American History

Nature has a unique way of assigning responsibilities and characteristics to every creature that is on earth. This is done purposefully to ensure that each creature is able to survive. Cannibals are among the many creatures that are on earth. They feed on feed on human flesh and therefore cannibalism by definition is the act of feeding on human flesh. This practice was widespread during the pre-historic times and especially before the introduction of Christianity. However, after the introduction of Christianity and other religions, the practice slowly died down. Although cannibalism is still practiced in some parts of the world today, it is not as widespread as it was in the past. America was among the countries that experienced cannibalism during the early times. The societies living in the north and west of this country in particular were known to practice cannibalism without fear of stigmatization. For many years, many people lived in denial and refuted claims of existence of such a practice. However, as time went by, it became clear that indeed there were some societies that were feeding on human flesh.

Reasons for Cannibalism
Scholars have cited a number of reasons that were attributed to this practice. In early American society for example where cannibalism was quite common, this practice was associated with cultural norms of most societies at the time. It was a part and parcel of their rituals to feed on human flesh and the tradition was passed down to all subsequent generations. In some societies, people would feed on some parts of the body of their family members upon death. It was also common during wars where the faction that was defeated would be eaten by the rival faction as a way of emphasizing defeat and also as a way of taking up any strength that the rival camp may have had. In other cases, people fed on human flesh due to hunger. During these times, droughts were very common and people would go for days without food. As a result, some people would turn back and feed on their own. There is actually evidence that they fed on other human beings as a result of starvation. One of the documented instances is that of Donner Party in South America, Sierra Nevada. This was in winter of 1847 when acute shortage of food was experienced. The people feasted on others to save themselves from death.
The Donner Party which is popularly known as the Donner Reed Party was a group of American who set out on a journey in train. Unfortunately, their journey was full of mishaps and the winter of the year 1847 caught up with them. Those who were found to be weak and seemed to succumb to hunger were eaten by the rest of the people. There has been massive opposition regarding the Donner party with many arguing that there was no cannibalism but instead, the people fed on animals. However, research over the years has brought out tangible evidence of cannibalism existence among the Donner family. Another reason that made cannibalism common among the early societies was that they needed to have a regular supply of food and human flesh was the only option that could not easily diminish. This was more of a routine whereby human flesh was classified among the diet that people fed on.

In Mexico, human flesh had been classified as one of the richest sources of protein. The Aztec community was also known for practicing cannibalism. It was also carried out for sadistic purposes whereby psychopaths would kill people and eat them to derive pleasure. In the case of Jeffrey Dahmer, the accused person was found guilty by a court of law for having killed seventeen people whom he later cooked and ate as normal food. Religion has also been said to have played a contributory role in propagating cannibalism. During pre-historic times, human sacrifices were carried out to appease the spirits and the gods. These sacrifices would entice people who would end up eating the human flesh.
Jamestown was one of the cities in America that experienced cannibalism during the early times. George Percy who hailed from Jamestown was among the people who constantly heard about cannibalism in the town but ignored it with the assumption that it was just another common myth. This practice was very common in the west and north of America. George Percy, the then president of the colony argued that in the year 1606, Jamestown was experiencing massive food shortages and that the inhabitants of the town ate whatever came by to ensure that they did not die of starvation. They began by feeding on animals like horses and as the food shortage became severe, they began eating other human beings. George Percy has given a very detailed account of the events that characterized the era of starvation in Jamestown. One of the incidents is that of a man who killed his pregnant wife, salted the body and began enjoying his meal. It was so astonishing. By the year 1609, more than half of the population of the settlers was no more.

The history of Jamestown is quite interesting. England had for a long time wanted to be part and parcel of the New World. However, their desires were not forthcoming. James the leader of the town at the time decided to send some ships to London to conduct a survey and see if there was anything worthwhile. For a period of six weeks there came heavy winds that hindered the ships and their sailors from continuing with the journey. During this period, the food reserves were depleted and almost half of the men died. In the year 1609, England was hit by a serious winter that saw hundreds of thousands of people die. It was this period that came to be known as starvation time as this was the time when all the food reserves in the city were depleted. All the valuable machines and tools were traded in exchange for food. When they had no more tools with which they could trade with, they turned to their pets and then their livestock. After some time, there were no more pets or livestock that they could eat. It was indeed a desperate situation. A whole city was starving. It was during this time that cannibalism crept among the inhabitants of Jamestown.

Although cannibalism was a common practice in olden times, most history books have not detailed these events comprehensively. This is because it is considered embarrassing to one of the worlds superpowers. However, many people argue that this history should not be omitted as it helps Americans understand how their forefathers had to contend with hardships. There is also evidence that during the period of starvation in Jamestown some people dug up corpses and fed on them although these stories have been suppressed by most history books.

Scholars argue that the practice of cannibalism began as a way of finding substitute food during the era of starvation. However, the practice became addictive and some people had to be killed as the population of human beings in Jamestown was threatened. Cannibalism as a practice has disappeared in most cultures. However, some cultures still have some traces of this practice although this is not widely spoken about. The issue of cannibalism has been at the center of controversy since many scholars do not seem to agree on the existence of the practice. Even those who agree that this practice was there in pre-historic times, they argue that there is no evidence to back up these claims.

Even though most people would prefer not to talk about cannibalism and instead suppress it as though it did not exist, there is massive evidence that at one point or the other the society in America especially those in the north and in the west practiced cannibalism. This practice cannot be allowed in the modern world as it is mainly associated with Satanism. Although man is carnivorous in nature, he detests the mere mention of consumption of human flesh and drinking their blood. This only goes to show that cannibalism is a practice that is considered a taboo.

Cannibalism was divided into two main categories namely exocannibalism and endocannibalsim. The first type of cannibalism involved eating people who were strangers, mainly enemies who were defeated in wars. Endocannibalism on the other involved eating people who are close, either relatives or people who were within the same society. It is argued that the eating of human beings from another society or from a rival society was symbolic and represented a radical form of racism. This promoted great rivalry among societies and this made wars during this time a common phenomenon. As mentioned already, feeding on human flesh can be quite addictive. Those who began the practice as a mere way of satisfying themselves ended up being unable of cutting away from the practice.

Feasting on human flesh of people with close relation had various meanings. To some, this was done as a form of reverence to those who dies before. It was also a way of connecting with the spirits of the dead people. There is a famous case of a man who said that upon his death, he would prefer to be eaten by his won children rather than be buried, only to be eaten later by worm. Quite strange indeed
A theory that cannibalism was carried put a way of looking for proteins has not been well received especially now that quite a large group the world over is opposed to cannibalism. This is because the place where cannibalism first started has adequate sources of protein other than human flesh. Although many people have denied the existence of cannibalism in the pre-historic time, it is rather obvious that this practice was quite rife especially during the starvation era. However, this practice has slowly died down and it is no longer in most societies. As already mentioned, those societies that still traces of cannibalism in the modern world are associated with Satanism. Human life is sacred and cannot be compared with the life of other living things like animals. It is therefore inhuman, immoral and indecent to consume human flesh as a human being. Even in the animal kingdom, animals do not eat flesh from their lineage. For example, a lion cannot eat another lion hyena cannot eat another hyena and so on. In the same way, it is quite astonishing when a human being turns to another and devours him.