The Native American peoples and the English settlers viewed each other differently, and these different interpretations shaped their perspectives on each other’s way of living. The English viewed Native Americans as a lesser because they did not abide to their religion. The differences that separated them were things such as religion, lifestyles, and political structure. Because of their cultural differences, the gender roles varied in each settlement. Also, since Native American’s viewed the English settlers as a source of trade and way of improving social status within their tribe, once their relationship with the settlers became violent the natives could not sustain a normal way of living. The clash of different cultures shaped one another …show more content…
From the very beginning the English wanted to convert the Native American’s to Christianity. English settlers were very towards them as they wanted to persuade the natives that this was the best choice for their tribe. For example, in Declaration of the State, Waterhouse explains that, “our God was a good God, much better than theirs, in that he had with so many good things above them endowed us”. Since the time they were born, the English were taught one way and this way was the religion of Christianity. It was their mission to carry out what they’ve been taught and to influence Natives that their God was the only one. At this point in time, the English were desperate and any amount of people to convert to Christianity would benefit the English. Unfamiliar with the land they lived on, they turned to the Natives for help in finding food and resources. Also, Native Americans had a more animalistic way of religion, believing in more than one god. This was a problem for the English colonists because Natives could not only rely on one god. William Strachey writes in the Historie of Travaile into Virginia Britania, “(I believe) the impression of the Divine nature, and however these have not porcion of the knowing blessed Christian spirit.” Colonists looked upon the Natives as savages because they do not know the Christian way. Another difference from Native Americans and Colonists was that Native Americans believed the land belonged to everyone in common and not individual private ownership as the colonists
The English took their land and disrupted their traditional systems of trade and agriculture. As a result, the power of native religious leaders was corrupted. The Indians we...
Colonists were extremely adamant for the most part about Christianity being the one true religion. Many set out to convert the Native Americans. They believed that the Native Americans were savages for their differences in spirituality. Fear began to build in the settlers as they believed that the Native Americans where a religion less evil people. These foreign travelers whom have already commandeered their home are now attempting to force them to give up their own religion and overall worldview and adopt Christianity. The colonists treated them as if they are inferior simply on the premise of difference in religion thus forming the assumption that they had none. How could that possibly end well for either group
Many things were influenced when the Native Americans and Europeans encountered one another for the first time. There views on humankind’s relationship to nature, the relationship of men and women to each other, and the relationship between different groups of human beings were influenced. They were influenced by the stories that the Native Americans passed down from generation to generation, the story that the Europeans believed from the Bible, and the views of Aristotle.
There are consistent patterns or themes regarding Native American world views and the differentiation of cultural elements and society. Native Americans retained control of institutional and cultural orders against the assimilation effort because all aspects of Native American societies are interrelated, guided by the broader cultural world views. Each cultural or institutional element is, in fact, overlapped with other elements, so change in one element inevitably affects the broader cultural and social complex. While adopting to a new environment and small changes was possible in the West, where social and cultural elements are separate from each other, Native Americans were faced with conflicts and a potential, large disruption of the existing social orders.
America was found by European explorers, and as they began to explore they found the native people of these new lands. The Europeans began to influence the Native Americans by turning them into Christians and educating them. Although some agreed to be influenced, others didn't causing the relationship between the Native Americans and Europeans to be lopsided, unequal, and untrusting.
Many of England’s problems could be solved in America, and so colonization began. When the earliest settlers came, England had the responsibility to continue the Protestant Church, and prevent the Catholic Church from converting the entire Native American population of North America (Morison, p.105) A potential Protestant refuge could be based there in the threat of civil wars or a change of religion.
Although the United States was fighting to become a serious power in the world, trying the make a name for itself, there were demanding issues with the natives over land. Even though in the early 1800s the Native Americans had begun to adapt to the American culture, with tribes dressing like the Europeans and even learning English, there were still disputes over race and which was higher. With Tecumseh’s Letter to William Henry Harrison and John Ross’s Our Hearts Are Sickened, the relationships between these people can be evaluated deeper.
