The English and the Evils
of Imperialism in India, Canada
Major R.E.H. Dyer doubtlessly had a cup of tea before he gave the order for his troops to fire their Lee-Enfield rifles, butchering thousands of unarmed Indian men, women and children who were peacefully demonstrating opposition to British rule while Sir James Douglas also likely had a spot of tea before he ordered that nothing be done to stem the spread of smallpox that was decimating the native American Haida people who stood in the way of an invasion of miners after gold was discovered.
These are men you likely never heard of and most likely because their brutality involved tens of thousands of people of color by the dominant white European culture.
British Brigadier-General R. E. H. Dyer was in charge of the British soldiers on April 13, 1919, when they were sent to the city of Amritsar in the state of Punjab. The city was founded in the 1570s and is the site of Harmandir Sahib, known in English as the Golden Temple, the holiest Sikh place of worship. A large but peaceful crowd had gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh public gardens protesting against heavy war taxes and the forced conscription of Indian soldiers. Others were celebrating the city’s Sikh Baisakhi festival and found themselves mixed up with the demonstrators. British authorities had earlier declared martial law and banned public meetings when Dyer was sent to disperse the crowds.
Dyer surrounded the gardens with his soldiers. There was only one way out of the gardens as the other three sides were enclosed by buildings. After blocking the exit with his troops, Dyer ordered them to shoot at the crowd, continuing the carnage even as the protestors tried to flee. The troops kept on firing until their ammunition was exhausted. Within 10 minutes an estimated 379 to more than 1,500 Indians were killed and more than 1,200 other people were injured, including 192 with serious injuries. It became known as the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre and Dyer was proclaimed by many to be “the Butcher of Amritsar.”
In years to come, Britain never formally apologized for the massacre but expressed “regret” in 2019.
The British massacre of the Indian peoples came 15 years after the Germans, another colonial power in the African continent, committed genocide of tens of thousands of Namibians after a Herero and Nama rebellion over German seizures of their land and cattle. The head of the military administration there, Lothar von Trotha, called for the extermination of the population in response. Germany recently recognized its role in the Namibian genocide but has stopped short of issuing formal regret.
The level of brutality and the lack of accountability at Amritsar polarized both the British and Indian peoples. Dyer was removed from duty and widely condemned in Britain and India, but he was celebrated as a hero among some with connections to the British rule in India. Some historians consider the massacre and the reactions to be a decisive step towards the end of British rule in India.
In 1919, the British feared that the locals would overthrow colonial rule. On April 9, Mahatma Gandhi had called for a nationwide strike which had turned violent in some areas while British authorities were also becoming concerned by displays of Hindu-Muslim unity. After the strike, a mob set fire to government buildings and attacked Europeans. Three British bank employees were beaten to death, and Marcella Sherwood, who supervised the Mission Day School for Girls, was cycling around the city to close her schools when she was assaulted and injured by a mob before being rescued. Dyer ordered the spot of her assault to be sacred, with daytime pickets placed at either end of the street. Anyone wishing to proceed in the street between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. was forced to crawl the 200 yards on all fours, lying flat on their bellies.
Four days later, Dyer, who was the commandant of the infantry brigade in Jalandhar, decided to take action and the massacre began.
The indigenous Haida people became a victim of British imperialism not because they posed a threat to British rule but rather because they stood in the way of the thousands of minors who spread to the area after word of the discovery of gold in 1856.
Among those to migrate to the colony of British Columbia was Francis Poole, who led several expeditions to search for new sources of gold and copper along the Pacific Northwest Coast on behalf of the governor of the colony, Sir James Douglas. In 1862, Poole led an expedition to Haida Gwai island to mine for copper and among the expedition were miners who Poole had encouraged to go north from Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, which was suffering a major smallpox outbreak. They arrived at the Haida Gwai and brought the disease with them, and by the end of the next year, at least 30,000 Haida and other indigenous peoples in the region had died of smallpox. Haida and other First Nations in the Pacific Northwest accused the British of deliberately infecting people.
The smallpox epidemic of 1862 started when an infected miner from San Francisco stopped in Victoria on his way to the Cariboo Gold Rush. The epidemic spread, and police, supported by gunboats, forced thousands of First Nations people living in encampments around Victoria to leave and many returned to their home villages, spreading the epidemic. The pre-epidemic population of Haida Gwaii was estimated to be 6,607, but was reduced to 829 in 1881. The only two remaining villages were Massett and Skidegate. The population collapse caused by the epidemic weakened Haida sovereignty and power, ultimately paving the way for colonization. Some consider the decision to force First Nations people to leave their encampments an intentional act of genocide.
The Haida, known in English as X̱aayda, X̱aadas, X̱aad and X̱aat are an indigenous group who have traditionally occupied Haida Gwaii, an archipelago off the coast of British Columbia, Canada for at least 12,500 years. The Haida are known for their craftsmanship, trading skills, and seamanship. Anthropologist Diamond Jenness has compared the Haida to Vikings while Haida have replied that Vikings are like Haida.
Haida history began with the arrival of ancestors around 14,000 to 19,000 years ago. The Haida conducted regular trade with Russian, Spanish, British, and American fur traders and whalers. According to sailing records, they maintained strong trade relationships with Westerners, coastal people, and among themselves.
The British government began forcibly sending some Haida children to residential schools as early as 1911. Haida children were sent as far away as Alberta to live among English-speaking families where they were to be assimilated into the dominant culture.