I grew up being taught by my parents and teachers that we settlers had civilized this island after liberating it from the barbaric reign of Wild Mary and her heathen people. But my best friend is from a Native / "retired bandit" family and the stories she tells me don't match what I was taught in school. Her parents say that Mary was a great leader, and that the settler conquerers hated her and her people because they wanted to follow their Native ways rather than convert to the settler's religion and way of life. And my best friend's parents say that the settlers mostly just wanted their land and were willing to slaughter entire villages in order to take it from them. I don't know who to believe, but I do know that I see many settlers treat the Native ("bandit") peoples cruelly and it makes me angry. I want to know the truth. My New Years Resolution is to learn the truth about the history of our two peoples and what happened on this island.


