Cultural Erasure
An in-depth academic exploration of forced assimilation, its historical manifestations, mechanisms, and profound impacts on ethnic, linguistic, and religious minority groups worldwide.
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Overview
Defining Forced Assimilation
Forced assimilation represents the involuntary cultural absorption of religious or ethnic minority groups. It compels these groups to adopt the language, national identity, social norms, customs, traditions, values, and often the religion and ideology of a dominant, typically larger, cultural community. This process is distinct from ethnic cleansing, as it does not necessarily involve the physical destruction or expulsion of the local population, but rather the mandatory transformation of their cultural identity.
Historical Context and Manifestations
This mode of assimilation frequently arises through conquest, colonization, or in the aftermath of wars, often persisting into postcolonial eras. It is characterized by the systematic deprivation of a society's ability to maintain its cultural and societal institutions. Historical examples include the forced assimilation efforts by German and French authorities in Alsace and Lorraine, and the Swedish government's policies in Scania, Blekinge, and Halland following their conquests.
Degrees of Assimilation
Forced assimilation can manifest in varying degrees:
- Full Assimilation: Involves the complete adoption of the dominant society's language, religion, and social practices, leading to full integration.
- Partial Assimilation: Entails the adoption of certain aspects of the dominant culture (e.g., language, some social norms) without granting the subordinate group equivalent privileges or full integration. This perpetuates hierarchical relationships between the dominant and subordinate societies.
The enforced use of a dominant language in legislation, education, literature, and worship is a key tactic of forced assimilation.
Ethnic Dimensions
Homogeneity and State Identity
States that prioritize a homogeneous national identity often perceive ethnic or linguistic minorities as threats to their territorial integrity. This perception can lead to extreme measures aimed at eradicating minority cultures, sometimes escalating to physical elimination through expulsion or even genocide. The weakening or disappearance of numerous ethnic minorities has been a direct consequence of such state policies.
The Rise of Nationalism
The late 19th and early 20th centuries witnessed the ascent of Euro-Christian nationalism, which championed the concept of a "right to homeland" for nations sharing a common heritage in terms of race, religion, and language. This ideology contrasted sharply with earlier political structures where rulers governed diverse peoples across conquered or inherited lands. Much of European history during this period reflects attempts to align national borders with this "one people, one nation" ideal, often at the expense of minority cultures.
Regional Cases: Asia
Japan and Korea
In both Japan and Korea, the assertion of a single-nation identity compelled ethnic minorities to conceal their national heritage for centuries. This often resulted in their assimilation. Notable examples include the Ainu and Ryukyuan peoples in Japan, who were subjected to forced assimilation policies. Similarly, migrants of Peninsular Japonic and Tungusic peoples in Korea faced similar pressures.
Thailand's Chinese Immigrants
During World War I and extending until the 1973 uprising, the Siamese government in Thailand implemented policies to assimilate its significant Chinese immigrant population. Thai citizenship was contingent upon renouncing loyalty to China, adopting the Thai language, changing names to Thai ones, and enrolling children in Thai schools. This illustrates a comprehensive approach to mandatory cultural absorption.
Cambodian Genocide and Cham Muslims
During the Cambodian genocide, the Khmer Rouge regime systematically persecuted Cham Muslims. This persecution initially involved forced assimilation tactics, which later escalated to direct violence, including mass killings and the destruction of their villages, highlighting the extreme consequences that can follow failed assimilation efforts.
China's Minorities
China's policies have led to significant forced assimilation impacts on its Muslim Uyghur and Tibetan minorities. At least one million Uyghurs have been detained in "reeducation camps" in Xinjiang, aimed at altering their political thinking, identities, and religious beliefs. Concurrently, approximately one million Tibetan children are affected by government policies, primarily through a residential school system, designed to culturally, religiously, and linguistically assimilate them.
Regional Cases: Europe
Azerbaijan's Ethnic Minorities
Ethnic minorities in Azerbaijan, including Talyshis, Lezghins, Kurds, Tats, and Georgian-Ingilois, have faced forced assimilation into Azerbaijani Turkic identity and ethnic discrimination since the Soviet era. This has involved policies aimed at uniting all minorities into a single Azerbaijani people, often through census manipulation and the suppression of distinct cultural expressions.
