Differences Between Native Americans And Early Settlers

With different cultures and beliefs, it is very hard for groups of people to avoid conflict with one another. One of the biggest factors of the clash between Native Americans and Europeans is that they are coming from completely different lifestyles. Europeans had very poor diet, which consisted of mostly bread and soup. Those who did not starve were malnourished. Europe was filled with many diseases that killed much of Europe’s population. Native American survival was based on hunting and gathering. If they killed an animal they ate, if they failed to do so they went hungry. Native Americans lived under a democratic system and were separated into tribes and lived in tents. There was no such thing as rich or poor between tribes, which eliminated competition to move up the social ladder. Some tribes were very small, and to avoid being outrun by larger tribes, the

The Native American religion was very different from the Christian religion of the Europeans. The Native American’s didn’t pray to a god, they prayed to something in nature such as the sky or the sun. “O our Mother the Earth, O our Father the Sky” (Tewa Indian). The colonists thought that it was barbaric that the Native American’s didn’t believe in a God. The colonists thought that there was only one correct way to be religious and that the way that the Native American’s practiced religion was ‘the wrong way’.

From the very first interaction, the social and political relations between the Native Americans and the Europeans had begun with much tension. Many Europeans came to the Americas with the intention of discovery. However, when it became apparent that these new lands were inhibited the motives changed, and then the natives were colonized, abused, and in many cases killed. From then and throughout the impending periods of time, the relations between the natives and the Europeans had a few points of mutual peacefulness, but were overall negative.

There are many reasons Native Americans and European Colonists did not have a good relationship. The reason for conflict between Colonist and Indians was due to the Colonists insatiable greed for power and land. Some of the reasons not only included physical mistreatment but also an ethical mistreatment of the Native Americans. European Colonists not only brought with them many different diseases that would later aid in the genocide of many Native American tribes, but also a mindset in which they felt superior to there Native neighbors. This feeling of superiority led to an outbreak of violence and many different civil wars. Due to the Native American and the Colonists irreconcilable

The early relations with the natives were a mix of cooperation and conflict. This goes back to Verrazzano reporting that the natives were willing to trade with them, but were not willing to put their trust in the Europeans. Then on the other end of the spectrum, we have Powhatan. He wanted to absorb the Europeans into their own ways through hospitality and gifts. “By 1609, [he] realized that the English intended to stay. Moreover, he was disappointed that the English did not return his hospitality nor would they marry Indian women (an affront from the Native perspective).” (Colonial Settlement)

Beginning in the Sixteenth Century, Europeans sought to escape religious and class persecution by engaging on a journey to the New World. However, they were unaware that this “New World” was already inhabited by many groups of Native Americans, who had been established on the continent for thousands of years. At first, the two ethnic groups lived in relative peace. The colonists of Jamestown survived due to Powhatan’s tribe teaching them how to cultivate the land. However, things took a twisted turn as the colonists grew greedy. Due to cultural differences, there was stark tension between the Indian groups and European settlers in New England prior to 1750, which tremendously influenced early political means, social life, and the economy.

Native Americans had conflict with the Europeans over social and environmental problems; this led to violence and war. Also, Europeans and Native Americans were both violent and Europeans enslaved and killed Natives to conquer land and people.

To begin, many conflicts began to arise in the volatile relationship between Native Americans and English Settlers and the Spanish government. Much of the conflicts arose from a clash in cultures. For instance, Francisco Coronado stated that it was wrong for Native Americans to believe in many gods because it was

Many prominent historians argue a clash between culture and religious philosophy was the primary cause of conflict between European settlers in North America and Native Americans. However, a closer analysis of American history suggests otherwise. While a clash in cultures and religious differences did exist, the European domination of Native Americans was primarily fueled by European economic motivations, a desire for valuable natural resources and a craving to expand the American colonial system. Due to this, the conflict was inevitable.

When the first European colonists arrived in 1620 on land in the New World, a disaster was forming. Arriving in what is known today as Massachusetts on The Mayflower, the settlers didn’t have enough experience surviving cold, harsh winters causing almost half of the settlers to die that had arrived on The Mayflower. This had changed in 1621 with the help of the Native people. The American Indians had started teaching the English people how to do many things including harvesting and growing crops. This help from the Native’s had led to the first Thanksgiving between the two groups. These two societies, however, didn’t remain friends. The English settlers had kicked off the American Indians of their own land and tried to make them convert to Christianity. The English settlers had also brought diseases from Europe causing many Indians to get very sick and even some die.

When Europeans came to the American continent, contact with the Native Americans who were already living there was inevitable. In the colonization of early America, the various groups of European settlers: the Spanish, French, English, and Dutch each had unique experiences with, and therefore individual opinions of the Native Americans whom they interacted. Each of these nations also shared commonalties in their colonization processes and in how they viewed Native Americans. Furthermore, the Native Americans held differing opinions of each group of Europeans whom they encountered while some features of their relationships with Europeans were consistent despite the tribe or nation involved.

Clearly the Native Americans and Lewis and Clark's group did not get along all the time and had some miscommunication along the way. The encounters

Most, if not all, of the Indians who were educated by the English returned to their native cultures at the first opportunity. Many colonists, on the other hand, chose to become Indians, either by joining Indian society voluntarily, by not trying to escape from captivity, or by staying with their Indian captors in the wake of peace treaties that gave them the freedom to return home.

In 1620, the first batch of European settlers come to New England area. They are hoping to live peacefully with Indians since the settlers demand to receive food and supplies from the Indians. Meanwhile, the new immigrants clearly understand that they are weak and inferior. Once if they have conflicts with Indians, they have no chance to win the battle. Another major reason that French and Britain need to ally with Native Americans in the early 17th century is because the idea of mercantilism. Since they believe that the wealth of nation should mainly from trading, both nations want to have more profit from fur trading. European settlers and Indians also exchange crops, tools, and know-how. Likewise, Indians want the new immigrants to be their allies to defeat enemies in the future days. However, the problems egress inevitably. Because of the largely different beliefs on lands owning and religion, even more migration of population, and external diseases, European settlers and Indians break their peace and enter wars soon after.

Peaceful co-existence between the indigenous people and the Europeans was near impossible because the Europeans and indigenous people had different mindsets dealing with ownership of land. In Europe, owning land was the quintessential indicator that you were powerful and rich. Thus, making it very important to the Europeans to own land. Meanwhile, the indigenous people believed no one person could own land, it was the earths and they were there to share the land amongst everyone. This difference in mindsets created problems between the indigenous people and Europeans that would not be solved for hundreds of years.