--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For more than a century-and-a-half…" description: "\"“For more than a century-and-a-half, Europeans had been killing North American Indians with firewater… Now, in the first decades of the nineteenth cent..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/earle-gray-70703_alcohol_for-more-than-a-century-and-a-half-europ_1639897.jpg" --- # For more than a century-and-a-half, Europeans had been… ![“For more than a century-and-a-half, Europeans had been killing North American Indians with firewater… Now, in the first decades of the nineteenth century, Canada’s pioneer settlers were killing themselves with their own medicine. About Canada. Toronto: Civil Sector Press, November, 2012. Alcohol…” quote by Earle Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/earle-gray-70703_alcohol_for-more-than-a-century-and-a-half-europ_1639897.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/earle-gray-70703_alcohol_for-more-than-a-century-and-a-half-europ_1639897.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/earle-gray-70703_alcohol_for-more-than-a-century-and-a-half-europ_1639897.jpg) > ““For more than a century-and-a-half, Europeans had been killing North American Indians with firewater… Now, in the first decades of the nineteenth century, Canada’s pioneer settlers were killing themselves with their own medicine. About Canada. Toronto: Civil Sector Press, November, 2012. Alcohol, North American Indians, Settlers, Canada”” Earle Gray ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Historical alcohol abuse caused both Indigenous peoples and settlers to suffer, highlighting the destructive cycle of substance dependence. **In simple terms:** Alcohol caused widespread suffering among both natives and colonists. Key Takeaway Recognize and address substance abuse to break harmful cycles. Themes history colonialism public health addiction Mood somber thoughtful Type educational historical When to use this quote - academic article - public lecture - policy discussion Key Concepts social policy cultural impact health crises colonial legacy Questions to Reflect On - How can societies heal from shared trauma? - What policies can prevent similar crises today? A Different Perspective The focus on alcohol may overlook other colonial harms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alcohol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alcohol/) [Canada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/canada/) [Settlers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/settlers/) ## Related quotes > [It's interesting to think about the history of Israel in relation to the history of the U.S.. There were Native Americans living here that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-soloway/it-s-interesting-to-think-about-the-history-of-israel-in-relation-to/) [Jill Soloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-soloway/) > [A worm is as good a traveler as a grasshopper or a cricket, and a much wiser settler. With all their activity these do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-worm-is-as-good-a-traveler-as-a-grasshopper-or-a-cricket-and-a-much/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The status of 'native' is a nervous condition introduced and maintained by the settler among colonized people with their consent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/the-status-of-native-is-a-nervous-condition-introduced-and-maintained/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [While the focus in the landscape of Old World cities was commonly government structures, churches, or the residences of rulers, the landscape and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-boorstin/while-the-focus-in-the-landscape-of-old-world-cities-was-commonly/) [Daniel J. Boorstin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-boorstin/) > [The most ultimately righteous of all wars is a war with savages, though it is apt to be also the most terrible and inhuman.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/the-most-ultimately-righteous-of-all-wars-is-a-war-with-savages/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [The Achilles Heel of the Americas was the lack of cultural confidence typical of new settlers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-erickson/the-achilles-heel-of-the-americas-was-the-lack-of-cultural-confidence/) [Arthur Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-erickson/) > [“The global Indigenous cause reached a major milestone in 2007 when the UN General Assembly passed the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxanne-dunbar-ortiz/the-global-indigenous-cause-reached-a-major-milestone-in-2007-when/) [Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxanne-dunbar-ortiz/) > [The settler and pioneer have at bottom had justice on their side; this great continent could not have been kept as nothing but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/the-settler-and-pioneer-have-at-bottom-had-justice-on-their-side-this/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [There is, of course, a legitimate argument for some limitation upon immigration. We no longer need settlers for virgin lands, and our economy is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/there-is-of-course-a-legitimate-argument-for-some-limitation-upon/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [On the Native American front, we have turned a new page in the 400-year history of the interface between the American settlers of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-salazar/on-the-native-american-front-we-have-turned-a-new-page-in-the-400/) [Ken Salazar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-salazar/) > [It did not come naturally; in fact, it would be difficult to conceive of any more dogmatic and less tolerant people than the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harris/it-did-not-come-naturally-in-fact-it-would-be-difficult-to-conceive/) [Paul Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harris/) > [It's very hard, for example, to justify the thirty-four-year occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. It's very hard to justify 140 Israeli settlements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/it-s-very-hard-for-example-to-justify-the-thirty-four-year-occupation/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [I am against the fact that a settler minority should impose an entire system of values on an indigenous people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/i-am-against-the-fact-that-a-settler-minority-should-impose-an-entire/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [The history of the United States is a history of settler colonialism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxanne-dunbar-ortiz/the-history-of-the-united-states-is-a-history-of-settler-colonialism/) [Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxanne-dunbar-ortiz/) > [When old settlers say 'One has to understand the country,' what they mean is, 'You have to get used to our ideas about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/when-old-settlers-say-one-has-to-understand-the-country-what-they/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) ## More by Earle Gray > [“21Most food goes to waste in affluent societies. When we throw leftovers into the garbage, it goes to waste. When we eat more food…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earle-gray/21most-food-goes-to-waste-in-affluent-societies-when-we-throw/) Earle Gray > [“Most of the seven billion people in this world suffer from malnutrition. Half do not have enough to eat and the rest of us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earle-gray/most-of-the-seven-billion-people-in-this-world-suffer-from/) Earle Gray > [“Never a horse that can’t be rode and never a rider that can’t be throwed. (I’ll pass this off as my own, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earle-gray/never-a-horse-that-can-t-be-rode-and-never-a-rider-that-can-t-be/) Earle Gray Explore all 4 Earle Gray quotes ## More Alcohol quotes > [I'm Catholic and I can't commit suicide, but I plan to drink myself to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-m-catholic-and-i-can-t-commit-suicide-but-i-plan-to-drink-myself-to/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [Stronger than alcohol, vaster than poetry, Ferment the freckled red bitterness of love!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rimbaud/stronger-than-alcohol-vaster-than-poetry-ferment-the-freckled-red/) [Arthur Rimbaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-rimbaud/) > [And, when night Darkens the streets, then wander forth the sons Of Belial, flown with insolence and wine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/and-when-night-darkens-the-streets-then-wander-forth-the-sons-of/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [ \[As in the case of\] alcohol prohibition, illegality has driven organized crime, sent countless people to jail, and killed many thousands. Repression does not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-branson/as-in-the-case-of-alcohol-prohibition-illegality-has-driven-organized/) [Sam Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-branson/) > [You can get a new phone or new trainers (sneakers) but you've only got one body so you have to look after it. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyson-beckford/you-can-get-a-new-phone-or-new-trainers-sneakers-but-you-ve-only-got/) Tyson Beckford > [Alcohol doesn't console, it doesn't fill up anyone's psychological gaps, all it replaces is the lack of God. It doesn't comfort man. 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