Dictionary of Genocide - D Ank Unlimited

BEOTHUK PEOPLE, GENOCIDE OF
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Beothuk People, Genocide of. The indigenous people of Newfoundland, the Beothuks,
were termed “Red Indians” by the earliest English travelers at the beginning of the sixteenth
century owing to their practice of painting their bodies with red ocher. In June 1829 a young
Beothuk woman, Shanawdithit (c. 1803–1829), died of tuberculosis in St. John’s; she is generally
regarded as “the last Beothuk.” A people numbering anywhere between five hundred
and two thousand at the time of first European contact (the higher figure is the more likely),
the Beothuk population collapsed steadily after the middle of the eighteenth century. It has
been estimated that by 1820 the Beothuk population had been reduced by 92 percent of its
approximate total at first contact; by 1823, it reached 96 percent. The pitiable few Beothuks
left by the end of the decade could probably be counted on the fingers of two hands, if they
could be found. The major reasons behind the demise of the Beothuk population of Newfoundland
can be attributed to settler depredations and murders, a decline in Beothuk hunting
areas, kidnapping of Beothuk women and a consequent decline in reproductive
potential, and—above all—diseases, particularly tuberculosis. Applying the definition of
the 1948 UN Genocide Convention, none of this amounts to genocide because the
critical component of intent is absent. The British colonial government did not pursue
a policy aimed at the destruction of the Beothuk; in 1769 there was, instead, a clear
statement that the murder of the Beothuk was a capital crime, and, during the first two
decades of the nineteenth century—by which time it was far too late—there were a
number of serious official attempts undertaken to rescue the last Beothuks from what
was regarded as an inevitable fate. Modern-day claims that the Beothuks were “murdered
for fun” by the English settlers, who hunted them for “sport,” do the historical
record less than justice and sow an unfortunate confusion in the mind of an unsuspecting
public. Extinction came to the Beothuks of Newfoundland, but it did not come
through genocide.
Bermuda Conference. Convened by Britain and the United States in Bermuda on
April 19, 1943, the Bermuda Conference’s avowed purpose was to discuss the plight of
Jewish refugees under Nazi rule. The fact is, the knowledge that Germany was exterminating
Jews was already well established.
Held at the relatively remote site of Bermuda for the express purpose of controlling the
flow of information by the news media, no official representatives of Jewish organizations
were permitted to attend. The agenda of discussion was also severely curtailed; that is, the
particularity of specifically Jewish tribulations was masked by use of the term political
refugees. Further to this, more attention was placed on prisoners of war than on refugees.
The possibility of Palestine, then under British control, as a site for refugees and the issue
of direct negotiations between Britain and Germany were not even discussed. Even discussion
concerning the possibility of sending food parcels to those already incarcerated in
the concentration camps was curtailed.
At its conclusion, on May 1, 1943, the Bermuda Conference was, in truth, more of a
public relations ploy on the part of both Britain and the United States than a serious
attempt to address the issue. Other than the establishment of a small refugee camp in
North Africa, no real attempt was made to save those who could have been saved.
Ironically, April 19, 1943, the first day of the Bermuda Conference, was also the first
day of the Warsaw Ghetto Revolt. No statement during the conference, however, was
issued concerning the revolt, nor did the revolt have any impact on the deliberations
regarding the plight or fate of the refugees.