English View Of Native Americans During Early Nineteenth Century

Indian Relations was one factor that caused the death of so many colonists in the early Jamestown. In early 15th century, Francis West and his group cruised up the Chesapeake harbor to attempt the exchange for grains with the Indians. They were capable to fill his trifling vessel with corns. This achievement would aid, but then it was not sufficient to last the settlers the wintertime. They finally took the corns back to England. The “Affiliation” of the Natives and settlers was apprehensive, at times unfriendly. The two philosophies were so diverse. The semantic, civilizations, and way of life, were so conflicting that none of them distinguished what to anticipate of the other. Mostly, English colonists saw the Inhabitants as uninformed heathens,

When the colonists began to arrive in America they were surprised to find that the land was already occupied by various Natives. Because the lives of 16th century Natives was very different from what

When the first colonists landed in the territories of the new world, they encountered a people and a culture that no European before them had ever seen. As the first of the settlers attempted to survive in a truly foreign part of the world, their written accounts would soon become popular with those curious of this “new” world, and those who already lived and survived in this seemingly inhospitable environment, Native American Indian. Through these personal accounts, the Native Indian soon became cemented in the American narrative, playing an important role in much of the literature of the era. As one would expect though, the representation of the Native Americans and their relationship with European Americans varies in the written works of the people of the time, with the defining difference in these works being the motives behind the writing. These differences and similarities can be seen in two similar works from two rather different authors, John Smith, and Mary Rowlandson.

The relationship between the English and the Native Americans in 1600 to 1700 is one of the most fluctuating and the most profound relationships in American history. On the one side of the picture, the harmony between Wampanoag and Puritans even inspires them to celebrate “first Thanksgiving”; while, by contrast, the conflicts between the Pequots and the English urge them to antagonize each other, and even wage a war. In addition, the mystery of why the European settlers, including English, become the dominant power in American world, instead of the indigenous people, or Indians, can be solved from the examination of the relationship. In a variety of ways, the relationship drastically alters how people think about and relate to the aborigines. Politically, the relationship changes to establish the supremacy of the English; the English intends to obtain the land and rules over it. Socially, the relationship changes to present the majority of the English settlers; the dominating population is mostly the English settlers. Economically, the relationship changes to obtain the benefit of the English settlers; they gain profit from the massive resource in America. Therefore, the relationship does, in fact, change to foreshadow the discordance of the two groups of people.

When it comes to wealth and power, people want it all for themselves. They will do anything in order to claim it and call it theirs. Some people are stronger than others, which makes their journeys easier to win over others. English colonists arrived to the New World after seeing Spanish colonization gaining wealth and being able to send gold and sliver back home. While English colonists were trying to gain wealth, they had to use Native Americans. Native Americans on Jamestown had everything that English colonists wanted, therefore they relayed on them and took advantage of the natives. The treatment of Native Americans by English colonists in Jamestown was unavoidable because English colonists arrived to the New World with a single goal, gaining wealth. English colonists and indigenous people could have never peacefully co-existed because both sides knew

The Native Americans lived on millions of acres of land in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina and Florida, they inherited all of these lands from their ancestors who cultivated for generations. According to Elias Boudinot the natives considered themselves to be just as equal as the Whites, he states, “What is an Indian? Is he not formed of the same materials with yourself?” (Boudinot, 1826) The natives saw themselves to be no different from the Whites, in fact they cared for one another as a whole, they lived in kinships, where there was never an Indian left alone without a family. They followed a society based off of the concept of interdependence, they had in their mind that everything is dependent of something. The Indians were very advanced, and were able to prosper in their society, although the Whites believed otherwise, and believed that the natives were uncivilized.

In early 19th century America, there was a shared feeling of exceptionalism, often leading to egocentrism and prejudice towards foreigners. This egocentrism and prejudice belief system has been passed down, and ignorance towards reforming these beliefs is evident throughout history. Many Americans believe that the colonies of Jamestown and Plymouth were the first settlements in America, thus that the Europeans who traveled across the Atlantic were the first to inhabit the New World. In fact, St. Augustine was a Spanish settlement in Florida established in 1565, 42 years prior to the Jamestown settlement and 55 years prior to the Plymouth settlement. Historical accounts of the American nation tend to neglect this information, resulting in American citizens believing that people of Spanish and Mexican descent do not belong, when in reality, they settled America first. Furthermore, American history tends to neglect mentioning the resistance which Anglo-Americans met as they expanded westward into lands which Native Americans and Mexicans lived in. Accordingly, people of Mexican descent occupied present-day Texas when Anglo-Americans first arrived. Through brutal, immoral, and unjust conquering, Texas became a state separate from Mexico, disregarding the Tejanos of Mexican descent and forcing them to migrate elsewhere.

