Cultural Interactions between the British and the Native Characters

The seventeenth century was a prime era for early America, with many historic happenings. From the first British settlers invading on pre-claimed Native American land to continual friction between the two, the relationship between the two groups was unstable and dangerous. The Native Americans originally considered trying to become allies with the English, but as time went on, a war would emerge between Natives and the English settlers as to control the land. The English and Native American relationship changed drastically due to two main factors: English seeking religious freedom and economic prosperity.

In the 17th century, the Native Americans had been living peacefully in their own little world, until suddenly, the British come upon this land. Little did the British know, tribes of natives already lived there. The countenance of the Native Americans did not go over very well. There was tension between the English and the Native Americans. For example, they fought over the land of the “New World”. As expected, the Natives were fearful and angry when foreigners showed up and proposed new religious beliefs. The British and the Native Americans’ relationship changed due to those coming over for religious freedom and economic prosperity.

“India has never been a symbol of unity of Hindu-Muslim civilization. It is not possible for the British Government to create homogeneity between Hindu and Muslim culture and civilization as the two systems are distinctively opposed to each other. There is no way other than the partition of India”

Comparatively, ‘The kite runner’, explores the disparity created by differences in cultural backgrounds. This connection manifests in the relationship between Amir and Hassan, though Amir is true to Hassan in private, he feels the need to relate to Hassan according to the prevailing social hierarchy in public. “Afghanistan is the land of the Pashtun’s…not the flat-nosed Hazara’s, these people pollute our homeland. They dirty our blood.” The inclusive language at the beginning of the quote is aimed at the Pashtun’s whereas the negative connotations of ‘pollute’ and ‘dirty’ emphasise the subservient position of the Hazara’s in the Afghani society and thus losing their sense of placement within society. Amir has to face that fact he is disloyal to his relationship with Hassan and begins personal growth. “He’s my servant! Had I really though that?” “Everywhere I turned I saw signs of his loyalty, his goddamn unwavering loyalty.” the absence of conjunction emphasises his thorough regrets that act as a barrier preventing him from

Beginning in the sixteenth century, Europeans made the voyage to a “new world” in order to achieve dreams of opportunity and riches. In this other world the Europeans came upon another people, which naturally led to a cultural exchange between different groups of people. Although we commonly refer to European and Indian relations as being between just two very different groups of people, it is important to recognize this is not entirely true. Although the settlers of the new world are singularly referred to as Europeans, each group of people came from a different nation and with different motives and expectations of the new world. Similarly, the Indians were neither a united group nor necessarily friendly with each other. Due to the

Throughout the course of history there have been numerous accounts regarding Native American and European interaction. From first contact to Indian removal, the interaction was somewhat of a roller coaster ride, leading from times of peace to mini wars and rebellions staged by the Native American tribes. The first part of this essay will briefly discuss the pre-Columbian Indian civilizations in North America and provide simple awareness of their cultures, while the second part of this essay will explore all major Native American contact leading up to, and through, the American Revolution while emphasizing the impact of Spanish, French, and English explorers and colonies on Native American culture and vice versa. The third, and final, part of this essay will explore Native American interaction after the American Revolution with emphasis on westward expansion and the Jacksonian Era leading into Indian removal. Furthermore, this essay will attempt to provide insight into aspects of Native American/European interaction that are often ignored such as: gender relations between European men and Native American women, slavery and captivity of native peoples, trade between Native Americans and European colonists, and the effects of religion on Native American tribes.

During the years between 1607 and 1611, many colonists died due to the following: Enviromental issues, settlers skills, and the Relationships with the Indians. In those years many colonists were traveling and seeking me lives but little did they know, their skill level was very low. As a result, many of the colonists ended up dead. Most of the colonists that traveled were gentlemen. However, these are not the nice men you're thinking of. These gentlemen are men that are usually to used to be useful or doing any work at all. Other than mainly gentlemen, the only colonists they brought were barrel makers, druggists, and people with jobs other than FARMING! Now let's dig deeper into why so many colonists died between the years of 1607 and 1611.

