French And Indians Relationship Essay

When Europeans encountered the Native Americans, the encounter was fraught with difficulties for both sides, for the Native Americans more so than the Europeans. Europeans conquered the Native Americans, forced them into labor, and spread diseases which the Native Americans had no resistance to. In addition to this the Europeans considered themselves superior to the Native Americans. Despite this, the Europeans and Native Americans, both had things the other wanted and so they often engaged in trade with each other. However, the Native Americans thought that, despite not having the luxuries the Europeans had, they were better off than the Europeans. This sentiment is exemplified in “Your People Live Only Upon Cod” by French priest Chrestian LeClerq who was traveling with the Micmac Indians. It is a documented response by an unknown Micmac leader to European, particularly French, claims of superiority. In analyzing this document, we will find that the cultures of the French and the Micmac were vastly different. We will also discover what the Micmac and the French thought of each other.

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

Coming from an economic standpoint, the Europeans and Indians were such total opposites, it often led to misunderstanding. Indians had very large trading routes well before the time of European colonization. Their experience in trade only made it easier to exchange goods with the Europeans. For Indians, trading was a way to acquire goods they wanted, but also a way to share the wealth of their land with other tribes that didn't have the same items to trade as they did. To the

The French treated the Native Americans with respect and as allies. They had traded theirs good and worked together when help was needed. The British was not so kind to the Native Americans causing a dislike for the British. The British did not like that a female was in charge and should not be in control causing more tension between the two groups. The lives of the American Indians were drastically changed after the war. Due to many diseases and their land being taken. They only got what was to spare, not what they had originally established.

For the most part, the French spent many years in trying to establish a colony in North America and they were unsuccessful because of various reason. In the meantime, this created to opportunity for the Spanish t to establish a relationship with the Native Americans. As stated in text, “French fishermen continued to visit the Grand Banks regularly and began to trade with the Native Americans for beaver skins” (Reich, 2011, p. 37). The beaver skins were very popular in Europe and in 1600s Samuel de Champlain founded the fur trading post at Port Royal and in Quebec (Reich, 2011, p. 37). The French valued their relationship with the Native Americans for various reasons and I will discuss some in depth. First, most of the Indian tribes were at

Native Americans had many encounters with Europeans, one of which involving the French. They first came into contact with each other around the 1600s and were predominantly civil. In fact, compared to all the other Europeans who came to America, I believe that they had the most pleasant of interactions. The French primarily traded with local natives when they first

Firstly, there are numerous Examples of European interactions with American Indians. From the beginning Indians focused on Trade as a major role in receiving and selling goods. For example, the Indians traded much with European explorers and colonists. Many Native hunters demanded deer hides that Indians were very skilled at making. Indians demanded thing such as iron tools, copper pots and glass beads. As a result of trade many French people developed

As time went on many of the settlers avoided the Indians all together. This forced the natives to start trade with the French

The Indians interactions with the French, English, and the Spanish varied depending on the wants and needs of the new settlers. The French embraced the Indian culture in order to maintain a good trade relationship. The English used more of a forceful tactic, forcing the Indians violence.

The French and Spanish brought their own ways of how they handle the native situation in the new world. The French thought it would be a good idea to team up with the natives, since there were already so many inhabiting the area. The Spanish on the other hand thought that deceiving the natives by making them work in the encomienda systems was the best way to gain profit for their mother country. The English were in the middle of both circumstances. The colonies tried to conquer as much as land as possible by wiping out the environments and killing off natives in those areas, yet they did respect their boundaries. People in the colonies focused on different ways to trade, by watching how their rivals did it. Colonists immediate contact with Indians and others, quickly allowed them gain knowledge of their surroundings, thereby giving them a sense of individuality under a different union rather than

Closely followed by Columbus’ “discovery” of the New World in 1492 were the establishments of European colonies with the French primarily in the north and down the Mississippi, and with the British along the east coast. As a result, the Native Americans’ lives changed drastically. Before 1750, in terms of economically, French responded mutually in terms of economy, culturally befriended them and in terms of religion, responded benignly by encouraging Catholicism through missionaries and on were on the best terms with the Natives; the British by contrast, economically

The French colonists treated the Natives well, unlike the English who had no respect for them and saw them as savages. The relationship between the natives and French was close, so close in fact that there were more intermarriages between the two than any other European

The difference was the French saw the Indians as an allies and wanted to work and trade

The traders were funded by France in order lived year-round by the great lakes and find the northwest passageway to china. The French used a middleman to negotiate with the natives, they oversaw the trades in their area and watched the activities of rival Natives and Countries. But the French viewed the natives as partners, in acquiring the furs which would generate wealth when they returned to France. They also used the natives to follow the system of rivers and lakes, by using the native’s canoes to penetrated deep into the great lakes. (Sleeper-smith, Pg. 12)

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.