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.
First about direct aspect, Europeans wanted the Natives work as slaves for them to discover gold, but they never treat them as human beings. Europeans enslaved Natives brutally, “They ordered all persons fourteen years or older to collect a certain quantity of gold every three months. When they brought it, they were given copper tokens to hang around their necks. Indians found without a copper token had their hand cut off and bled to death.” (Howard Zinn, 4). Indirect factor related to the first encounter and led to devastating result. The most noticeable indirect factor is the “Epidemics”, which is caused by First Encounter, because “during the mid-sixteenth century, Spanish invaders introduced epidemics into American southwest” (Alan Taylor, American Colonies,1). Th “Epidemics” do result in a huge disaster for Natives: “In any given local, the first wave of epidemics afflicted almost every Indian. Within a decade of contact, about half the natives died from the new diseases. After about fifty years of contact, successive epidemics reduced a native group to about a tenth of its precontract numbers. Some especially ravaged peoples lost their autonomous identity, as the few survivors joined a neighboring group” (Alan Taylor, American Colonies, 2). These two direct and indirect factors clearly show the devastating result
In the 1580’s the English settlers feared the Native Americans because the land was new and unknown to them. They did not understand the ways of the Native Americans and feared them. From the settler’s perspective they needed to claim and posses land in order to feel safe. Many English settlers had read articles about the Native Americans prior to there journey to the Americas. The French and Spanish had portrayed the Native Americans as “Indians”. Christopher Columbus wrote that the Native Arawak Indians he encountered as “loving people without covetousness”. Others early explorers also wrote...
...ard expansion, a person finds information about the essence of American culture. Though the English colonists came to America expecting to renew their lives through the Puritan faith, they instead found their faith and, indeed, their very society in danger from the heathen Indian presence in the surrounding wilderness. But while the Indians threatened the core of the colonials’ lives, the presence of the colonists and their westerly expansion threatened the lives and land that the Indians had held for many years. American history thus began in violence that has no single source, but rather is derived from the Puritans and Indians both fighting for and protecting their mutual interests and desires.
From 1670 to 1770, the New World was colonized by different racial groups from Europe who lived together heterogeneously which led the New World to become “modern” and uniquely “American”. In 1670, many Europeans, like the Dutch, French, Irish, Scottish, English and German colonists, came to the New World either to break away from European traditions or to fulfill their desire for adventure. Butler wrote that the colonists all lived heterogeneously and brought their own cultures and religions to the New World to create diversity, which helped contribute America to become “modern”.
People know about the conflict between the Indian's cultures and the settler's cultures during the westward expansion. Many people know the fierce battles and melees between the Indians and the settlers that were born from this cultural conflict. In spite of this, many people may not know about the systematic and deliberate means employed by the U.S. government to permanently rid their new land of the Indians who had lived their own lives peacefully for many years. There are many strong and chilling reasons and causes as to why the settlers started all of this perplexity in the first place. There was also a very strong and threatening impact on the Native Americans through the schooling that stained the past and futures of Native Americans not only with blood but also with emotion. It was all a slow and painful plan of the "white man" to hopefully get rid of the Indian culture, forever. The Native American schools were created in an attempt to destroy the Native American way of life, their culture, beliefs and tradi...
The Native Americans were the earliest and only settlers in the North American continents for more than thousands of years. Like their European counterparts, the English colonists justified the taking of their territories was because the natives were not entitled to the land because they lacked a work ethic in which shows that the colonists did not understand the Native Americans system of work and ownership of property. They believed the “Indians seemed to lack everything the English identified as civilized” (Takaki, Pg. 33). Because the settlers were living far away from civilizations, to ensure that they were civilized people, the settlers had negative images of the Native Americans so that they would not be influenced and live like the how the natives do, ensuring that these groups are savages who are uncivilized. Many began to believe this was God’s plans for them to civilize the country in which many would push westward and drive the Indians out to promote civilization and progress. While the United States was still in its early stages of development,
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.
Throughout the fifteenth and sixteenth century there was a great expansion into the European exploration and colonization of North America. Many Europeans sought to change their lives in the new world. Here, they could start new life, and live free of the religious persecution occurring in Europe. The British were one of the main Europeans groups whom settled and colonized North America. The British and Native tribes had a very unique relationship that was at times civil and mutually beneficial but often, there were times where the British colonization had many negative effects on native tribes such as war, annexation of land and infecting native tribes with old world diseases they had not yet seen.
When the European and Spanish Empire came to America to seek land, they brought more than just diseases, people, and conflicts. Their hunger for wealth and power forced them to set sail in search of new land that they can call their own. Although they believed to have discovered a ‘New World’, they discovered a land that was already dominated by the Native Americans. Colonialism brought great trauma which heavily impacted the foundation of the culture and events that took place during this time.
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
As America moved westward the Indians had finally run out of places to live. The Indians were moved to reservations, and the parents were convinced that their kids could develop better lives by abiding and living as a white American in the east. After they reached the east they were looked upon as savages, uncivilized and dirty. As they walked through a town they were looked upon as being the conquered and mocked. Children at the sight of them had much fear. People did not understand the culture of the Indians.
Conflicts between the Native American Indians and English settlers was inevitable. James Axtell wrote the article, “After Columbus,” which explains the Powhatan Empire’s conflicts and wars with the English settlers in Virginia. Virginia Dejohn Anderson wrote, “King Philip’s Herds: Indians, Colonists, and the Problem of Livestock in Early New England,” which illustrates the issue of English customs, such as livestock, which was new and alien to the Native Americans. William L. Ramsey’s article, “’Something Cloudy in Their Looks’: The Origins of the Yamasee War Reconsidered,” was about the cultural and political differences between the Native Americans and the English settlers. The one thing these three articles have in common is that they consist of conflicts and wars between the Native Americans and English settlers and how it was inevitable for both sides due to two opposite cultures colliding without compromise.
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 “Indian Problem” emerged as an issue for white settlers who perceived Indians as savages, as a sub-human race. Because white settlers viewed Indians this way, they thought it was okay to use excessive military force. Through 19th century, this military force was used to conquer Indians and move them from their native lands and resettle them. Sicknesses that the white settlers had brought with them devastated the Indian population because Indians had not encountered these illnesses before, and they had no natural immunity to them. Additionally, white-Indian relations seem as though they were fragile from the start, perhaps with both sides over-reacting at times. Leaders of the new English colonies often used aggression and murder to try to intimidate the Indians into submission, and into giving food to the English. Angered at this treatment, Indians began fighting back, and killing, too. In some instances, the white settlers raided and stole food from the Indians. This worsened the already fractured relations between the two groups. Unprovoked attacks and kidnaping alternated with friendship and trade. From their experiences, Indians realized that these early Europeans were powerful and dangerous people who could not be trusted. However, the Indians had the advantage of sheer numbers and an understanding of the land. For the English, their experiences strengthened their idea that they were superior to these “savages” in many ways, including culture, technology, societal organization and religion.