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Historical Analysis
In the story Powhatan’s Speech to John Smith, there was a lot of historical events, these events created many conflicts between the Indians and the white settlers. Powhatan is upset that the white settlers came into Indian territory, used the Indians, and also tried to take their land. The Indians were being too nice to the white settlers. I think that it was wrong of what the English settlers tried to do to the Indians. From 1547-1618, Powhatan made a plea for peace to John Smith who was the leader of the English settlers at Jamestown. That plea for peace admonished John Smith of what could happen to him. John Smith arrived with other English settlers in 1607. John Smith was hoping to come in to conquer new land for his nation. Powhatan and the Indians provided them with food, clothing, and other things that the English settlers wanted. The turning point when all the conflict started was when the English settlers came in with swords and guns to invade the Indians, that was where the English settlers went wrong. John Smith and the other English settlers clearly didn't care about the Indians all they really wanted was more land for their nation. From the Indians point of view it was injustice of what the English settlers did to them.
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Also, the Algonquian tribe tried to run the settlers off by raiding their settlement and pilfered supplies like gunpowder and other tools. However in 1607, the native hunters captured John Smith. When they captured him the Indians were trying to have him killed. When they were about to kill him, Powhatan’s daughter Pocahontas jumped on top of him and salvaged him, so if they wanted to kill him they would have to kill her. The Indians didn't want to kill Pocahontas of course because she was one of them. So basically an eleven year old Indian girl was responsible for John Smith’s
...y robbing the Indians of their land, the English upset and hurt many of the Native American tribes, which lead to many disputes over ownership of the land.
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.
The book started out with a bloody massacre at Mary Ingles Virginia settlement in 1755. Mary Ingles was pregnant with her third child and twenty-four years of age when the Shawnee Indians came and kidnapped her, her two sons, her sister-in-law, and her neighbor. The journey to the Shawnee village lasted five weeks in the Virginia wilderness, and once the captives arrived at the village they were divided up amongst the Shawnee Indians, leaving Mary alone with no hope but to go home and make a new family with her husband Will Ingles. While in the village of the Shawnee Mary was able to make friends with an elderly Dutch woman who was a captive too, this elderly woman was to be Mary’s companion through the scary wilderness home. Mary and the old Dutch woman were unable to swim but knew that the Ohio River would lead them back home to freedom so they decided to make an escape from the heathen Indians and return home to civilization, not knowing the hardships that would fall on them at the beginning of winter. To start the journey the women had two blankets, one tomahawk, and the clothes that were on their backs, after a week into the trip th...
...4). By the 1760s, the whites and the Indians began “…asserting their…group solidarity” (10). This divided the two communities as they identified with each other and were willing to stand and defend their own group if needed. They felt that the boundaries between each other had to be further strengthened in order for them to fully disassociate from each other. The “savage” label was used to describe the Natives, which gave people a scapegoat to attack the Indians unprovoked. For example, there was an attack on a group of Natives by a group Scottish and Irish men called the Paxton Boys, which added to the tensions. Many reasons contributed to ill will between the Indians and whites, but Merritt believes that the main factor was race. This reading showed the hostility between the two groups, which ultimately led to a nasty and bloody breaking apart a few years later.
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
Virginia Company sent a small convoy of vessels to the mid-Atlantic region, where they built a fort named Jamestown in honor of James I, the king. It was in 1607, and that became the first permanent English settlement in North America. (Faragher, John M. Out of Many: A History of the American People. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2004. Print) The Chesapeake villages became united and formed the Powhatan Confederacy. The chief led it, named Wahunsonacook or “King Powhatan.” He believed that the Europeans were trouble, but enjoyed the great quantity of supplies that came from across the sea.
John Smith explains the hardships of the voyage in the “General History of Virginia” he and others endured. While finally landing on land and discovering the head of the Chickahamania River, The colony endured Disease, severe weather, Native American attacks, and starvation all threatened to destroy the colony. Smith talks about his accomplishments of being a “good leader” and how he helped in many ways. John Smith was captured by the Native Americans and brought back to the camp. Within an hour, the Native Americans prepared to shoot him, but the Native Americans done as Chief Powhatan ordered and brought stones to beat Smiths brains out. John Smith gave an ivory double compass to the Chief of Powhatan. The Native Americans marveled at the parts of the compass. After the Native Americans admired the compass for an hour Chief Powhatan held...
