In order to protect their lands the Indians needed to have a good relationship both with the British and the French. Both relations were very different, they preferred the relation with the French side.
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.
In New England, John Winthrop began conflicts early when he declared that the Indians had only a natural right to their land and no legal right. The Puritans and Pequot Indians lived side by side with relative peace until an attack was launched upon the Narraganset Indians. Not many people were killed and the Narragansets did not fight back, but when the Puritans attacked the Pequot Indians, they fought back. The Pequot War was one of large massacres, rather than battles, from both sides and had many deaths. "Mason proposed to avoid attacking Pequot warriors, which would have overtaxed his unseasoned, unreliable troops. Battle, as such, was not his purpose. Battle is only one of the ways to destroy an enemy's will to fight. Massacre can accomplish the same end with less risk, and Mason had determined that massacre would be his objective" (Jennings). The Europeans raided the Pequot village and burned all of
The Treaties of Ojibwe and Lakota Tribes The arrival of the ‘foreigners’, as referred to by the Native Americans, turned a new stone in Native American diplomacy. No longer did they have to only deal with neighboring tribes, as they were forced to endeavor into politics with strangers who were looking to take their land. The first relationship between the pilgrims and the Native Americans began with the Wampanoag tribe. The relations between the two groups paved the view that the pilgrims had towards the Indians. The decently friendly relationship that stood between the two groups was short lived as the pilgrims felt that the indians were getting in the way of their expansion; and shortly after the friendship ceased to exist (Bell, 37).
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.
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.
Though the Chesapeake and New England colonies were both settled by the English, by the early 1700’s they had grown into two distinct societies. The Chesapeake’s land was covered in miles upon miles of cash crops like tobacco and indigo, and people lived and worked in plantations of varying sizes.
For fifty years, the first generation of English settlers and Native American Indians maintained peace with one another using a peace treaty agreement between Chief Massasoit of the Pokanokets and the English settlers. Moreover, the Natives and the English treated each other with respect and traded with one another. Thus, if either the English or the Native American Indians went against the terms of the treaty or disrespected each other in any way, the peaceful relationship would cease. However, as the second generation of English people emerge, the terms of peace became forgotten, and the English began to disrespect the Pokanokets. The breakdown of relations between the Native American Indians and the English Settlers was caused by the failure
Racism, Loyalty, and Greed within the King Philip’s War When the Pilgrims first arrived at Plymouth in 1620, they were faced with incredible obstacles that took extreme strength and determination to overcome. Little did the Pilgrims know that it would just get harder from there, especially when the King Philip’s War began. This war, mainly fought between the two groups of the Native Americans and the Pilgrims, caused huge death tolls on each side and could easily have been prevented, or, at least, downsized, if the leaders on both sides had not been quite so proud. The King Philip’s War was the result of, and contained, racism, national loyalty and alliances, and economic interests and land greed.
Over the course of the 17th century, the relationship between the English colonies and the Native Americans changed drastically. At first, there was a peaceful relationship and the two groups even helped each other out; but, as time passed, the relationship began to deteriorate and the two groups became hostile towards each other.
Shayne Chen Mrs. Allen OCO AP US History 27 August 2015 The War of the Change 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
Personal connections that are or are not developed with the Indians is a topic that both Morton and Bradford discuss. The Pilgrims’ initial encounter with the Indians is tense and there is an air of skepticism about what type of people they are, good or bad. Since they need to live together in a peaceful way, the Pilgrims create a treaty between themselves and the Indians so that there would be no misunderstanding about the expectations and trust each group needs to have with one another (Bradford 88). Morton views this in a different way; instead of believing that this is a mutual agreement between both communities, he feels that the treaty is forcing the Indians to act the way the Pilgrims want them to act (104). There is room for
The Mayflower and the Pilgrims’ New World The English settlers and Native Americans had a relatively good relationship in 1621, around the time of the first Thanksgiving. However, their relationship fell apart between 1621 and 1675-1676 or the first Thanksgiving and King Philip’s War. Both sides were at fault for specific incidents which caused outbreak and a weaker relationship. However, the next generation Natives and Pilgrims such as King Philip, Alexander, and the young Pilgrims were most to blame because they had no respect or trust, and instead of helping each other they went against each other. Before they came to power, life in the New World was peaceful and these two groups of very different people were able to not only get along but become friendly with each other.
King Philip’s War began due to escalating Puritan attacks on Wampanoag sovereignty, forcing the Confederacy into a war for survival. The path to war began in 1662 when the Wampanoag Chief Metacomet rose to power. He denounced illegal Puritan seizure of Wampanoag traditional hunting grounds. On multiple occasions, English settlers jailed Wampanoag hunters for “trespassing” on ancestral Indian lands. This attack on Wampanoag sovereignty denied that Indians could have a legitimate claim to their own territory. By accomplishing this, English colonists could declare the Indian’s authority void as an excuse to take more land. Relations soured in December of 1674 when John Sassamon, a Christian Indian, was murdered by Wampanoags for reporting Metacomet’s war preparations to the English. Puritans arrested three Wampanoags, tried them for murder, and hanged them. This was the first time English tried an Indian for crimes against another Indian. The trial demonstrated that the English believed they also had authority over Metacomet’s people. By using the English courts to try an Indian-on-Indian murder, the Puritans again claimed the Wampanoags had no authority, and therefore were not worthy of respect as a nation. This disrespect allowed the Puritans to see them not as people, but as pests to be removed from their land. Beliefs such as this led to further escalation by the Puritan leaders. Tensions rose, and Metacomet formed a coalition
The survivors saw an Abenaki Indian named Samoset. He was welcoming the pilgrims. The Indians were traded fur for metal and cloth. After the first pilgrims came in Plymouth other pilgrims started coming in. I am realizing that when pilgrims were coming in, it created an impact on the Indians. For example, they started to take their land and the Indians were not too happy. When the Indians were taking their land the war started.