Orcs... were elves?

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Pitchwife

Now we don't know around which time in history the Hobbits branched off from the Big People, but I'm inclined to think that they weren't originally that much shorter than the average Man (maybe only a foot or so?) and only 'dwindled' to halfling size over time, possibly adapting to their semi-subterranean lifestyle. So Sauron needn't necessarily have made the mental connection between the hypothetical Proto-Hobbits used in Orc-breeding far back in prehistory and the contemporary midgets of the late Third Age.

Sauron needn't have been actively involved in the Orc-making project to have at least known where they came from. Since he made so much use of them himself, I'd expect him to know at least their basic history.

The First Age:
Sauron: "Hey Boss, what the Utumno are those things running around here? Is that the new servant race you've been talking about?"

Morgoth: "Yep. I captured a few _______ and tortured 'em for a while, and...here are they are."

Sauron: "Cool! Have you seen my Hummel figurines?"

Flash forward a few thousand years:

Sauron: "Hmm. This Gollum creature who had my Ring...I know I've seen something like him before. Let's see. He's not an Elf. Not a Man, and no Dwarf. He's not 15 feet tall, so I guess an Ent is out of the question. What's left? Ah! Those little Periannath worms 'ol Melkor used to make the Orcs!