One of history's most dangerous myths - Anneliese Mehnert

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: 穎君 紀

From the 1650s through the late 1800s,

從 1650 年代開始 到 1800 年代末，

European colonists descended on South Africa.

歐洲殖民者移入南非。

First, Dutch and later British forces sought to claim the region for themselves,

先是荷蘭，再來是英國軍隊，

都企圖宣稱該地區為他們所有，

with their struggle becoming even more aggressive

後來他們的手段變得更激進，

after discovering the area’s abundant natural resources.

因為他們發現該地區 有豐富的天然資源。

In their ruthless scramble,

在他們無情的爭奪之下，

both colonial powers violently removed numerous Indigenous communities

這兩大殖民強權暴力驅逐許多原住民族群，

from their ancestral lands.

逼他們離開祖傳的土地。

Yet despite these conflicts,

儘管這些衝突確實存在，

the colonizers often claimed they were settling in empty land

殖民者卻宣稱他們 是在空蕩蕩的土地上定居，

devoid of local people.

沒有當地人。

These reports were corroborated in letters and travelogues

各種行政人員、士兵，和傳教士的信件

by various administrators, soldiers, and missionaries.

和旅行日誌內容都證實這些論述。

Maps were drawn reflecting these claims,

他們繪製符合這些聲明的地圖，

and prominent British historians supported this narrative.

著名的英國歷史學家也支持這種說法。

Publications codifying the so-called Empty Land Theory

記載這所謂「無人之地理論」的出版物

had three central arguments.

有三個中心論點。

First, most of the land being settled by Europeans

第一，這塊土地大部分 都是歐洲人在居住，

had no established communities or agricultural infrastructure.

沒有既存的社區或農業基礎設施。

Second, any African communities that were in those regions

第二，在那些地區裡的非洲社區

had actually entered the area at the same time as Europeans,

其實是和歐洲人同時進入該區的，

so they didn’t have an ancestral claim to the land.

所以他們不能宣稱該土地是他們祖傳的。

And third, since these African communities had probably stolen the land

第三，因為這些非洲社區可能

是偷了先前原住民族群的土地， 這些原住民已經不在了，

from earlier, no-longer-present Indigenous people,

the Europeans were within their rights to displace these African settlers.

因此歐洲人有權迫使 這些非洲居住者離開。

The problem is that all three of these arguments were completely false.

問題是，這三個論點都是錯的。

Almost none of this land was empty and Africans had lived here for millennia.

整片陸地幾乎沒地方是空的， 且非洲人在此居住了數千年。

Indigenous South Africans simply had a different practice

南非原住民只是和荷蘭人及英國人 主張土地所有權的方式不同—

of land ownership from the Dutch and British.

Land belonged to families or groups, not individuals.

土地屬於家庭或族群，而非個人。

And even that ownership was more focused

而且他們所謂的「所有權」 著重的是土地上的農產品

on the land’s agricultural products than the land itself.

而非土地本身。

Community leaders would distribute seasonal land rights,

社群領導者分發季節性的土地權，

allowing various nomadic groups to graze cattle or forage for vegetation.

讓各遊牧族群能夠放牛吃草 或者尋找可食用的植物。

Even the groups that did live in large agricultural settlements

就連真正住在大型農業定居地的族群

didn’t believe they owned the land as private property.

也不認為土地是他們 擁有的私人資產。

But the colonizing Europeans had no respect for this system of ownership.

但來殖民的歐洲人並不尊重 這種所有權的體制。

They concluded the land belonged to no one

他們斷定這土地不屬於任何人，

and could therefore be divided amongst themselves.

因此他們可以自己瓜分。

In this context, claims that the land was “empty”

在這個情況下，宣稱 這土地是「無人」的，

were an ignorant oversimplification of a much more complex reality.

是很無知的行為， 過度簡化複雜的現實。

But the Empty Land Theory allowed British academics to rewrite history

但「無人之地理論」 讓英國學術界可以重寫歷史，

and minimize native populations.

並將在地人人口減到最少。

In 1894, the European parliament in Cape Town

1894 年，

開普敦的歐洲議會

took this exploitation even further by passing the Glen Grey Act.

通過「格倫格雷法令」， 進一步強化對當地居民的剝削。

This decree made it functionally impossible

這法令會讓非洲原住民 完全不可能擁有土地。

for native Africans to own land,

shattering the system of collective tribal ownership

破壞集體部落所有權的制度，

and creating a class of landless people.

因而產生無土地的人民階級。

To justify the theft, Europeans painted the locals as barbarians

為合理化這些偷竊行為，

歐洲人把當地人描述成野蠻人，

who lacked the capacity for reason

缺乏理性能力，

and were better off being ruled by the colonizers.

最好由殖民者來統治他們。

This strategy of stripping locals of their right to ancestral lands

這種策略剝奪了當地人 繼承祖先土地的權利，

and casting native people as savages has been employed by many colonizers.

並讓原住民扮演野蠻人的角色，

而許多殖民者都用過這種策略。

Now known as the Empty Land Myth,

現在它被稱為「無人之地迷思」，

this is a well-established technique in the colonial playbook,

是殖民劇本中的金字招牌技巧，

and its impact can be found in the history of many countries,

在許多國家的歷史中 都可以找到它的影響，

including Australia, Canada, and the United States.

包括澳洲、加拿大，和美國。

And in South Africa, the influence of this narrative can be traced

在南非，

這種說法的影響力可直接 追溯到一場殘酷的運動，

directly to a brutal campaign of institutionalized racism.

制度化種族主義的運動。

Barred from their lands,

土地被剝奪之後，

the once self-sufficient population struggled as migrant laborers and miners

這些曾經自給自足的 當地人過得很辛苦，

不是做移民勞工就是做礦工，

on European-owned property.

在歐洲人擁有的土地上工作。

The law forbade them from working certain skilled jobs,

法律禁止他們從事 某些需要技能的工作，

and forced Africans to live in racially segregated areas.

並強迫非洲人住在種族隔離區。

Over time, these racist policies intensified,

隨時間，這些種族主義 政策不斷強化，

mandating separation in urban areas,

下令在都市地區進行區隔，

restricting voting rights, and eventually building to apartheid.

限制投票權，

最終，成為種族隔離政策。

Under this system, African people had no voting rights,

在這個制度下，

非洲人沒有投票權，

and the education of native Africans was overhauled

非洲原住民的教育被全面改革，

to emphasize their legal and social subservience to white settlers.

改成強調他們對於白人 定居者的法律及社會從屬地位。

This state of legally enforced racism persisted through the early 1990s,

這種由法律約束造成的種族主義 狀態一直持續到 1990 年代初，

and throughout this period,

在這段期間，

colonists frequently invoked the Empty Land Theory

殖民者經常會運用「無人之地理論」

to justify the unequal distribution of land.

來為土地分配不平等找理由。

South African resistance movements fought throughout the 20th century

二十世紀期間一直有 南非的反抗運動，

to gain political and economic freedom.

目的在取得政治和經濟自由。

And since the 1980s, South African scholars have been using

從 1980 年代起，

南非學者就開始使用考古證據

archaeological evidence to correct the historical record.

來修正歷史記錄。

Today, South African schools are finally teaching the region's true history.

現今，南非的學校終於 在教授該地區真正的歷史。

But the legacy of the Empty Land Myth still persists

但無人之地迷思遺留的 影響仍然一直存在，

as one of the most harmful stories ever told.

成為人類所講述最有害的故事之一。