More handpicked essays just for you.
Native american conflicts in america
Colonists and native american conflicts
History of the Native American-white settler conflicts
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Native american conflicts in america
Pequot War
The Pequot War took place in 1637, and was between the Pequot tribe and the Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth colonies, and some of the Native Americans that had been in an alliance with the colonies. So, it was all of them against the Pequot tribe.
The English had settled in Plymouth and the Massachusetts Bay colonies in 1633. The settlement had started expanding into the Connecticut River Valley. The reason being so new immigrants from England could join the alliance. Although, this didn’t come without difficulties.
Difficulties between Pequot and colonies
There had been many conflicts between the colonists and Pequot Indians. There had been conflict over property, livestock destroying Indian crops, hunting, selling alcohol to the Indians, and untrustworthy traders. The colonists had believed that God gave them the right to settle the New territory. They also thought that the Indians, that they called savages, were to also believe that. The Indians over time had pretty much been at the mercy of the colonists due to these predicaments. They needed the colonists goods, but the
…show more content…
One of the problems was that in 1631, the tribe had been separated into two groups. There was the Pro-English and the Pro-Dutch factions. These problems didn’t get any better when the tribe's leader, Wopigwooit died that same year. The tribe had to nominate a new tribe leader. The runners up were Sassacus who was Pro-Dutch, and a Pro-English leader named Uncas. The winner was the the Pro-Dutch leader Sassacus. Unca and his followers joined Sassacus and his tribe for a while, but eventually left the tribe and formed another tribe known as the Mohegan tribe. The two tribes didn’t exactly get along with each other that well. The second event that had weakened the tribe was the smallpox outbreak, which had hit the tribe between 1633 and 1634. This outbreak had lead to almost half of the Peqout tribe
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.
On May 26, 1637, English settlers under Captain John Mason, and Narragansett and Mohegan allies set fire to a Pequot fort near the Mystic River. The fort only had two entrances, and anybody that tried to flee the fort was shot by awaiting enemies. The only Pequots that survived were those who had followed their sachem Sassacus in a raiding party outside the village. This attack on the fort almost entirely wiped out the Pequot population and resulted in them eventually losing the war. As a result of this the 1638 treaty of Hartford was signed, stating that all remaining Pequots were to be slaves, for the English and other tribes. This could have been the Start of slavery in the united states, and it could have also been an event that led to the enslaving of hundreds of thousands of Africans. This affected the United States greatly because, without this one battle, this country might not be as culturally diverse as it is today.
The colonist had introduced different types of work to the Creek tribes helping push them to a more civilized nature. Creeks adopted new farming techniques, new religions, and ways of life. Their relationship seemed to be good, but after the American Revolution the colonist learned more about the land the Creeks had owned. The push for migration into Creek territory became a major focus. The U.S. government tried to place laws and regulations of settlers into Creek territory, but these limits could only do so much. Creek territory was being overrun by settlers and sold illegally and there was not much they could do about it. Thus, the Creeks turned to fighting back, causing the relationship they had to crumble even more. Eventually the Creeks would be completely overrun and would be pushed out of their land once
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
Between 1763 and 1764, a group of Irish-Scots living in the backcountry of Pennsylvania encountered some conflicts with the neighboring Native American tribes. After the Seven Years’ War, a large number of immigrants rushed into the newly won land from the French. Soon, the population grew too great for the area and colonists were forced to move into the Indians land. The Natives were not a fan of this arrangement. Even though they felt this way, they never attacked the colonists. At the end of 1763, a group colonists attacked the Susquehannock for possible providing aid to the colonists´ enemies. At the end of the
The Pequot tribe inhabited most of Southeastern Connecticut when the colonists arrived to the new world. The Pequot were among the most feared tribes in Southern New England in relation to the colonists. Actually, the name “Pequot” is of Algonquian descent and translates to mean “destroyers”. As the Pequot were migrating westward continuous altercations with the colonists arose. One incident in particular led to the murder of an English man believed to be a traitor by the Pequot. John Endicott, of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, organized an attack against the Pequot in retaliation for the murder of the alleged traitor, John Oldham. On May 26, 1637 the Pequot were attacked by some colonists as well as the Pequot former tribesmen the Mohegan and Uncas. Nearly all the Pequot villages were burned and nearly all of the Pequot were killed. Some small groups did escape but most were found and either murdered or sold into slavery to other Indian nations as well as residents of the West Indies. After the “Pequot War”, the Pequot name was all but eliminated giving way to the Mohegan. The pride of the Pequot people and their immense hatred of the Mohegan tribe were very prevalent t...
