Colonization and Christianity: A popular history of the treatment of the natives by the; Europeans in all their coloniesHowitt, William
History
Colonization and Christianity: A popular history of the treatment of the natives by the; Europeans in all their colonies
Howitt, William
Indians, Treatment of; Indigenous peoples
whites being of the bitterest sort, and their purposes of vengeance
for injuries received, so long bequeathed from father to son, as to be
rooted in their hearts as firmly as the colour is attached to their
skin. Under the influence of this passion, they destroy every thing
belonging to the Europeans or their descendants, which falls in their
way; even the cow and the dog are not spared. For such outrages they
pay dearly; small forts, or military stations, being placed around
the colonized parts of the district, from whence a war of plunder and
extermination is carried on against them. In this warfare not only are
fire-arms made use of, but the lasso, dogs, and all the stratagems
which are usually employed against beasts of prey.” Mr. Luccock met
with one man who had been thus engaged against the Indians _forty
years, and was on his way to ask some honorary distinction from the
sovereign for his services_!
Instead of a country swarming with labourers and good citizens, as it
would have been under a Christian policy, Brazil now suffers for want
of inhabitants, and the barbarous slave-trade is made to supply the
whole country with servants. Ten thousand negroes are annually brought
into Rio alone, whence we may infer how vast must be the demand for
the whole empire; and of the estimation in which they are held, and of
the sort of religion which still bears the abused name of Christianity
there, one anecdote will give us sufficient idea. “Two negroes,” says
Mr. Luccock, “being extremely ill, a clergyman was sent for, who on
his arrival found one of them gone beyond the reach of his art; and
the other, having crawled off his bed, was lying on the floor of his
cabin. As we entered, the priest was jesting and laughing in the most
volatile manner—then filled both his hands with water, and dropped
it on the poor creature’s head, pronouncing the form of baptism. The
dying man, probably experiencing some little relief from the effusion,
exclaimed, ‘Good—very good.’ ‘Oh,’ said the priest, ‘it is very good,
is it?—then there is more for you;’ dashing upon him what remained in
the basin. Without delay he resumed his jokes, and in the midst of them
the man expired.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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