The stories regarding the Native Americans and European settlers all commence somewhat similar: the Natives welcome and help sustain the Europeans in the start. They become an instrumental piece to the European survival in the Americas. The relationship starts to change, however, as settlers grow independent. In some instances, when there is only personal gain to be acquired, the relationship becomes a simple trade relationship. In other instances, relationships between the Native Americans and Europeans evolve into a drastic feud driven by European imperialistic ideas to impose political, religious and cultural law on the Natives.

A person has always been able to choose to what extent their cultural experiences affect their perspective. Amy Tan’s, “Two Kinds,” Bharati Mukherjee’s, “Two Ways to Belong in America,” and Robert Lake’s, “An Indian Father’s Plea,” all show how the main characters have chosen to let their experiences have an effect on their cultural identity. A person’s cultural experiences shape perception based on their own identifications and they may chose to assimilate to different cultures.

The interactions between Native Americans and Europeans were beneficial as well as detrimental for both parties. From the introduction of new crops and items to the alteration in gender roles, the clashing of two completely different cultures had a lasting impact.

European explorers first landed on the shores of what would later become North America more than 500 years ago. Not long after the first explorers had entered the "New World" they found out that they were not alone on this new frontier. Their neighbors in this new land were the Native Americans who had been there for centuries, virtually unaware of life outside the continent. Thus began an inconsistent and often times unstable relationship between the European settlers and the North American Indians. Two nations who had particularly interesting relationships with the Native Americans were the British and the French, both of whom took different approaches to their relations with the Indians economically as well as culturally. Neither nation had complete trust for the Indians, nor did the Indians ever completely trust the men who arrived on "floating islands with many tall trees". Nonetheless, they did interact with one another in their daily lives. Both economically and culturally the French and British went about their interactions with the Native Americans differently. Through first hand writings and documents as well as observations by historians, it is evident that the British and French interacted with the Indians of North America in different ways.

After the discovery of two entire continents by Italian Christopher Columbus, Europeans encountered the native people living among the vast territories. As Europeans continued to spread out along the Atlantic Seaboard, relations and contact with natives became more frequent. During the time period of the 1600s, the relations had a wide range depending on circumstance and tribe. The pale strangers were suspicious to the natives as some welcomed and supported as other tribes warred and attacked. Eventually after another 100 years later, Natives were largely endangered due to war, disease and even deportation. Ultimately the Europeans would become dominant among the vast territories that had once been occupied by Native Americans.

She explains her thesis by stating “Others who write stories of migration often talk of arrival at a new place as a loss of communal memory and the erosion of an original culture. I want to talk of arrival as a gain,” (360). The key points of the text include Mukherjee describing her transition between Calcutta and the United States, and what it means to be and American and how culture influences that aspect. The information in the text is significant; the people of America are a part of a melting pot, sometimes it is hard for them to find the distinction between American culture and their own. The information in Mukherjee’s story is clear and specific, unbiased, and is relevant to the purpose of the story. I believe Mukherjee has achieved her purpose of informing her audience about cultural differences; she presents certain strengths and weaknesses within the text.

A person’s heritage and cultural identity may be lost when moving to a new country where the culture is different and other cultures are not easily accepted. In the short story “Hindus”, Bharati Mukherjee uses setting, characters and the plot to discuss what it is like to lose your cultural identity while being a visible minority in America. Mukherjee uses the plot to describe the events that take place in the main characters life that lead her to realize how different the culture and life is in the America’s. She also uses the characters as a way of demonstrating how moving away from one’s culture and heritage can change a person’s perspective and ways of thinking. Mukerjee also uses setting in her story to identity the physical differences in culture between living in India and America. Alike the setting and characters, the plot helps describe the loss of culture with a sequence of events.

According to the text, the author believes that the enmities between European settlers and Indians are unavoidable even if they seem to be friendly to each other at first. In my opinion, I agree with the author’s argument because from the historical events and trends, we can tell the excessive conflicts, especially beliefs on certain issues, lands and religion especially, and the external diseases, which reveal a radical age.