The History of the Blood Purity Agenda
The history of the blood purity agenda is convoluted and in many ways misrepresented. Our own understanding of our own history is limited and in places completely wrong and unfounded. This history can be broken down into sections:
- The Lifetime of Salazar Slytherin
- The Witch Burnings of the 14th - 18th Century
- The Foundation of the International Statute of Secrecy
- A Brief Moment of Peace
- The Global Wizarding War
- The British Wizarding War
- War Torn Magical Britain
The Lifetime of Salazar Slytherin
The concept of Blood Purity is often attributed to Salazar Slytherin, one of the four founders of Hogwarts. He was said to be unwilling to teach anyone of muggle parentage and eventually left the school following a falling out with the other founders. There is recent evidence that has come to light to suggest that this was not actually the case. While Slytherin certainly discriminated against muggleborns in his early years, as seen in some of his earlier writings, the goblins have an extensive library of his later works, many of which explicitly retract his previous views. In one journal from his time at Hogwarts, he clearly states that his time as a teacher had given him a newfound respect for Magbobs - muggleborns - and that he found his earlier views reprehensible.
While the worst atrocities would not happen for over six hundred years, in the time that led up to the founding of Hogwarts, there was mounting distrust and at times violence on the part of Muggles for wixen kind. At this time, witches and wizards lived freely among muggles, often even participating in their primitive society. They took on the role of Village Elder, giving wise council and Village Judge, providing judgement against criminals. They also were the first to provide basic healing and medicinal remedies to those in need and many witches took the role of Village Midwife, being present for all births to ensure the well-being of mother and child.
Salazar Slytherin, a pureblood by that time's standard, was raised as an only child. His mother was the local healer and his father sat in judgement over any criminal activity in their small hamlet. Their family were well known in the area and the muggles knew them to be magical. They were well respected and for most of Salazar's childhood they had no issues with the local muggle community, but upon the death of an unknown muggle woman and her unborn child, those living nearby blamed Slytherin's mother and stoned her to death after snapping her wand while her husband was out collecting potion ingredients. Salazar, a boy of thirteen, witnessed the incident and tried to save his mother, but found himself powerless against such a large and angry group of muggles. His father fortunately returned, and they left the hamlet after burying his mother. They traveled to a distant place where Slytherin met Godric Gryffindor and started a close friendship.
It was as a result of this incident with the death of his mother, that Salazar first took up his pureblood supremacist views. He was understandably angry and what's more he was scared. He now knew that muggles were a danger. He believed that marrying muggles was reprehensible as they were unworthy of the secrets of magic and that any offspring - even a magical offspring - of a muggle was untrustworthy and prone to violence. He thought that magicals should separate themselves from the muggle world, although in this time it seemed like an unfeasible feat.
The hostilities between muggles and wixenkind only grew over the next twenty years. During this time, Slytherin met a wizard, Hengist of Woodcroft, who was fleeing muggles, and assisted him in the founding of the magical village of Hogsmeade. It was here that he met the other two founders for the first time; Rowena Ravenclaw, who was supposedly led their by a prophetic dream, and Helga Hufflepuff, who at the time travelled the country with her parents, selling magical plants.
The four founders came together to build Hogwarts, first and foremost as a school of magic - the very first of its kind - but also as a sanctuary for wixens that found themselves in danger from the muggles. Many in the wixen community thought their concern over the muggles to be paranoia, thinking themselves safe among the muggles or at least capable of defending themselves, but with time the small community of Hogsmeade grew and the magical community became more fearful of muggles as the muggles began to target magical children, who unlike their parents were often defenseless.
In the early days of the school, Slytherin discriminated heavily on the basis of parentage, something that the majority of wixenkind at the time believed to be misguided. Muggleborns at that time were not only accepted into magical society, but were considered to be a gift from Mother Magic herself. When his own wife and children were attacked by muggles, his hatred only increased. Slytherin was very particular about ensuring the safety of the castle and its inhabitants, placing anti-muggle wards and enlisting the help of the magical creatures dwelling in the forbidden forest. At some point in the 11th Century, he created the chamber of secrets to house his personal library and his familiar, a basilisk, who according to the goblins, was to provide further security to the school. He feared those with muggle parentage would betray their secrets to the muggles and even lead them directly to the school. This fear proved true when one Magbob did in fact lead a mob to the village of Hogsmeade. Fortunately, the four founders and the people of Hogsmeade were well protected by the basilisk and the magical creatures of the Forbidden Forest.
