Influence Of European Culture On Native Americans

The Europeans settlement had a vast impact on the Native Americans. When the Europeans arrived in the new world they were disappointed in what they had found. The most significant changes were the Europeans domination of large plots of land called “manors”. The controlled the system that was called feudalism, this is where the lords were given control over land, vassals and who ever inhibited the land. These laborers were servants called Serfs, who were protected by the vassals.

The arrival of Europeans in America greatly disrupted the life of the Natives. The natives had their own culture in America with their own special beliefs. When Europeans arrived they tried to alter the way Native Americans lived their lives to resemble their way of living. The Natives did not respect this because they had previously built a lifestyle in America that they wish not to be transformed. The two cultures had different opinions about government, religion, land, and society. Due to the many differences between the Native and European people, it was unfeasible that there would be no conflicts between them.

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.

European families always put the males first, whereas African and Native American cultures saw the woman as the symbol of family bond. The children were said to be descended through the mother’s side more than the father. Religion was somewhat similar between the Native American and African cultures where the Europeans strongly disagreed with. Africans believed that there was a center power and Native Americans believed there were several deities, where they both believed that focused on nature and the its forces. They both believed that objects (usually scared to them) held sprites of the dad and spirits that can be evil or good. On the other hand, Europeans believed that there was a single deity with written scriptures which was all run through

There was a broad diversity on the view of the world between the Native Americans and Europeans. Together, they created the story of the clash of people, religion, ideas, and cultures.

Native Americans lived on the North American continent centuries before the arrival of Europeans. These native groups developed and preserved cultural traditions. Many European explorers traveled to the New World around the 1500s in search for God, gold, and glory. This brought them into contact with the Native Americans, and led to a complete change in their lifestyle. Europeans brought the Natives diseases, forced them to relocate, and altered their cultures. All in all, the Europeans left a devastating impact on the Native Americans.

Native Americans had inherited the land now called America and eventually their lives were destroyed due to European Colonization. When the Europeans arrived and settled, they changed the Native American way of life for the worst. These changes were caused by a number of factors including disease, loss of land, attempts to export religion, and laws, which violated Native American culture.

Conquest and disease are often the primary negative factors analyzed when discussing European interaction with Native Americans in the Americas. However, with the use of bioarcheology, Historians particularly Clark Spencer Larsen, have been able to learn more about the lifestyle and diet of mission Native Americans in Florida from remains which paint a broader picture than traditional European sources. The mass introduction of corn and hard labor into the diets and lives of Plains Native Americans had a detrimental effect upon the wellbeing and health of those living under Spanish rule. These effects become much more pronounced when compared to the distant ancestors of the Native Americans.

Europeans tore through America in the 1700s and destroyed the lives of Native Americans, and yet their culture remained principled with a high level of respect and honor. This is shown in a meeting that was held by the six nations of the Iroquois, where Chief Red Jacket gave a speech on the Native Americans view on missionary stations that the Europeans wanted to set up. Red Jacket explained their past with the first settlers, “We gave them corn and meat; they gave us poison in return” (1). These first Europeans set the tone for how these new colonist treated the natives. They took what they wanted and left a trail of death and destruction in their path. However, the natives acted in return with upstanding respect and treated these missionaries

European came to the new world of North America and they brought out advanced technology and culture to American continent. Over time, their lives changed as they adapted to different environments and they brought tremendous changed to American Indian tribes. New trade goods became another big change that European explorers and colonists brought to American Indians. Indians was trying to use these product that the explorers provided in their daily lives. Soon, American Indian men put away their bows and arrows for European firearms and lead shot. The desire to get European goods changed ancient trading patterns and American Indians began depended on European items for daily needs. The new goods brought from European totally changed Native American

On 1492, Christopher Columbus was the first person who found North American. After that, European people increasingly started to go North American and they tried to survive in the new world. But North America still had many native Americans to live there. So in my opinion, when Europeans found native Americans and Europeans began to comprehend native American’s living habits. But Europeans came to America that had positive impact and also still had negative impact to native Americans.

To better understand the conflict between the Europeans and the Native Americans, one must closely examine the state of Europe’s economy at the time. Europe struggled with difficult conditions. This included poverty, violence and diseases like typhus, smallpox, influenza and measles. There were widespread famines which caused the prices of products to vary and made life very difficult in Europe. Street crimes and violence were prevalent in cities: “Other eruption of bizarre torture, murder, and ritual cannibalism were not uncommon”.2 Europeans

Native Americans have played an important role in the United States for over thousands of years. The Native Americans once lived on their land with little disturbance, having made their own meals and lived in a traditional culture up until Columbus had discovered their land. From their first arrival into the Native land, the Spanish mistreated and disrespected the Indians by trying to enforce their way of life and their beliefs upon them.

The consequences of European contact with the Native Americans had grave consequences surpassing the expectations of both sides. However, while the Europeans were able to overcome most of the initial problems surrounding the contact, the Native Americans endured the effects for much longer which led to the decline of Native American power in North America. Both biological effects such as the impact of diseases, and cultural effects including the formation of new societies and the European influence, had devastating effects on the lives the Native Americans had formerly known. While some of the effects of contact could be seen as positive, overall the negative effects from Native American contact with the Europeans proved to outweigh the

The one most historically significant effect of the cultural exchange between Europeans, Native Americans, and Africans is racism. Racism is such a huge effect from this cultural exchange because the Europeans and Native Americans relationship was ruined by the Europeans thinking they were superior to them, the Europeans turned to Africans for trade as well as labor to build their society in the Americas knowing that they were lesser than themselves, and finally Europeans could build a new world because they created race-based slavery. This exchange during this period of 1492 to 1700 brought a lot of change, and usually this change happened by force. The Europeans believed they were smarter and more superior which led them to think that they could just control whomever and take over whatever they pleased. The Europeans basically created race-based slave labor in order for them to successfully build their own economy and have laborers colonize the Americas.