Garetolian Genocide

Garetolian Genocide
Part of the Colonisation of Garetolia
1845 drawing of atrocities committed by the British; author unknown
Location	Dominion of Garetolia
Date	1813–1849
Target	Native Garetolians
Attack type	Genocide, forced Christianisation
Deaths	Nearly 4,200
Perpetrators	British government in Garetolia

The Garetolian Genocide was a genocide committed against native Garetolians from 1813–1849 in the Dominion of Garetolia. Sparked by the death of Thomas Ule, the estimated death toll amounted to about 4,200 in 1849. The Garetolian Genocide has been considered one of the most brutal genocides in history, specifically by ratio of deaths to survivors.

Background

In July of 1777, Thomas Ule, a close friend of James Cook, among several other men, was killed in an ambush by a band of Ka'ekians during the soldiers' communal luncheon. The exact reasons for the ambush are unknown; the Ka'ekians rarely showed signs of hostility towards the British, if at all (though human sacrifice was not uncommon), and frequently traded goods. One account suggests that Ule and a shipmate had witnessed a ritual Ka'ekian bonfire, which, by Ka'ekian folklore, is condemned by Mono'ko, the Ka'ekian god of tradition, and that the ambush was supposed revenge, but this theory is largely anecdotal. Some sources imply the British had struck first, killing a lone Ka'ekian in a field, thinking it was a wild animal of some sort, but this theory is also not likely.

Although prejudice against the native peoples had existed long before the Garetolian Genocide, it was not as apparent as it was during the the years of the genocide itself. Several British settlers referred to indigenous customs such as human sacrifice and bonfires as "inhumane atrocities." As a result of growing British aggression, the native Garetolian birth rate gradually slowed down.

Beginning years

The exact start date of the Garetolian Genocide is disputed, but it is widely accepted to have been June 9th, 1813, though this is simply the date on which the order was made to execute Garetolians. Some experts argue that the Garetolian Genocide began in 1809 with the Komo Tragedy, in which 167 Garetolian tribespeople were killed, though this claim is relatively new and not universally agreed upon. Evan Holbrook, a researcher at the Ule'eka Historical Society, supports neither of the claims, stating "[genocides] don't really have a starting point like you would expect. [The perpetrators] ease into it and you don't realize it's a full-blown genocide until it's apparent, and by then it's too late."

In 1813, then-governor of the Dominion of Garetolia, Steven Fairchild, ordered the execution of Garetolians and Ka'ekians that did not "assimilate with the status quo".