In his journals he reported meeting a particularly powerful Magbob and his perspective on those with muggle parentage began to change. The four founders spent much of their time travelling the country in search of magical children. Often arriving too late to save them. Our history books tell us that Slytherin left the school following a disagreement with Gryffindor about teaching muggleborns. However, the goblin's library of Slytherin's writings suggest that he actually left with Gryffindor to go in search of more Magbobs but sacrificed his own life to save five Magbob children from a mob of muggles.
The Witch Burnings of the 14th to 18th Century
Things proved dire in the 14th Century. The witch-hunts grew ever more violent and British wizarding families began protecting their families with concealment charms. The magical community had pulled away from the muggle world for the most part but many wixen still lived among the muggles, although they tried to keep their magical heritage a secret due to fear of persecution. Witch burnings became common practice when anyone - be they muggle or wix - were accused of Witchcraft. While adult wixen could protect themselves from the flames, magical children were in more danger than ever before and many magical families left their homes to find sanctuary at Hogwarts.
By the seventeenth century, it was frowned upon to fraternise with muggles, even leading to members of the magical community being ostracized. As younger wixen could not control their magic, they were at greater risk of being noticed by muggle witch-hunters and their parents grew ever more fearful and protective. While it is true to say that more muggles were killed during the witch hunts, they still left the magical community fearful, due to the viciousness of the punishments used and the longevity of the hunts themselves. This led to greater magical concealment of magical institutions such as Hogwarts and the British Wizards Council headquarters, and the birth of magical only spaces such as Diagon Alley.
With the witch hunts, public opinion underwent a dynamic shift. The Salem Witch Trials in 1692 - 1693 provoked many wixen who had settled in America to return to Britain, bringing with them their own traumatic tales of persecution.
The Foundation of the International Statute of Secrecy
The widespread fear that had swept the entire wizarding world, not just the British wixen community, led to the introduction of the Statute of Secrecy. Relations between muggles and wixenkind were at an all time low and no one could see a way to improve them. The British Wizards Council - the precursor for the Ministry for Magic - attempted to liase with the Muggle British Monarch, begging for protections for magical folk under muggle law. When this attempt failed, the magical community of Britain was left with no choice but to completely isolate itself from the muggle world. There was a heated debate in the Wizengamot with many wanting to declare war on the muggles while Ralston Potter argued in support of the Statute of Secrecy. During one summit meeting of the International Confederation of Wizards that lasted seven weeks with delegations of goblins, centaurs and merpeople in attendance, the statute of secrecy was determined as the best course of action, effectively hiding the wizarding world from the muggles.
The majority of Magical Britain was in favor of the statute and the statute was signed in 1689 with many in the magical community going into voluntary hiding before the statute even went into effect in 1692. Only a small number in the community opposed the statute such as the Malfoy family who had always benefited from close ties with the muggle aristocracy. However, the family's views quickly changed when the statute went into effect in 1692. They became some of the staunchest supporters of the law, hotly denying that they had ever fratenised with muggles.
This time saw the birth of many half magical dwellings where wix lived harmoniously in community together, often alongside but separated from muggles. Notable half-magical villages include Tinworth in Cornwall, Upper Flagley in Yorkshire, Ottery St Catchpole in Devon and Godric's Hollow in the West Country. This was a highly traumatic time for wixenkind and they became ever more cautious about who they interacted with, leading to these communities being very insular. Marriages with muggles dropped to their lowest level to date, as many feared that intermarriage with muggles would lead to discovery and would inevitably lead to infraction of wizarding law.
During this time the British Ministry for Magic was founded and one of their roles at the time was maintaining the Statute of Secrecy.