In many situations, introducing a new party into a land that was formerly inhabited and assimilated by another party with completely different societal, political and cultural values results in a lengthy period of transition and conflict due to misunderstanding. Colonization and the interactions between colonists and Indians during the early stages of settlement in the New World was certainly no exception. Although European societies and political structures were hierarchical and left less to the impoverished members of society, Indian societies and political structures were not as patriarchal and featured communal cooperation. Culturally speaking, Europeans were more fragmented and hierarchical but less ritualistic in religious practices than were Indians. With these innumerable differences and struggles to communicate with not only the European settlers but also with each other, it is no surprise that the Indians fell at the hands of the English in King Philip’s War.
The American version of history blames the Native people for their ‘savage ' nature, for their failure to adhere to the ‘civilized norms ' of property ownership and individual rights that Christian people hold, and for their ‘brutality ' in defending themselves against the onslaught of non-Indian settlers. The message to Native people is simple: "If only you had been more like us, things might have been different for you.”
Pages one to sixty- nine in Indian From The Inside: Native American Philosophy and Cultural Renewal by Dennis McPherson and J. Douglas Rabb, provides the beginning of an in-depth analysis of Native American cultural philosophy. It also states the ways in which western perspective has played a role in our understanding of Native American culture and similarities between Western culture and Native American culture. The section of reading can be divided into three lenses. The first section focus is on the theoretical understanding of self in respect to the space around us. The second section provides a historical background into the relationship between Native Americans and British colonial power. The last section focus is on the affiliation of otherworldliness that exist between
In this way the religion practiced by the Native Americans was taken as contradictions to Christianity. The natives were informed that Christianity was designed to be an eternal rule of significance and a means from which they could use to return to God from their religions that had deviated (Eliot par. 3). Through sermons given by Whitfield, the minds of the natives were engaged in religion and making religion the subject of most of their discussions. They embraced all the opportunities to hear what was been taught on Christianity. The Christian revivals were attended by the young and old alike (Edwards par.
Many colonist viewed the Native Americans as spawn of the devil. In Thomas Morton’s writing he said “if we do not judge amiss of these savages in accounting them witches,… some correspondence they have with the Devil out of all doubt.” (Foner 5) An example of historical content is the Metacom’s War by the year of 1675. The Indians in southern New England didn’t like the new settlers pushing on new religion and harsh treatment. Some of the Indians “converted to Christianity, living in protected ‘praying towns.’” (Jones, Wood, Borstelmann, May, and Ruiz 68) The Indians were ok with the conditions until “a white man shot and wounded a Native American.” (Jones, Wood, Borstelmann, May, and Ruiz 69) Colonist began to even distrust the Indians that were willing to convert to Christianity and moved their “praying towns” to “Deer Island in Boston Harbor” (Jones, Wood, Borstelmann, May, and Ruiz 69) This historical content shows that the colonist didn’t truly trust the Indians even when they were of the same religion, like Morton’s writing said “they have with the Devil out of all doubt” (Foner
People have been living in America for countless years, even before Europeans had discovered and populated it. These people, named Native Americans or American Indians, have a unique and singular culture and lifestyle unlike any other. Native Americans were divided into several groups or tribes. Each one tribe developed an own language, housing, clothing, and other cultural aspects. As we take a look into their society’s customs we can learn additional information about the lives of these indigenous people of the United States.
Though there were religious concerns that contributed to the settling of British North America, the economic concerns outweighed the notable religious concerns. A religious concern that played a role in British colonization was that the British wanted to have the Indians of North America converted to Protestant Christianity (Boorstin et al. 34). In addition, specific groups that were seeking religious freedom used the British colonizing as a venue to achieve this objective. Such groups included the Puritan separatists who had begun to lose their freedoms in England, and thus they became colonists in New England.
During the journey to the New World, many Europeans went to explore this unknown place. They often see the Native Americans as savages, however the Natives are much different than they thought. In each text, La Relacion, Plymouth Plantation and Iroquois Constitution, the Native Americans have many portrayals to the travelers during their journeys in the New World. With the Native Americans different views they are not as seen as savages. In early Native American literature, Native Americans are peacemakers, often making peace with one another, they are also helpful to the ones in need, and compassionate, having sympathy to the ones who are in pain.