Harry Potter: Why did Death Eaters think Muggles would be a pushover to control?

Death Eaters and extreme pure blood wizards in Harry Potter assume Muggles would be pushovers. How ridiculous an assumption that is.

One of the biggest assumptions all of the Death Eaters and more extreme pure blood wizards in Harry Potter seem to make is that muggles would just submit to them. The appalling statue of muggles submitting to wizards at the Ministry of Magic seems to suggest this.

This seems somewhat foolish though given that the separation between wizard and muggle domains in the first place indicates the muggles were able to give as good as they got.

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It is certainly true that wizards have power and ability beyond your average muggle. Yet, if wizards could be killed by non-wizards, it is not too much of a stretch to suggest that a muggle could injure or even kill a wizard themselves.

After all, wizards might live long and be able to extent their lifespan further using objects such as the ‘Philosopher’s Stone’, but this comes at a cost of having reduced numbers as a group. To maintain only ‘pure’ wizard blood, they have only the option of having much decreased diversity and as a result the health problems that come with this.

This means right away that the ‘pure blood’ wizards would be out-numbered by their muggle and less extreme wizard opponents. They also have the problem that for wizards certainly using combat spells seems to take a significant physical toll, unlike many muggle weapons. This means if it became a battle of attrition, wizards would find themselves outmatched by any standing army not to mention guerrillas.

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This toll is also mental and spiritual, as Professor Slughorn recognizes in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince film, “killing rips the soul apart, it is a violation against nature.” This means that for dark wizards they will have to destroy themselves to destroy muggles. For Lord Voldemort, this was a prize worth paying but whether it was the same for all ‘pure bloods’ is questionable.

There is also the fact that unlike a lot of non-wizarding creatures such as centaurs which live in isolated areas, muggles can organize speedily with the use of technology. Now, this might mean that ‘pure blood’ wizards can more quickly round muggles up, but it also means muggles can organize resistance better.

Wizards might be ultra-powerful beings, but they still require many of the necessities that muggles do and on top of this, supplies for magic. Wizard ingredients for potions and spells could be commandeered by muggles as bargaining chips. The hardship that war brings might be difficult to deal with for wizards who are used to the ease that magic has brought.

The small matter of the muggles fighting for their lives is also likely to motivate resistance. It is apparent throughout the books and films that a lot of the ‘pure blood’ wizards have a caricatured image of muggles. This is of non-magic users as cowards who will submit easily to wizards.

The reality is that none of the muggles in the Harry Potter series are such. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia are both in their own way brave for dealing with a constant threat that hangs over the family, Vernon even faces down Hagrid for a moment. Neither is Dudley a complete coward at heart really. In fact, Dudley is mentioned as a promising boxer in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

The reality is that the highly imbalanced nature of many so called ‘pure blood’ dark wizards would make them poor rulers and Lord Voldemort would find himself faced with constant divisions. Voldemort himself was also a poor leader, true he might have been an exceptional wizard with tremendous power but given he struggled to take over Hogwarts, the whole of the non-wizard world would prove difficult.

What do you think of this assumption made by the Death Eaters and extreme pure blood wizards? Are they being too narrow minded? Do you think the Muggle world would rise up? Drop a comment just below sharing your thoughts.