It's the final day of my #Tweetistorian x #EarlyModernPeriod crossover and we're going to cover one of the strangest accusations of cannibalism I've come across. This gif is an accurate representation of my face the first time I read it. Here we go! 1/14

In 1650, Thomas Thorowgood published "Iewes in America," which argued that all the Indigenous peoples in the Americas were descendants of the lost tribes of Israel. It's worth noting that Thorowgood never went to the Americas and almost definitely never actually met a Jew. 2/14

So far, so normal for the middle of the seventeenth century. But then, once I made it past the dedicatory preface, I saw something in the table of contents, which I have helpfully highlighted in the image below. 3/14

Yes, friends, you are correct. Thomas Thorowgood thinks that Indigenous peoples all across the Americas (he makes no distinction between people in what is now Mexico and people in what is now New England) are descended from ancient Israelites *because* they eat people. 4/14

It's a little difficult for me to talk about how this chapter makes me feel because its argument is simultaneously repugnant and also my personal academic jackpot. These are the pitfalls of my work; any time I have good news, it's best summed up as "thanks, I hate it." 5/14

So what is the argument? Here goes! The Bible at several points (specifically Levit. 26:29, Deut. 28:53, and Ezek. 5:9-10) predicts that some calamity will befall the Israelites such that they will devour human flesh in their desperation and depravity. 6/14

Thorowgood believes Levit. 26:29 and Deut. 28:53 had already come to pass within Biblical times. He cites 2 Kings 6:28 and Lamentations 4:10 where desperate mothers eat their children during famine and siege, respectively. 7/14

Thorowgood points out however that Ezek. 5:9-10 specifies both that the cannibalism that will occur will be unlike anything that has ever been witnessed before in that human flesh will be eaten openly, "in the midst" of the people. 8/14

Thorowgood, citing earlier colonizing texts that alleged public anthropophagy by Indigenous people, argued that this qualified as fulfillment of Ezek. 5:9-10. It also just so happened that this belief fit into his broader worldview. 9/14

The conceit of "Iewes in America" is that, after deportation by the Assyrians in the 8th century BCE, the lost tribes wandered through Asia until, eventually, they somehow crossed over into the Americas. Thorowgood generally depicts this ordeal as divine punishment. 10/14

It's not enough that these Jews were punished by exile and dispersal. According to Thorowgood, they were also punished by losing their civilization, their language, their connection with God until they fell into a state where they ate close relatives in public. 11/14

Willfully ignorant of the diverse, highly-accomplished Indigenous civilizations in the Americas, Thorowgood argues that missionary activity can restore the lost tribes. By this he means not their "original" Judaism, but Christianity. 12/14

Thus Thorowgood developed an argument that, despite its apparent wackiness, reinforced European assumptions about Indigenous behaviours, Biblical truth, and European superiority while also boosting the Christianizing and expansionist activity undertaken by English settlers. 13/14

As I said at the beginning of my thread, this is the final day of my #Tweetistorian takeover. I've really enjoyed tweeting here and have especially loved seeing everyone's reactions to my stuff. If anything I've tweeted tickles your fancy, you can follow me @TheGlintOfLight.14/14