France and the "Vergonha"
France historically practiced forced assimilation of Occitans and other ethnic minorities whose native language was not French, such as Alsatians, Basques, and Catalans. This process, known as "Vergonha" (shame), spanned the 19th and 20th centuries. It involved official exclusion, humiliation in schools, and media rejection of native tongues, drastically reducing the number of Occitan speakers. France continues to resist ratifying the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, denying official recognition to many regional languages.
Russia and Ukrainian Children
As part of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian government has forcibly relocated thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia, facilitating their adoption by Russian families. This action is considered a violation of the Genocide Convention's prohibition against forced assimilation. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Children's Rights Commissioner Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova for their alleged roles in this war crime.
Regional Cases: Mideast
Turkey and the Kurds
For several decades, the denial of Kurds as a distinct ethnic group was an official state policy in Turkey. Kurds were instead categorized as "Mountain Turks," and the terms 'Kurd' and 'Kurdistan' were omitted by state institutions. During the 20th century, merchants were fined for speaking Kurdish, and students were punished in schools. The 1960s saw the establishment of Turkish language boarding schools specifically designed to separate Kurdish children from their families and Turkify the Kurdish population. While Kurdish languages are now permitted, Turkey still does not officially recognize Kurds as a distinct ethnic group.
Regional Cases: Americas
Enslaved Africans
From the 16th to the 19th centuries, enslaved Africans across North America, South America, and the Caribbean were systematically forced to abandon their native languages, religions, and cultural practices. This brutal process aimed at complete cultural erasure. Descendants of these groups often formed unique traditions and linguistic dialects, which continue to face discrimination and ongoing attempts at forced assimilation.
Indigenous Peoples in North America
In the United States and Canada, forced assimilation policies were extensively applied to indigenous peoples, primarily through the establishment of American Indian boarding schools and Canadian Indian residential school systems. These institutions aimed to "kill the Indian in the child" by forcibly removing children from their families and cultures, suppressing their languages, and imposing dominant societal norms. Similar assimilation pressures, including language bans and prejudice, were also faced by French and Spanish-speaking populations in these regions.
Wartime Internment and Pressure
During World War I and World War II, individuals of Japanese, German, and Italian descent in the United States and Canada experienced significant societal and political pressure to abandon their native languages and cultural practices. This pressure escalated to internment in concentration camps for many Japanese Americans and Canadians, as well as some German and Italian Americans and Canadians, underscoring how national crises can fuel forced assimilation efforts.
Regional Cases: Oceania
Australia's Stolen Generations
As part of a broader genocide against Indigenous Australians, the Australian government implemented policies of forced assimilation throughout the 20th century. A central component of these policies was the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, a tragic period known as the "Stolen Generations." These children were placed in institutions or with non-Indigenous families, with the explicit aim of assimilating them into white Australian society and severing their ties to their cultural heritage.
Religious Assimilation
Forced Conversion and Secularization
Religious assimilation often involves the forced conversion or secularization of minority group members. This can manifest through direct coercion, legal mandates, or systemic pressures that make it difficult or impossible to practice one's original faith. The goal is to integrate individuals into the dominant religious or secular framework of the state or society.
Historical Persecution of Jews in Europe
Throughout the Middle Ages and up to the mid-19th century, Jewish communities in Europe faced extensive forced assimilation pressures. They were often confined to small towns (shtetls) and subjected to severe restrictions, including prohibitions from entering universities or pursuing high-level professions. These measures aimed to marginalize and control Jewish populations, implicitly encouraging their conversion or cultural abandonment.
Hungary's Magyarization Policies
In the Kingdom of Hungary, a policy of Magyarization included the forced conversion of most ethnic Romanians, Croatians, Czechs, and other non-Hungarians to Catholicism. Those who resisted conversion often faced arrest, demonstrating a direct and coercive approach to religious assimilation as part of a broader nationalistic agenda.
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References
References
- Embrick, Rodrรยญguez & Sรยกenz 2015, p.ย 226.
- Baker, Chris and Pasuk Phongpaichit. A History of Thailand: Third Edition, Cambridge UP, 2014, p. 130.
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