Pequot Massacre Summary

Lewy introduces the problem, namely, that it is common for historians to deem the Indians’ plight in American History as intentional genocide on the part of Euro-Americans. He presents numerous historiography in order to validate this problem. He then presents his thesis: “That American Indians suffered horribly is indisputable. But whether their suffering amounted to a ‘holocaust,’ or to genocide, is another matter” (45). Most Indians died of infectious diseases brought by the Europeans—does not prove genocidal intent. There is no conclusive evidence of biological warfare being used against the Indians intentionally. The U.S. government even tried to inoculate the Indians against smallpox. The Pequot Massacre (1636) is not evidence