Blood and Soil : A World History of Genocide and Extermination From Sparta to Darfur

For thirty years Ben Kiernan has been deeply involved in the study of genocide and crimes against humanity. He has played a key role in unearthing confidential documentation of the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge. His writings have transformed our understanding not only of twentieth-century Cambodia but also of the historical phenomenon of genocide. This new book—the first global history of genocide and extermination from ancient times—is among his most important achievements. Kiernan examines outbreaks of mass violence from the classical era to the present, focusing on worldwide colonial exterminations and twentieth-century case studies including the Armenian genocide, the Nazi Holocaust, Stalin’s mass murders, and the Cambodian and Rwandan genocides. He identifies connections, patterns, and features that in nearly every case gave early warning of the catastrophe to come: racism or religious prejudice, territorial expansionism, and cults of antiquity and agrarianism. The ideologies that have motivated perpetrators of mass killings in the past persist in our new century, says Kiernan. He urges that we heed the rich historical evidence with its telltale signs for predicting and preventing future genocides. Holocaust and Genocide Studies "Genocide scholars and those with an interest in world history should be grateful for Kiernan''s latest stimulating work."-- Holocaust and Genocide Studies A book of surpassing importance that should be required reading for leaders and policymakers throughout the world For thirty years Ben Kiernan has been deeply involved in the study of genocide and crimes against humanity. He has played a key role in unearthing confidential documentation of the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge. His writings have transformed our understanding not only of twentieth-century Cambodia but also of the historical phenomenon of genocide. This new bookthe first global history of genocide and extermination from ancient timesis among his most important achievements. Kiernan examines outbreaks of mass violence from the classical era to the present, focusing on worldwide colonial exterminations and twentieth-century case studies including the Armenian genocide, the Nazi Holocaust, Stalins mass murders, and the Cambodian and Rwandan genocides. He identifies connections, patterns, and features that in nearly every case gave early warning of the catastrophe to come: racism or religious prejudice, territorial expansionism, and cults of antiquity and agrarianism. The ideologies that have motivated perpetrators of mass killings in the past persist in our new century, says Kiernan. He urges that we heed the rich historical evidence with its telltale signs for predicting and preventing future genocides. Cover Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents List of Maps Introduction Part One. Early Imperial Expansion 1. Classical Genocide and Early Modern Memory 2. The Spanish Conquest of the New World, 1492–1600 3. Guns and Genocide in East Asia, 1400–1600 4. Genocidal Massacres in Early Modern Southeast Asia Part Two. Settler Colonialism Introductory Note 5. The English Conquest of Ireland, 1565–1603 6. Colonial North America, 1600–1776 7. Genocidal Violence in Nineteenth-Century Australia 8. Genocide in the United States 9. Settler Genocides in Africa, 1830–1910 Part Three. Twentieth-Century Genocides Introductory Note 10. The Armenian Genocide: National Chauvinism in the Waning Ottoman Empire 11. Blut und Boden: Germany and Nazi Genocide 12. Rice, Race, and Empire: Japan and East Asia 13. Soviet Terror and Agriculture 14. Maoism in China: A Rural Model of Revolutionary Violence 15. From the Mekong to the Nile: Genocide in Cambodia and Rwanda Epilogue: Racial and Religious Slaughter from Bangladesh to Baghdad Notes Acknowledgments Index Illustrations This book, the first global history of genocide and extermination from ancient times, examines outbreaks of mass violence from the classical era to the present, focusing on worldwide colonial exterminations and twentieth-century case studies including the Armenian genocide, the Nazi Holocaust, Stalin's mass murders, and the Cambodian and Rwandan genocides. Connections, patterns, and features are identified that in nearly every case gave early warning of the catastrophe to come. Racism or religious prejudice, territorial expansionism, and cults of antiquity and agrarianism are ideologies that have motivated perpetrators of mass killings in the past, and persist even in our new century. The author urges that we heed the rich historical evidence with its telltale signs for predicting and preventing future genocides Presents the global history of genocide and extermination from ancient times. This book examines outbreaks of mass violence from the classical era to the present, focusing on colonial exterminations and 20th-century case studies including the Armenian genocide, the Nazi Holocaust, Stalin's mass murders, and the Cambodian and Rwandan genocides.