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Native American relationships with colonists
Relations with Native Americans and colonists
Relations with Native Americans and colonists
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What happens when two societies driven by the same goal come face to face? In early seventeenth century Virginia, the English colonists arrived in North America where they began interacting with a new people know as the Powhatan Indians. Both sides saw the benefits that an alliance with one another could have. The English arrived with a large array of technology, for example guns and metal tools, while the natives had an established center of operation with a thriving people and vast knowledge of the land. This alliance would work well but both societies had ulterior motives that were driving their interactions. In this paper, I plan to prove that Powhatan’s quest for an empire was interrupted by the arrival of the English which fueled distrust and hatred among the two …show more content…
The best example of this is the way that Werowocomoco, or Powhatan’s capital, was taken control of. Originally known as Payankatank, Smith describes how it became Werowocomoco, “First he sent diverse of his men as to lodge amongst them that night, then the Abuscadoes environed all their houses, and at the hour appointed, they all fell to the spoil, twenty four men they slew.” This description of the attack on Payankatank shows us the way that many of the tribes were captured. It is a planned, organized attack that allows Powhatan’s raiders to swiftly move in and devastate the people who are living there. This shows how Powhatan was building an empire through force and diplomacy. Powhatan only killed and captured what was necessary to gain control of the tribe and as he progressed and grew he began to collect and receive gifts from all the people under his command. Now, there must be an understanding of what the original English colonist were like and why there was a level of distrust among the two
To many of the English colonists, any land that was granted to them in a charter by the English Crown was theirs’, with no consideration for the natives that had already owned the land. This belittlement of Indians caused great problems for the English later on, for the natives did not care about what the Crown granted the colonists for it was not theirs’ to grant in the first place. The theory of European superiority over the Native Americans caused for any differences in the way the cultures interacted, as well as amazing social unrest between the two cultures.
Pocahontas Powhatan Opechancanough, tells the story of the interactions between the Jamestown settlers and the Powhatan Indians, and how the European arrival changed the lives of the natives. the book focuses on the three Indians it is titled for and tries to explain the story of Jamestown through a less Anglo-biased view. At many times the book contradicts the story most people know of the Jamestown settlement and the major players involved. Throughout the book, author Helen Rountree goes to great lengths to tell the whole story truthfully, and when she can't give the whole story she makes it clear as to what is accepted to be true.
In Jamestown, the settlers had to deal with the Powhatan Indians. The relationships with them were unstable. John Smith, whom was the leader of Jamestown, was captured by these Indians while he was on a little trip with some of his men. As he left two of his men, he came back to find them dead and himself surrounded by two hundred members of the tribe, finding himself being captured. “Six or seven weeks those barbarians kept him prisoner…” 87). After this event, the relationship only grew worse and there was constant fighting between the settlers and Indians. The Indians practiced many methods in capturing settlers such as “scalping” and other dreadful techniques. The settlers did many negative practices also which is the reason they fought so many wars and battles against each other. Later on, the Indians killed the English for their weapons that were rare to them. In contrast to the Plymouth colony, these settlers dealt with the Pequot Indians and the relations were much more peaceful for a certain time frame. At one point, one Indian was brave enough to approach them and spoke to them (in broken English). He taught them the ways of the land, and developed a peace with the man. The settlers from the Plymouth colony learned many ways to grow food from these Indians. “He directed them how to set their corn, where to take fish and to procure other commodities, and was also their
Powhatan questions why the colonist is not willing to live in peace and instead take by force. During his viewpoint, Powhatan shows the effects of the colonist getting along and having cooperation with the natives. Which is no violence, sharing of resources, the abundance of supplies, safety, rest, and enjoyment of life? Powhatan compares how life would be if they live in peace than to live with conflict. I am not so simple as not to know that it is better to eat good meat, lie well, and sleep quietly with my women and children; to laugh and be merry with the English, and, being their friend, to have copper, hatchets, and whatever else I want, than to fly from all, to lie cold in the woods, feed on acorns, roots and such trash, and to be so hunted that I cannot rest, eat, or sleep. Chief Powhatan states, “I, therefore, exhort you to peaceable councils.” In addition, he insists that the guns and swords be removed and sent away indicating he seeks a peaceful relationship between the two
When the colonists came to America, they classified the Native Americans as complete brutal savages. But was that a correct assumption? The Native Americans lived a life that was a complete opposite from the way that the Europeans were accustomed to. The Native Americans believed that the land was shared by everyone and not one person could own it. The Native Americans also had a polytheistic religion which completely went against the beliefs of the colonists. The colonists viewed the Native Americans as savages and barbarians because their ways of living were different.
When it comes down to comparing and contrasting Native American and Spanish civilization, there is actually a variety of things that make each one stand out from one another. When looking into both the Natives and the Spanish there was more to be found different then there was to be similar in any way. Both societies struggled, but one did have more of an advantage which is why there was such conflict between the two.
The New England colonists were in constant contact with Indians since their arrival. Conflict was unavoidable between the two polar opposite cultures. The colonists sought to convert the Indians into Christians and attempt to civilize the "barbarians." Also, the expansion of colonies into Indian Territory was a major concern among the Indian tribes. King Phillip's War was the result of the ongoing tensions between the two cultures. Both the colonists and the Indians grew increasingly suspicious of each other eventually leading to war.
