Since the Death Eaters were killing or otherwise preventing Muggle-borns from practicing magic, how did they plan to keep the wizards from dying out after a couple generations once there were not enough pure-bloods to keep the population going?
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3Wouldn’t acknowledging the danger of wizards becoming extinct, if only pure-bloods are kept, be connected with admitting that most Death Eaters and even Voldemort himself are not pure-bloods? I doubt that their ideology allowed to reasonably discuss about the consequences of their doing. – Holger Jun 15 '18 at 09:03
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3Well, his plan was to live forever, wasn't it? Ensuring the Wizarding population would never drop below 1... – leftaroundabout Jun 15 '18 at 13:36
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Why wouldn't they be able keep the population going? Repopulating is a thing. – Misha R Jun 17 '18 at 16:35
1 Answers
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Yes, it’s likely why they made an effort to preserve magical blood.
The Dark Lord and the Death Eaters did try to avoid killing anyone who wasn’t a Mudblood, even when they were clearly an enemy - this was likely to preserve enough to continue the wizarding population. We see this clearly when the Dark Lord offers the chance to those fighting to join him. He tells them he’d prefer them not to die because every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss.
“You have fought,’ said the high, cold voice, ‘valiantly. Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery.
‘Yet you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste.
‘Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat, immediately.”
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 33 (The Prince’s Tale)
Then, he offered them yet another chance to join him when he thinks Harry is dead. By then, they’d been fighting him for quite a while - it seems fairly clear that the only reason he’d give them so many chances to live despite being obviously opposed to him is his desire not to spill magical blood, because he knew he’d need enough wizards alive to sustain the society he was building. This was clearly something he’d considered and thought important.
“The battle is won. You have lost half of your fighters. My Death Eaters outnumber you and the Boy Who Lived is finished. There must be no more war. Anyone who continues to resist, man, woman or child, will be slaughtered, as will every member of their family. Come out of the castle, now, kneel before me, and you shall be spared. Your parents and children, your brothers and sisters will live, and be forgiven, and you will join me in the new world we shall build together.”
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 36 (The Flaw in the Plan)
They certainly weren’t all pure-blood, but he gave them all a chance to join him in the new wizard order he was creating. He tries to get Neville to join him as well, especially because Neville is a pure-blood and therefore more valuable than the average wizard.
“But you are a pure-blood, aren’t you, my brave boy?’ Voldemort asked Neville, who stood facing him, his empty hands curled in fists.
‘So what if I am?’ said Neville loudly.
‘You show spirit, and bravery, and you come of noble stock. You will make a very valuable Death Eater. We need your kind, Neville Longbottom.”
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 36 (The Flaw in the Plan)
He definitely did have a plan, and considered how the population of wizards would continue. The Dark Lord would certainly want his wizard society to be sustainable. He was also planning on being immortal, and he’d want the world he created to live on at least as long as he would - which would be forever. He wouldn’t want to watch it crumble due to wizards dying off. As for whether it’d work, that’s a different question, but he did think of it and plan based on it. However, especially if we count wizards who aren’t Mudbloods from other countries, as I wrote in another answer, it seems likely it could. Also, it was all who weren’t Mudblood, not only the pure-blood.
They wanted Mudbloods gone - people related to a wizard stayed.
The Dark Lord and the Death Eaters wanted Mudbloods locked up or killed, but anyone who could prove they had a close enough wizard relative was allowed to remain free.
“Nevertheless, unless you can prove that you have at least one close wizarding relative, you are now deemed to have obtained your magical power illegally and must suffer the punishment.”
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 11 (The Bribe)
The pool of wizards who would live in the Dark Lord’s society would include anyone who could prove a close wizarding relative, not just pure-bloods. The pure-bloods would likely have a higher status, but there would be far more wizards around than just them.
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1Were there sufficient numbers to maintain genetic diversity though? – Broklynite Jun 15 '18 at 02:02
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3@Broklynite That’s less clear, but I do think it’s possible as I say in my linked answer, taking into account scientific research on minimum viable populations and statistics of how many wizards exist. Though I included Muggle-borns there, there would probably still be enough wizards worldwide to maintain a healthy population, as Muggle-borns seem to be a relatively small segment of the population. However, as the question is about whether the Dark Lord had a plan rather than whether the Dark Lord’s plan would actually work, I didn’t include that much on its chance of working. – Obsidia Jun 15 '18 at 02:11
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2I doubt Voldemort knew the first thing about genetics, so he probably never even thought about it. But I think Bellatrix is right: I don't recall his regime making any specific effort to persecute Muggles who were married to witches or wizards, or of witches and wizards who had married Muggles, or of their children. Assuming that remained the case, I would imagine that the occasional mixed marriage would probably be enough to keep the wizarding community from extinction. – Harry Johnston Jun 15 '18 at 03:49
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1@HarryJohnston I do recall that Voldemort hated the idea of 'mating' with Muggles, to use his own words. – Myungjin Hyun Jun 15 '18 at 05:48
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4I would not place any bet on “the Dark Lord’s society would include … not just pure-bloods”. Like in similar dictatorships, there’s a group of people who are killed first and there are groups of people who are not killed yet. And this form of government needs a constant availability of scapegoats, even if the the first group has become extinct. And don’t try reminding Voldemort that he isn’t a pure-blood either. That won’t work. – Holger Jun 15 '18 at 09:09
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@HarryWeasley, he specifically objected to the idea of purebloods mating with Muggles. – Harry Johnston Jun 15 '18 at 11:39
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1Do we have any evidence of why he didn't give Cedric the same chance? He's implied to be pure-blood but was disposed of before Harry was fully cognizant of what was happening. Did Voldemort change his views or was he just more focused on getting his own blood back to worry about others at the moment? – Engineer Toast Jun 15 '18 at 14:15
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Is there any reason he wouldn't want Mudbloods other than pure old-fashioned wizard-racism? Because hypothetically do Mudbloods not have possibly magical children, thereby increasing the total number of wizards? – Aristides Jun 15 '18 at 14:43
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1@Holger While they wouldn’t be as valued as pure-bloods, the Dark Lord did want enough people to maintain the society, and he certainly wouldn’t want his Death Eaters to be doing jobs that could be passed off to people of lesser status. As he showed by keeping people like Pettigrew and Greyback around, he understood the value of keeping people he didn’t respect. It seems highly unlikely that he’d kill off the wizards who weren’t Mudblood but weren’t pure-blood either, though there’d be a class system. – Obsidia Jun 15 '18 at 15:26
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1@EngineerToast The Dark Lord’s priority at that point was keeping his return secret, sending Cedric back as a witness would endanger that. He was trying to keep his return secret for as long as possible so people were off their guard and he could stealthily take over. – Obsidia Jun 15 '18 at 15:30
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@Aristides, I can't find the reference I want, but roughly speaking, people really really hate it when someone who they consider low status behaves as if they were high status. For example, when a lowly Muggle dares to develop magical powers. – Harry Johnston Jun 16 '18 at 02:06
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@HarryJohnston right but speaking entirely objectively Mudbloods would absolutely help in this problem right? I just want to confirm, they do produce magical children correct? – Aristides Jun 20 '18 at 08:12
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@Aristides, presumably, but now that you mention it I don't think we know for certain. I can't recall offhand any examples from the books of two Muggleborns marrying, or of a Muggleborn marrying a Muggle. If you particularly want to know, that might make a good question. – Harry Johnston Jun 20 '18 at 21:09