Compare And Contrast Europeans And Native Americans

Another area in which the Indians thrived was that of agriculture and their understanding of the earth. Europeans had little knowledge of agriculture, or chose not to use what they did have. Europe was in a state of agricultural depression. Most of the soil was completely exhausted due to overuse and general mistreatment of the land. Both activities which continued in America.

Indian civilizations in North America had not developed the scale, grandeur, or centralized organization of the Aztec and Inca to their south. North American Indians lacked the technologies Europeans had mastered, such as metal tools and machines, gunpowder, written languages, and the scientific knowledge necessary for long-distance navigation. They also lacked wheeled vehicles, since they had no domestic animals like horses or oxen to pull them. But, over time, Indian societies had perfected techniques of farming,

How did interactions between Europeans and Native Americans shape the way each group viewed their world? How did they see each other? How did each group expect to be treated? What influenced things in this manner? What events (if any) changed their views?

During the 16th and 17th centuries, when the Europeans started to come over to the new world, they discovered a society of Indians that was strikingly different to their own. To understand how different, one must first compare and contrast some of the very important differences between them, such as how the Europeans considered the Indians to be extremely primitive and basic, while, considering themselves civilized. The Europeans considered that they were model societies, and they thought that the Indians society and culture should be changed to be very similar to their own.

Native Americans and Europeans, specifically from England, had totally different social systems. These social systems were greatly affected by gender and the political economy. The Native Americans heavily emphasized reciprocity and the value of friendships, thus binding people together and creating lasting relationships. Europeans on the other hand were more focused on acts of trade and the free market economy. Since Europeans relied on a free market economy, owning land was a great way to contribute and show this. Land was very scarce and it showed others the amount of wealth and prestige one had. Since land in Europe was nowhere in sight, many people immigrated to North America in hopes to acquire land thus making them rich and move up in status. The class system was very much alive and defined in Europe. Men had all the power in the world because patriarchy prevailed during this time. However, the Native Americans had a completely different philosophy. Owning property or land never existed within this social system. The Natives did not value wealth or riches but rather friendships and respect. The biggest difference between the two groups was the focal points of the family. European families, towns, and governments revolved around men. Men dominated the household by controlling every aspect of the home and his wife. They represented their family and confined their wives at home. Native Americans had no social system but they greatly respected their female elders. It was

Before Europeans landed in the Americas, Native Americans lived within various complex societies across modern day North and South America. Two of the greatest empires that existed at the time were the Aztecs located in modern central Mexico or at the time it was called Mesoamerica and the Incas located in modern Peru, these societies were unique because they were ruled by kings, nobles and warriors whereas most North American Natives were ruled by chiefdoms. North American Native’s religion consisted of animist quality- a belief that the natural world had spiritual powers. They applied this belief to everyday life- praying to be exempt from disease, good crops, and plenty of food. Some societies amongst many North American Natives were matriarchal for example in the Iroquois society power and possessions were passed down through the female line of authority. Most women were gatherers and watched over the towns and men hunted for food for their families, maize agriculture was popular amongst the Mississippi Valley and Great Lakes Natives. The Native Americans traded extensively before the Europeans arrived, for example there were annual trade fairs between the Navajos, Apaches and the Pueblos. In 1521, Hernan Cortes arrived in Mesoamerica and quickly overcame the Aztecs, not only by force but also disease. Europeans unknowingly brought many diseases, such as smallpox, influenza and measles, that the Native Americans were never exposed to and it was one of the biggest killers of the Natives. At first, Europeans forced Native Americans to be slaves and work on their plantations but soon they were replaced with the African slave.

The first of all, native Americans were very smart and they knew how to survive in that different kinds of environment . Because they understand how to get foods from nature and they knew using traps to hunt animals

European families always put the males first, whereas African and Native American cultures saw the woman as the symbol of family bond. The children were said to be descended through the mother’s side more than the father. Religion was somewhat similar between the Native American and African cultures where the Europeans strongly disagreed with. Africans believed that there was a center power and Native Americans believed there were several deities, where they both believed that focused on nature and the its forces. They both believed that objects (usually scared to them) held sprites of the dad and spirits that can be evil or good. On the other hand, Europeans believed that there was a single deity with written scriptures which was all run through

There was a broad diversity on the view of the world between the Native Americans and Europeans. Together, they created the story of the clash of people, religion, ideas, and cultures.

The Europeans and the Native American’s come from very different customs and cultures. The colonists had very

During the 16th and 17th centuries, when the Europeans started to come over to the new world, they discovered a society of Indians that was strikingly different to their own. To understand how different, one must first compare and contrast some of the very important differences between them, such as how the Europeans considered the Indians to be extremely primitive and basic, while, considering themselves civilized. The Europeans considered that they were model societies, and they thought that the Indians society and culture should be changed to be very similar to their own.

Europeans lived a much more modern way of life than the primitive lifestyle of Native Americans. Europeans referred to themselves as “civilized” and regarded Native Americans as “savage,” “heathen,” or “barbarian.” Their interaction provoked by multiple differences led to misunderstanding and sometimes conflict. These two cultures, having been isolated from one another, exhibited an extensive variation in their ideals. Europeans and Native Americans maintained contradictory social, economic, and spiritual practices.

There were a large amount of Native Americans before the arrival of Europeans. Before reading 1491 by Charles C. Mann, I believed that there were only a small amount of people in the Americas. According to Henry F. Dobyns, the “Western Hemisphere held 90 to 112 million people”, which was more than the amount of people living in Europe.

The arrival of Europeans in America greatly disrupted the life of the Natives. The natives had their own culture in America with their own special beliefs. When Europeans arrived they tried to alter the way Native Americans lived their lives to resemble their way of living. The Natives did not respect this because they had previously built a lifestyle in America that they wish not to be transformed. The two cultures had different opinions about government, religion, land, and society. Due to the many differences between the Native and European people, it was unfeasible that there would be no conflicts between them.

The European colonists and the Native Americans of North America had very different views on nearly everything they encountered in their lives. Living in vastly different cultures lead both groups to have two extremely different outlooks on four main topics; religious beliefs, the environment, social relations, and slavery, differences which the colonists used to their advantage when conquering the peoples of the New World.