The Seven Years War was the first international conflict dealing with all major world powers. The majority of the issue was due to “real estate” speculation and territories surrounding the Ohio Valley (Ohio Valley, 156). Native American’s used furs and traded goods to play each power against each other ultimately resulting in war. The powers that were involved in the war fought for the support of the Native Americans in order to gain favorable lands and goods and the upper hand above the other powers. Ultimately, Native Americans were the most influential power during the war, and the relations held with them not only had affect during the war, but also had influence and led to post war struggles.
The clash between the Native Americans and the colonists did not start off tumultuous. In the early days of the exploration and settlement of the New World they lived in peace. The Indians taught them how to farm and live off the land. In a strange land the colonists made an ally. However, the subsequent turn of events was inevitable. Perhaps the chaos that ensued could have been postponed but there was never going to be a peaceful cohabitation between the colonists and the indigenous people. There were so many vast differences between the religious views and ultimate goals of the two groups. The Native Americans had established trade relationships with various tribes, they had their own religions, and their way of life was a stark contrast to that of the colonists. The worldview of the respective peoples was foreign to the other and the idea of a holistic and unbiased approach to the life of others was foreign.
The natives were weary of the English people but Powhatans decided to trust them and help them to establish a good relationship. Now the Powhatans knew how to grow and harvest crops and they were very good at agriculture. They were willing to give the English food in trade for goods, but this all changed when the English had raided the sacred temple and stole the offerings of food because they were starving. Now Powhatan was very disappointed and still wanted to have a good relationship with the outsiders so he wrote a letter to John Smith. The letter was Powhatan addressing that he is very shocked in after everything they did to help John Smith 's people that they would have the audacity to “come to destroy my Country, so much frightened all my people”, he was also referring to the fact that John Smith did come to talk about the raid to Powhatan but “ broke Powhatan political protocols by bringing an armed escort of Virginia soldiers.”
Native Americans and Europeans were the begging of the new world. Their differences are more than similarities, whether by the religion, culture, race, and gender. Native Americans and European spoke two different languages, and lived in two different ways. The reason why Native Americans were called Indians, because when Columbus landed in America he thought that he was in India, so he called them Indians. Native American were nomadic people, some of them were hunter and some were farmers. Europeans were much more developed than Native Americans, and had more skills. Also, there were differences in holding positions between Native American women and European women. The cultural differences led to a bloody bottle
As white settlers poured across the mountains, the Cherokee tried once again to compensate themselves with territory taken by war with a neighboring tribe. This time their intended victim was the Chickasaw, but this was a mistake. Anyone who tried to take something from the Chickasaw regretted it, if he survived. After eleven years of sporadic warfare ended with a major defeat at Chickasaw Oldfields (1769), the Cherokee gave up and began to explore the possibility of new alliances to resist the whites. Both the Cherokee and Creek attended the 1770 and 1771 meetings with the Ohio tribes at Sciota but did not participate in Lord Dunnmore's War (1773-74) because the disputed territory was not theirs. On the eve of the American Revolution, the British government scrambled to appease the colonists and negotiate treaties with the Cherokee ceding land already taken from them by white settlers. To this end, all means, including outright bribery and extortion, were employed: Lochaber Treaty (1770); and the Augusta Treaty (1773) ceding 2 million acres in Georgia to pay for debts to white traders. For the same reasons as the Iroquois cession of Ohio in 1768, the Cherokee tried to protect their homeland from white settlement by selling land they did not really control. In the Watonga Treaty (1774) and the Overhill Cherokee Treaty (Sycamore Shoals) (1775), they sold all of eastern and central Kentucky to the Transylvania Land Company (Henderson Purchase).
During the numerous years of colonization, the relationship between the English settlers and the Native Americans of the area was usually the same. Native Americans would initially consider the settlers to be allies, then as time passed, they would be engaged in wars with them in a struggle for control of the land. This process of friendship to enemies seemed to be the basic pattern in the majority of the colonies.
The Europeans invaded America with every intention of occupying the land, the bountiful natural resources as well as the complete domination of the native people. The Europeans desire for the land created an explosive situation for the native peoples as they witnessed their land and right to freedom being stripped from them. They often found themselves having to choose sides of which to pledge their allegiance to. The Europeans depended upon Indian allies to secure the land and their dominance as well as trade relations with the Indians. The Indians were in competition with one another for European trade causing conflict among the different tribes altering the relationships where friends became enemies and vice versa (Calloway, 2012, p. 163). These relationships often became embittered and broke into bloody brawls where it involved, "Indian warriors fighting on both sides, alongside the European forces as well as against European forces invad...
Tension and disputes are sometimes resolved by force but more often by negotiation or treaties. On the other hand, the Natives were described as strong and very innocent creatures awaiting the first opportunity to be christianized. The Indians were called the “Noble Savages” by the settlers because they were cooperative people, but sometimes, after having a few conflicts with them, they seem to behave like animals. We should apprehend that the encounter with the settlers really amazed the natives, they were only used to interacting with people from their own race and surroundings and all of this was like a new discovery for them as well as for the white immigrants. The relations between the English and the Virginian Indians were somewhat strong in a few ways.