People think that Hawaii was some idyllic paradise. It was anything but. Every person had a strict place in the social hierarchy. The lowest caste had it worst. They were subject to ritual killing and sacrifice.
I think this misconception is part of a larger trend where, in Western societies, all Europeans are portrayed as "bad" while other societies are portrayed as "good".
I think it's bizarre and also xenophobic. This attitude infantilizes non-European societies, assuming that only Europeans can be judged for their moral failings, while the horrible things that happened in other places are "just their culture".
I agree with Quizmaster, but I also think Hawaii is a special case. I mean, it's not wrong to say Hawaii is an idyllic paradise today (or at least as close as you can get). I think people have a tendency to project their modern ideas of places and assume it's always been that way.
The question about the Mongols conquering China is a little sketchy. Yes, they did invade and conquer MOST of China, but the Chinese never honored a surrender to the Mongols. Genghis Khan ended up leaving China with his army before the job was done. To make the question more clear, I would suggest changing to something along the lines of, "Did the Mongols ever conquer the Chinese capital?"
About the Hawaii question - Sad to see so many people (74%) wrongly believe the false narrative of the big bad White Man invading peaceful societies and introducing their evil and oppressive ways into their culture. You couldn't have been more wrong in this case.
I had no idea what Hawaii was like before the Europeans arrived and so chose true just because it sounded like a leading question, I suspect the low percentage is because it was a double bluff. If instead the question was "prior to Europeans arriving Hawaii ritually sacrificed the lower classes" then I think a much higher percentage would have guessed right.
I had no idea what Hawaii was like before the Europeans arrived and so chose true just because it sounded like a leading question, I suspect the low percentage is because it was a double bluff. If instead the question was "prior to Europeans arriving Hawaii ritually sacrificed the lower classes" then I think a much higher percentage would have guessed right.
I think it's bizarre and also xenophobic. This attitude infantilizes non-European societies, assuming that only Europeans can be judged for their moral failings, while the horrible things that happened in other places are "just their culture".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuan_dynasty