European Indians And American Colonists

In 1492, Christopher Columbus embarked on his journey to what he thought was India. Little did he know, he would first end up in The Caribbean, and later discover what is now known as the Americas. England, Spain, and France would soon try and conquer the New World and the Native American’s in it. Each of these countries interactions with the Native’s were different, but would affect their culture and way of living in some way. Columbus’ discovery of the Natives forced interaction between Europeans and the indigenous people of the Americas.

Native Americans, English, Africans and other European settlers went through adversity in their plight in trying to establish their own identity in North American Colonial societies. Trade and land were two major components in the fight for power.

The biggest problem Indians and colonists had were the different points of view they had of each other. In the compilation of primary documents written by European colonists and Native Americans (National Humanities Center), we can find several different quotations of the many different positive and negative viewpoints Indians and colonists had of on another. Indians were simply people living on this earth as well as the colonist, obviously due to background and culture, they had their differences but it all comes down to the kind of person you are and what can you provide to humanity.

In the beginning, America was a new land full of opportunity and freedom. A whole different world to start over in. Many people came to the New World with a purpose. Their exact reasons vary, but, when whittled down, they all came for one of two reasons; riches and religion.

There are many notable cultural differences between the european colonizer and the indeginous people of the Americas which can be noted.

Native Americans do not experience enough social, political, and economic equality today because their stereotypes are portrayed in media, they do not have enough government representation, and they are not as well off as most Americans.

Europeans and Native Americans interacted through exchanges. Although Indians experienced benefits, settlers had the most advantage. As Europeans and natives traded, new agricultural crops and domestic livestock were introduced to both sides. Because climate and soil was different, the English learned agricultural techniques and new farming technologies from the Indians. Europeans were further, introduced to maize and beans, while bringing with them sugar and bananas. Moreover, cattle and pigs were brought to the Americas, along with horses introduced by the Spanish. As a result of such exchanges, Europeans began to incorporate a new diet. Religion played a major role in the cultural interaction as well. Natives combined Catholicism with

The Pequot War was a very bloody war during the early colonial period of the Americas and had a great effect on the Americas. However, it is what happened before the Pequot War that truly gives light to why it happened. Before the war, the New England colonies were expanding greatly, and this thusly caused the colonists to come into conflict with the indigenous people of the Americas (Meuwese, 2011). Preparing for a battle with the indigenous peoples, John Winthrop had prepared the New Englanders for conflict by, according to Schultz (2010), "agreeing to train all male colonists to use fire arms, forbidding Indians' entering Puritan towns, and forbidding Puritans' selling firearms to Indians" (p. 41). There were minor

American Indians have endured health disparities as a result of unmet needs and traumatic historical experiences that have persisted for over 500 hundred years.1(p99) Since first contact, American Indians have been exposed to infectious disease and death2(p19), more importantly, a legacy of genocide, legislated forcible removal, reservation, termination, allotment, and assimilation3. This catastrophic history had led to generational historical traumas and contributes to the poorest health in the United States.2 American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) represent 0.9 percent of the United States population4(p3) or 1.9 million AI/AN of 566 federally recognized tribes/nations.5 AI/AN have been subject to disproportionately high levels of

When comparing two different cultures, from a distance, things may seem vastly different, but when you look closer, you realize how many things they have in common with each other. This is the case for any time period; past, present, and future. Focusing on the early Americas and Europeans, we see many differences. However, when we look a little deeper, they may have been more alike than we initially thought.

Indigenous are people who originated or occurring naturally in a particular place; native. The earliest accounts of the European-Indian encounter in North America of ill-fated 1527 expedition of Pánfilo de Narváez. After the big disembarking on Florida near Tampa, the Spanish forced the land and sea became disastrously separated. Knowing, they overstayed their welcome, with local Indians in pursuit. Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca, second command, set out on rafts back to Cuba. Only eighty survived and came through a hurricane to land near Galveston, Texas. About 4 years ago in 1536, they were rescued in Northern America by Spanish slave trade, but only 4 remained behind. It was Cabeza de Vaca, two Spaniards and an African named Estevan. Cabeza

The dominant themes of early European and American Indian interactions were trade, warfare, and religion. According to the Created Equal 2nd Edition textbook, the first interaction that took place between the Europeans and the American Indians was in 1492, which was the year when Christopher Columbus first landed in America. (1.Borstlelman, Jones, May, Ruiz, Wood, pg 11) When Columbus first came to America his way of interacting with the American Indians would define theme of interactions for a long period to come. Amazed by the gold that was to be found from the American Indians and the common belief at that time that the “whole world is the rightful inheritance of Christianity.” Columbus and his followers set to rule the American Indians and impose Christianity on them. Having more advanced warfare than the American Indians, early Europeans enslaved and robbed them of their land and possessions. Due to the European diseases that were brought, most island populations of American Indians became extinct. Therefore, in search for more labor Europeans moved to explore the mainland. The French trade increased mainly because of the Indian’s ability to procure beaver pelts. Furthermore, without the Indian’s cooperation, the Europeans could not carry its trade in furs and skins. Without the Indians, the Europeans wouldn’t have been to increase their economy.

Christopher Columbus was a man who led an expedition in which he discovered the lands of America in the late 1400s. He and his fellow Europeans had traveled to different lands before where they overthrew native peoples with a mission to spread their own religion and an attitude of superiority. The Indians had never before encountered people of a different culture. Although the two parties were of the same species, they were vastly different in language, clothing, technology, and lifestyle. When the Spaniards first arrived, they were unthreatened by the Indians and looked at them with a strong sense of condescension. The Indians, on the other hand, welcomed these strangers and bestowed generous gifts upon them. The Spanish thought the Indians were foolish and were not as generous in their reciprocation of such gifts. However as the encounter progressed, the Spaniards became more threatened by the Indians. Because of this, they antagonize the entire race of people. They believe they are all evil and less human. They respond to their actions with great violence and contempt, while stripping the Indians of their dignity. The Indians, in turn, react defensively, also with violence (Todorov). After decades of conflict, the exchange ultimately results in the complete genocide of the Indian population.

There were initially two to ten million natives in the United States prior to European contact. Those numbers dwindled down drastically in the years that Europeans came and started colonizing. The Europeans came to explore the New World in search of land, spices, gold, God and glory. Among these colonists were the Spanish who colonized most of the southwest of the United States. Evidence of their settlements can still be seen today in the missions scattered across the land. These missions were started with the purpose of converting the Native Americans to Christianity. Try to put yourself into the shoes of the Native Americans, imagine living your entire life with a particular set of beliefs, based on what was handed down by your ancestors and culture. Then suddenly a group of foreigners would come and proclaim that your views are all wrong and that you must follow their beliefs for the salvation of your soul. This is exactly what the Spanish colonizers did to the Native Americans as they invaded their territory which is the reason why the relationship between the two parties were strained and rife with tension. The conversion of the Natives and the constant hostility by the Spanish conquerors subsequently led to the disintegration of native life and culture.

Being known that Columbus found America, still we all lack knowledge “Beyond 1492” (Axtell). Back in those time period Columbus came to America with period called Colombian Exchange which mean interaction between different people of the land. As stated by Axtell the Indians spent most of the conquest and colonial periods reacting and responding to the Europeans strangers and invaders (99) proves that it was the worst and firm time for Indians.