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 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.
During the second half of the 17th century, Indian-White relations were extremely volatile. The White population was booming and many wanted to claim a piece of the new land as their own. The Whites also felt that they were superior and had a sense of entitlement. They believed that the land and resources were for the taking, without much regard for the Indians. Along with taking the land, the Whites felt that the Indians should conform to their way of life and beliefs. This increased tension between the Whites and Indians- with increased instances of violence, attacks, and disputes.
The General History of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles by John Smith, portrays the enormous troubles the settlers were faced with by the Native Americans. He explains how he was captured by Indians and also saved by a young Native American girl, Pocahontas. He vividly describes the ceremonies and rituals of the Natives performed before his execution. However, the execution never occurred due to the tremendous mercy showed by the king’s daughter who blanketed John Smith’s body her own. Pocahontas went on to persuade the Native Americans to help the settlers by giving them food and other necessities. Despite her efforts to reach peaceful grounds, her people were still bitter and planned an attacks on the colony. Nevertheless, Pocahontas saved them once again by warning the settlers of attacks. Pocahontas went on to marry an Englishman and traveled to England. She resembled the prosperity and good that was to be found in an untamed land.
One way that the Natives resisted Europeans who tried to take their land was by fighting back. Many battles, generally known as “Indian Wars”, were fought over land. Some of these battles included, The Pequot War, and King Phillip’s War. King Phillip’s war began in 1675. During this war, a Native tribe, known as the Wampanoags, rose up to resist English invasions into their lands. “For three years, the natives, well organized and armed with guns, terrorized a sting of Massachusetts towns, destroying twenty of them and causing the deaths of as many as a thousand people” (American History, page 48). The Pequot War, was the first major conflict between the Natives and the Europeans. War broke out in 1637, because of friction over land. “English settlers allied with the Mohegan and Narragansett Indians (who were also rivals of the Pequots). The greatest savagery in the conflict was the work of the English” (American History, page 48). They set their stronghold on fire and killed hundreds of Indians inside. Those who survived were hunted down, captured, and sold as slaves. The Pequot tribe was almost completely wiped out after this battle. The Europeans won both of these battles, but it did not end the tension. There were other indian tribes who could attack English
The Pequots were a warlike tribe of Indians who attempted to covertly gain control of all the Indians in the New England territory. Obviously, they posed quite a problem for the colonists. Initially, they attempted to compromise with a peace treaty. The Indian tribe accepted the treaty that put in place guidelines that had to be met. Of course, it wasn't long afterwards, that said tribe starting assaulting the pilgrims. The Pequot tribe killed two important figures at the time and slaughtered the armed expedition sent out by the (Massachusetts Bay Colony) in response to these assassinations. Furthermore, the Pequot's sought to convince the Narragansetts to attack the pilgrims. Thus, the colonists didn't have any choice but to take up arms and defend their women and
When the English landed in Jamestown in 1607, the dominant tribe of the area was the Powhatan (which the English settlers named after the leader of the tribe, Powhatan). At first meeting, the Powhatan considered the settlers as allies, who may be able to aid them in their struggle for land and power over the other tribes in the area. These relations strained when starving settlers started to take food from the Native Americans. In 1610, any notion of alliance between the Powhatan and the Virginia settlers was immediately crushed when Lord De La Warr arrived with a declaration of war against all Indians in the Jamestown area. De La Warr used his "Irish Tactics" of burning houses and crops and taking prisoners to destroy the Native Americans in what was known as the First Anglo-Powhatan war. A peace treaty was signed, but lasted only eight years. The Powhatan killed 347 settlers, which lead to the Virginia Company to give orders for "a perpetual war without peace or truce." Although the Powhatan made one more attempt at destroying the Virginians, they were defeated again in the Second Anglo-Powhatan war. The peace treaty of 1646 eliminated all chance of the Powhatan coexisting with the Virginia settlers. The treaty also banished the Indians from their native lands, which lay the president for what was later known as a reservation. After this the number of Native Americans in Virginia dwindled to a low 10% of the population.
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.