An Analysis Of James Merrell's Essay 'The Indians New World'

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European explorers came to North America in the 1500s as they claim as the “New World.” The Europeans thought it was an entirely new land but this “New World” for Europeans was indeed a very old world for the diverse people they met in North America known as Native Americans. There was a mix of positive and negative interactions between The Europeans and Native Americans. Native Americans would originally consider the settlers to be partners or associates, than as time passed, they engaged in wars with them in an attempt, struggle for control of the land which they had no concept of land ownership. The relationship was peaceful at first between them until it ultimately became brutal due to consistent wars and disagreements. This included …show more content…

In the essay, “The Indians’ New World,” Merrell argues that “the experience of natives was more closely akin to that of immigrants and slaves, and the idea of a encounter between words can—indeed, must—include the aboriginal inhabitants of America” (Merrell). Merrell is pointing out that The Europeans always left out The Natives when it came to telling the others about the finding of the North America and this is because of their failure to fit into the imaginary story of the New World. The so called “New World” that The Europeans found was not new but very old. Often, Europeans believed that they were preferable and beyond to the “New World” that drove indians faith, hope, and culture out the door. Merrell also explains how the Indians owned the land first but abruptly, it was converted into a world that was unusual to them when The Europeans arrived. The world was considered new to the Indians because they were exposed, unprotected from the diseases. The author does give a thorough picture of the interactions between them. At first I was just skimming through the essay and didn’t really understand what was going on until I read it the second

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