Eat Me!
We all know the story of the Donner party, right? And the soccer team in the Andes. Well, now some archaeologists have evidence that the Jamestown colonists engaged in cannibalism (Wow. That phrase seems so refined and elegant, doesn't it? They engaged in cannibalism.) during what is referred to as the "starving time," the winter of 1609-1610.
As gruesome as that is, I find that very interesting. I mean, these were Puritans, very religious people. And cannibalism was at that time--as it still is, and was for a very long time before that--pretty taboo. So, it's interesting to me that these people overcame their moral objections in favor of their survival instincts.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not judging. Well, okay. I am judging, a little. It's pretty hypocritical to move to the other side of the world--a wild, unknown place that was fairly inaccessible to the vast majority of the rest of the civilized world--because they wanted to be able to practice their religious beliefs without the interference of law. And then those religious beliefs became less important when times got tough.
Judging pretty harshly, actually.
Still, I'm not judging the cannibalism itself. In fact, I always say if we're trapped in a mine, you need to start sleeping with one eye open about day three.
And--I'm about to get really offensive here, maybe, but I'm not really sorry--the big crime the colonists committed wasn't cannibalism. Scientists agree the bodies were most likely butchered after the person had died already. So, essentially, they were just so much meat.
Seriously. If we're ever in a situation where I'm gone and you're starving, please eat me.
The hypocrisy wasn't even the big crime. No one really knows what they're going to do in the face of death. We talk about "I would do this" or "I would never do that" but I think it really comes down to how much it hurts to do or not do those things. So, I don't really have a problem with that, so much.
No. (And here's the offensive part, in case you were waiting for it.) The real crime the Jamestown colonists committed was ignorance. They weren't prepared to colonize a new world. They didn't think about what to plant or how to store it or what the repercussions would be for trying to colonize and take over a place in which people were already living. Maybe if they had brought a few more farmers and doctors and blacksmiths and a few less ministers and shopkeepers.
I'm just saying.
And, by the way, the prevailing thought among historians--given the lack of evidence of butchery on any of the human remains--is that the Donner party most likely ate their dogs and horses, not each other.
As gruesome as that is, I find that very interesting. I mean, these were Puritans, very religious people. And cannibalism was at that time--as it still is, and was for a very long time before that--pretty taboo. So, it's interesting to me that these people overcame their moral objections in favor of their survival instincts.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not judging. Well, okay. I am judging, a little. It's pretty hypocritical to move to the other side of the world--a wild, unknown place that was fairly inaccessible to the vast majority of the rest of the civilized world--because they wanted to be able to practice their religious beliefs without the interference of law. And then those religious beliefs became less important when times got tough.
Judging pretty harshly, actually.
Still, I'm not judging the cannibalism itself. In fact, I always say if we're trapped in a mine, you need to start sleeping with one eye open about day three.
And--I'm about to get really offensive here, maybe, but I'm not really sorry--the big crime the colonists committed wasn't cannibalism. Scientists agree the bodies were most likely butchered after the person had died already. So, essentially, they were just so much meat.
Seriously. If we're ever in a situation where I'm gone and you're starving, please eat me.
The hypocrisy wasn't even the big crime. No one really knows what they're going to do in the face of death. We talk about "I would do this" or "I would never do that" but I think it really comes down to how much it hurts to do or not do those things. So, I don't really have a problem with that, so much.
No. (And here's the offensive part, in case you were waiting for it.) The real crime the Jamestown colonists committed was ignorance. They weren't prepared to colonize a new world. They didn't think about what to plant or how to store it or what the repercussions would be for trying to colonize and take over a place in which people were already living. Maybe if they had brought a few more farmers and doctors and blacksmiths and a few less ministers and shopkeepers.
I'm just saying.
And, by the way, the prevailing thought among historians--given the lack of evidence of butchery on any of the human remains--is that the Donner party most likely ate their dogs and horses, not each other.
posted by Patwoman | 6:00 PM
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