By the early 1600s both the French and the English had established colonies in North America; the French had New France in Canada and the English had colonies in New England and the Chesapeake Region. These colonies were very different but they shared a few similarities. One aspect they had in common, was that the territories they claimed had already been inhabited by Native Americans for centuries. The European settlers’ relationship with the American Indian’s was in constant turmoil, and between the arrival of the colonists to 1760 there were many instances of cooperation, conflict and compromise between the two groups.

During the end of the nineteenth century, the United States had formed policies which reduced land allotted to Native Americans. By enforcing these laws as well as Anglo-American ideals, the United States compromised indigenous people’s culture and ability to thrive in its society.

“The Indian presence precipitated the formation of an American identity” (Axtell 992). Ostracized by numerous citizens of the United States today, this quote epitomizes Axtell’s beliefs of the Indians contributing to our society. Unfortunately, Native Americans’ roles in history are often categorized as insignificant or trivial, when in actuality the Indians contributed greatly to Colonial America, in ways the ordinary person would have never deliberated. James Axtell discusses these ways, as well as what Colonial America may have looked like without the Indians’ presence. Throughout his article, his thesis stands clear by his persistence of alteration the Native Americans had on our nation. James Axtell’s bias delightfully enhances his thesis, he provides a copious amount of evidence establishing how Native Americans contributed critically to the Colonial culture, and he considers America as exceptional – largely due to the Native Americans.

When the English arrived in Jamestown, they landed in an area with 15,000 to 25,000 Indians living in small villages. Wahunsonacock ruled these Indians. He had authority over the region and collected tribute from many tribes and called this Powhatan (Foner, 59). The Indians and the Chesapeake decided to be peaceful and started to trade. John Smith was then captured by the Indians and threatened with execution by Powhatan, but then later on rescued by Pocahontas. Smith’s return to England raised tension between them and the Indians. This began the conflict with the Powhatan Confederacy for the settlers of Chesapeake. English were massacring villagers and destroying Indian crops. New England faced the conflict of the Pequot War. In 1637, a fur trader was killed by Pequots, a powerful tribe who controlled southern New England’s fur trade (Foner, 76). Connecticut and Massachusetts soldiers surrounded the Pequot village. The soldiers set it ablaze killing those who tried to escape. Over 500 men, women and children lost their lives in the massacre and by the end of the war most Pequot had been exterminated or sold to the Caribbean slavery.

The influence on the Native American people during the 19th century when white settlers began to develop into the West was completely overwhelming. The plains Indians had been hunters inhabiting the large amount of land needed to withstand them. By the mid-1800s the Indians were outnumbered by white settlers. There were a recorded 10 million Native people, once the Frontier was established, and closed, there were only 400,000 confirmed remaining. These remaining people were confined to the cruelty of reservations and coercions, legally, socially and economically, the last of which was likely hardest felt and most important aspect.

Throughout the history of America the thought of assimilation has been fought for and against. Many people, such as the Native Americans, were forcibly stripped of their culture and Americanized. Others, such as the German Americans, willingly assimilated in political views but tried to hold onto their culture. All of these situations lead to hatred from white Americans at some point throughout our history. The Native Americans during the westward expansion, German Americans during WWI, and Japanese immigrants during WWII. Even though some of these people had already assimilated, the fear that remained constant was the belief that people of different races and ethnicities were savages. That other cultures were an affront and could not

There was years of peace between the Indians and them. In 1614, Pocahontas, Chief Powhatan's favorite daughter, got married to the tobacco grower John Wolfe. Later on, African became indentured servants, along with poor Englishmen that came to North America. After that came Chief Powhatan’s death in 1622, and his brother became the leader of the Indians. Chief Powhatan’s brother ordered a surprise attack on the English settlements and tobacco farms and more than 300 settlers were killed. A warning saved James Fort, but the attack and poor management by the Virginia Company made the King revoke the Company

The establishment of the Virginia colony was a rough, and tough one. For many years after the first settlement the establishment lacked advancement and was a great failure to it’s original expectations. Despite the claim that the colonial experience between two cultures results in the destruction of the inferior culture, the “superior” English could have easily been wiped out had the “inferior” Indians let them stare to death. Yet, because of this helping hand, the “saved” Europeans, with more superior economics, technology, and lustful desires in mind seized the land right under the Indians. Were the Indians fated to be destroyed based on the decisions and the circumstances of both parties, and why?