Fear of discovery was ever present and the community lived through a time of great uncertainty, fear and often resentment. This resentment lead to an increase in pure-blood doctrine. Those who advocated this doctrine preached that marriage with muggles was shameful and unnatural. They believed that it would lead to 'contamination' of magical blood. At this time, though some described themselves as purebloods, it was unlikely than many actually were as intermarriage between muggles and wix had been common practice for centuries. Calling oneself a pureblood was a declaration of their political view. There was widespread literature available during the early eighteenth century that there were signs of pureblood status including an earlier onset of magical ability, early ability to use a broomstick, a dislike or fear of pigs, as pigs have always been notoriously difficult to charm, resistance to common childhood ailments, increased physical attractiveness and an aversion to muggles.
A Brief Moment of Peace
Following the formation of the Ministry for Magic, magical Britain experienced a brief time of peace. Fear of muggle attacks lessened and the people adapted to their new norm. For the most part, people accepted the changes without issue and breaks in the statute of secrecy were handled cautiously. However, there were those that resented the need for secrecy and many that still believed that it would be better to declare all out war on the muggles. As time passed, this resentment only grew. And as the two world went in different directions, the wixen world's understanding of muggles greatly diminished, leading to many wixen under estimating the muggles. Not only with regards to their technological advancements but also their sheer population size.
As many other countries especially the American Wizarding World continued to strengthen their security and secrecy, Britain made very few additional laws to help facilitate the statute of secrecy. While many European wizarding countries believed that the MACUSA took things to the extreme with the introduction of Rappaport's Law (a law that forbade relationships with muggles), they also thought that Magical Britain was too lax in their secrecy laws. There were those in Magical Britain who believed that Rappaport's Law should be installed on British soil, and a bill was proposed by the Tenebris party to that affect. The bill failed with many in the Lux party and the Neutrum party arguing that inter-marriages were at an all time low and so the law was effectively unnecessary. A new bill was later passed that allowed for inter-marriages but the statute of secrecy was to be enforced even between spouses. It was later repealed, more than one hundred years later.
This period of time proved difficult for the Tenebris party as they found themselves divided, between those that wanted to disrupt the statute of secrecy and declare war on the muggles and those that were advocated for even stronger secrecy laws. It was also during this time that pureblood families started abandoning their squib children in the muggle world. There was no clear distinction between squib and muggle and intolerance towards squibs grew significantly. Where before they might have found work in the magical world, providing valuable yet non-magical services, their place in the magical world was now challenged as stigma and intolerance became commonplace.
Wixen relations with magical beings deteriorated greatly during this time, in part because not all magical beings had been involved in the ratifying of the statute of secrecy and yet found themselves beholden to it. Even relations with those that had been involved were affected as the ministry started restricting their land under the pretense of staying hidden.
Global Wizarding War
With the beginning of World War One in the muggle world, fear of muggles grew rapidly. For the first time, in hundreds of years, the magical community was reminded of just how deadly muggles could be. It was a time of great contention between the Lux and Tenebris factions with many in the Lux faction believing that magicals should assist the British muggles in their war efforts. This was ultimately rejected with many who had advocated for it gaining the new title of Blood Traitor. It was on this backdrop that Grindlewald entered the political arena of Europe. The magical world was in a state of heightened fear of muggle advancement especially with regards to warfare.
While Britain was less affected by the war on Grindlewald than many European countries, it still played a significant part in the history of Magical Britain. Grindlewald and his acolytes intended to abolish the statute of secrecy, something that many in the Tenebris party supported strongly. Many even helping to finance the war abroad secretly. Grindlewald's attacks in the early days of his war campaign were incredibly violent and proved to be a significant risk to the statute of secrecy, frequently risking exposing the wizarding world across the globe. This caused great concern for British magicals. Every day, they feared a return to the witch hunts and witch burnings that had been common place prior to the founding of the statute of secrecy.
Some in the Tenebris party who agreed with Grindlewald in principle were horrified by the lengths he went to to achieve his goals, especially his use of obscurials. Even so, many British purebloods traveled to France in 1927 for a secret rally that was held at the Lestrange's Family Mausoleum in the Père-Lachaise cemetery, sharing his vision of subjugating muggles.