...s to the English. This war was called the Pequot War and it was as deadly as the Powhatan-Indian war.
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.
The French and Indian war, also better known as the seven year war, was in 1754. It all began in the early spring of 1754 through 1763, when George Washington and some 160 Virginians and hand full of Mingo Indians started to move when they were concerned about the French military presence in their county. The battle first started when a Mingo chief, the Indian leader that was with George Washington in his campaign, led a unit of soldiers into a small French encampment in the woods. It was a very small battle but, the fight ended up with 14 French men wounded. While Washington was trying to get all the available information from their French dying commander to help their plans in the war, the Indians killed and scalped the remaining survivors including the commander.
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.
They needed to take care of the other group of people sharing the same pieces of land they lived on, the natives, and they needed to do so without causing costs for war. Negotiations between people were made in order to secure safe and guaranteed land for the Natives, which included the promise of “...boundary protection by federal troops against land-seeking settlers.” (Roark 226) In return for this the Creeks made a promise of their own “..to accept the United States alone as its trading partner, shutting out Spain.” (Roark 226) These promises were broken by both parties involved and new approaches had to be made, and America as a young nation continued to struggle with this issue and the correct way in dealing with it. However, American 's did not only have to worry about social and political issues with the Natives who shared their lands but also with other nations, France and Britain, who America wanted to work well with but were always at war it seemed. This issue with the two other countries constantly at War made work with either side very difficult for America and the American people had split opinions on how to deal with the situation, and split opinions on what country they should work with and support over the other. This disagreement among the American people on how to deal with the situation and what sides to take lead to many mistakes in dealing with both sides over
The French and Indian War likewise had enduring (and annihilating) impacts for the Native American tribes of North America. The British took reprisal against Native American countries that battled as an afterthought of the French by cutting off their supplies and afterward persuasively convincing the tribes to comply with the guidelines of the new motherland. Local Americans that had battled as an afterthought of the British with the comprehension that their collaboration would prompt an end to European infringement on their property were disagreeably astonished when a lot of people new pilgrims started to move in. Moreover, with the French vicinity gone, there was little to occupy the British government from centering its smothering consideration on whatever Native American tribes lay inside its grip. These components played into the multinational Indian uprising called "Pontiac's War" that emitted straightforwardly after the end of the French and Indian War. Before the French and Indian War broke out, the principle issue confronting the two pilgrim forces was division of the
In the early days of English settlement in the American colonies, the Indian-European relationship of each area was the determining factor in the survival of the newly established colonies. By working together and exchanging methods of food production and survival, an English colony could maintain its population and continue to support the arrival of new settlers. However, a colony that had trouble maintaining ties with their Indian neighbors had a tough time attracting settlers and adapting to their environment. The role of the Indian helping the white man in North America played an important part in the survival of the American colonies. In the Jamestown colony, very few people survived the disease and sickness which accompanied the low, swampy landscape. In their attempt to survive, they raided Indian villages in search of food and kidnap natives. Because they didn’t see Indians as equal in status, the Jamestown colony’s growth was limited. In fact, as the winter of 1609-1610 arrived, the colony was barricaded by Indians who killed off the wild animals of the woods, leaving virtually nothing for the settlers. The result: fewer than 60 people remained when the next English ship arrived the following year. The reason the Virginia settlement ended up surviving was because of the disease the white man exposed the natives to during contact. Weakening the Indian population was the only way the Jamestown population could grow. Things were a bit different in the northern colonies...
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.