it is still largely within the holds of superstition and Catholicism. But there is a belief of divine right of monarchies, and their position of power. Exploration of the world starts with this divine right underpinning the belief of supremacy of their own individual, competitive, and warring states. European states and rulers, when not in active skirmish and war, are in Cold Wars, intrigues, and manoeuvres for supremacy.
In this time the pope, as Uberlord of European states kinda a seeing a unity, strange bedfellows relationships of monarchies, and a lot of allegiance from almost all european nations jockeying for dominance established Papal Bulls – basically statements from the Uberlord about what people could and couldn’t do, things that set direction for states and leaders. In setting forth exploring outside of their known areas, the pope created some particular Papal Bulls. So this is basically, the big leader telling everyone…
The Doctrine of Discovery – that all discovered land and peoples are property of the “discovering nation” in the name of the Catholic Church. That these explorers could travel and lay claim to the lands they found. Zero regard was given that the lands already had its own people.
This sets the stage for so much more. Genocide in the Americas is absolutely institutionalised, and set into laws on paper from the very beginning of European state relationship with the lands and people.
Spain and Portugal, two early colonizing nations encouraged by their fervour likely – while killing many of their own in Inquisition style and hungry for blood, all the same jockeying for position with the pope…. Well they create a treaty dividing the lands that they have “Found” for church and state and come into a treaty at the end of the 1400s – The Caribbean, northern South America, and Mexico are starting to be colonized by force… but there are people in the way. Imagine not being able to just come and take land???
So what comes next?
Meanwhile France and England are idling away in their own BS of a 100 years war. Only a little later some king named James had the bible translated into English and the printing press kicked off a fury of literacy. People were hungry to learn, read, and understand all this stuff that had been said in the church… only some had access to the Latin spoken by the priests.
Religion is everyday, everything, every community. But there are stirrings.
The Catholic Church is becoming extremely wealthy with gold and other items pillaged from the Americas and there are many people looking at the opulence, greed, and conflict wondering if there wasn’t a better way – this eventually leads to Martin Luther, the levellers and diggers, all european movements opposing the dominance of the church and the increasing structures of inequality of wealth eventually blow up. This stuff is a little later… But it’s coming. Catholic rulers burn protestants, Protestant rulers burn Catholics. But they all have the incredible infection of that single thought – divine right. They truly believe in their own supremacy as an underpinning of Euro mentality. Maybe this is the first European Union (kidding, sorta)
There are Protestants, and then there are Protestant Anglicans. This second one comes with Henry the 8 who killed most of his wives because his tremendous semen couldn’t make a son. Yes… that is determined by the sperm. But he was King and women were possessions back then. Europe including England was a pretty shitty place to be a woman. This is 1534… Anglicans become a thing. England is pretty busy in its own BS burning people and severing itself from the most powerful governing force in Europe – the Catholic Church.
France, victors of the 100 years war after Joan of Arc basically wins it for them, well they burn her and think…. What’s next? They take a breather for several decades where they keep up skirmishing and being France. They grow into one of the European superpowers. France gets to what is now called Canada early. Jacques Cartier arrives, dirty and likely toothless, smelling like a bag of fresh manure, half crazed from scurvy in … guess what year….
1534
He manages to arrive here and be saved by the Indigenous people who lived along the St. Lawrence.
Keep in mind, much like Columbus they are all still looking for passage to Indian and beyond. Before him were Columbus, and Marco Polo who actually managed to sail the right way. Marco Polo is why Italians have pasta – from China. Really there were a few of these guys. They got money from the queens and kings and figured out the world wasn’t flat… that they could go to other places. With knowledge like this just think of what you could do! You could go, visit and learn, you could establish all kinds of relationships! But that isn’t what these bozos do. They see generosity, and kill the ones who extended it. Not Cartier though… He sets up a cross.
Ok back to the food bit for a minute. Like… wow. Just wow. Those shitty Spanish conquistadores is likely why Europe has tomatoes, peppers, and the other common ingredients of Euro cuisine. Maybe they all ate like the British before they stole from everyone else. Minus the potatoes (also American – Peru and northward). So what did they eat? Gruel. It must’ve been gruel. We know they weren’t aware of fruits and veg (thus the scurvy) and meats were for the fancy people.
All the while the middle passage begins to kicks off. Portugal is starting to colonize North Africa and the enslavement of African peoples begins. They killed off enough of the Indigenous people in the Caribbean to establish dominance, and now they displace enslaved Africans into the “New World”. Cause they figure out another thing that they didn’t have… SUGAR.
So here we go…. Fancy Belgian chocolates and french patisseries, with no sugar (or chocolate for that matter). It had to be gruel.
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MAJOR TAKE AWAY HERE:
Many, many Black descendants of enslaved Africans have Arawak, Tainos, and Indigenous bloodways and heritage. I will include some Black history here because Indigeneity and Black folk are enmeshed, entangled in the colonial horrors of the European genocides. I know less about the implications of Indians (actual Indians from India) but the slave and goods trade triangle included India. Some day soon I will learn more… Not a deliberate omission, just haven’t learned as much as I can about Caribbean history.
What we know today as ‘The Enlightenment’ also contributed the theoretical foundations for the conquest of the Americas. This could be the subject for a whole series of posts.