There was a resurgence of pure blood doctrine and the highly controversial 'Pure Blood Directory' was published by an unknown author (mostly assumed to be Cantankerus Nott). The sacred twenty-eight was said to be a complete list of those families that still had truly pure blood by the 1930s. This claim was unsupported, however, as there had been few truly pure-blooded families less than two hundred years prior making it impossible for those families to have no muggle lineage. Some families spoke out against the directory, even though they had been included in it. The directory was grossly misleading and highly political, excluding many families with equally pure-blood for various reasons. The Potters were presumably excluded for their pro-muggle leanings and many of the greater houses that were still active at that time were also excluded. Many believed this to be an attempt to subvert power from the Most Noble and Most Ancient and Noble and Most Ancient houses. Most notably: Peverell, Prince, Sayre, and Warrington.
During this time, wixen society in Britain was heavily divided. While open warfare was not fought on British soil, many British magicals joined the war fighting for both sides. It was a time of great turmoil for the wixen community in Britain. The war would eventually end with a duel between Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindlewald in 1945, but the divisions within society remained.
The British Wizarding War
Peace was not long lasting for Magical Britain however. Wixen society had never been more divided. The ministry began to regulate the use of magic more heavily than ever before, making entire branches of magic illegal and there was a sudden rise in 'Anti-Dark' propaganda. Even though the Tenebris faction was the largest of the factions, they were unable to defend those with dark cores against the onslaught of new laws that restricted their magic. This led to many pureblood families turning inwards, no longer trusting the greater wizarding community. The Ministry also made strives to try and make the wizarding world more accommodating to muggleborns, restricting the practice of the wizarding religion. Magicals began to refer to their worship as the Old Ways in an attempt at hiding their worship for fear of persecution. This led to further resentment against muggleborns, most of whom had never even heard of the wizarding religion, but were held responsible by the magical population for ministry policy.
Tom Marvolo Riddle, a student at Hogwarts during the height of the muggle World War Two and the Global Wizarding War, would become the self-proclaimed Lord Voldemort. He quickly gathered followers, many of whom agreed with his agenda, including the domination of muggles and muggleborns. While many of his followers 'the death eaters' supported his agenda, many had joined him on the promise of a different agenda, one that he quickly dropped upon the outbreak of war. This agenda included greater secrecy and safeguards against the muggle world, the protection of muggleborns from abusive muggles, the reintegration of squibs into British Magical society and improvement in ministry policy in relation to non-human and part-human magicals.
The late 1960s saw Magical Britain in a state of political crisis, with the three factions warring against one another. This was in part due to rumours of a new dark lord, a strange number of disappearances in the magical community, and in part response to the Squib Rights Marches which would inspire the Pureblood Riots, something many of Voldemort's followers were rumoured to participate in. Voldemort was said to have great support from the Tenebris party, leaving many convinced that had he attempted to take the political route at that time he may well have succeeded.
In 1970, Magical Britain found itself at war, this time on British soil. Voldemort took advantage of the discord between human magicals and non-human or part-human magicals, recruiting giants and werewolves. Voldemort's army caused wide-scale destruction in both the magical world and the muggle world, once again putting the statute of secrecy in danger and putting magical Britain at risk of exposure. The war would continue for eleven years, until Lord Voldemort attacked the Potter family, slaying both Lord and Lady Potter with the killing curse before turning his wand on their infant son. Upon failing to kill the child, Voldemort lost his powers and peace returned to the magical world.
War Torn Magical Britain
Following the war, instead of healing the divide between the warring factions, the ministry campaigned endlessly to illegalise still more magic, calling it dark, even when it technically wasn't, further restricting the use of rituals even for religious purposes, and bringing in even stronger regulations against non-human and part-human magicals. Society for the most part encouraged these changes, fearing the dark for the two wars that had so risked their secrecy. Entire branches of learning were removed from Hogwarts, in part due to reduced funding from the ministry but also due to the strong campaigning of light and neutral parents.
Tensions between muggles and the wixen world might be at an all time low, but the tensions within the wixen community seem to be constantly growing. It is not unreasonable to imagine another dark lord trying to instigate a rebellion and plunging our world into another war, in the name of blood purity. Not because anyone particularly cares about the purity of their blood but because blood purity has become synonomus with dark magic, wizarding religion and non and part-human rights.