Karl Marx once wrote “Capital is money, capital is commodities. By virtue of it being value, it has acquired the occult ability to add value to itself. It brings forth living offspring, or, at the least, lays golden eggs.” Life and the economy in North America (and the rest of the world) during the 17th century was almost utterly dependent on the production and sale of commodities; Europeans colonized “the New World” directly because of needing commodities such as beaver pelts and tobacco. Eventually, the colonists developed their own identity as Americans, influenced by the commodities they produced and desired. Native Americans, who were increasingly closer and closer contact with the Europeans as they colonized, began to collect and produce commodities for them, in addition to creating commodities of their own, like European livestock or weapons. Slaves were brought to North America as cheap labor for producing the commodities that facilitated the colonies’ birth and growth, and became themselves commodities for the Europeans. When things are turned into commodities, there are far-reaching effects not only on the culture of the people who made it a commodity but also the culture of those who associate with them.
As is illustrated in King Philip’s Herds: Indians, Colonists, and the Problem of Livestock in Early New England by Virginia DeJohn Anderson, the culture of the Native Americans was heavily influenced by their interactions with the European colonists, in more ways
With the introduction of new resources found desirable in the new environment by the colonists and new products imported from Europe, Native Americans were launched into a brand new world of commerce to keep up with the quick pace of the developments. The Europeans valued the fur of buffaloes while Native Americans soon “became dependent on the manufactured goods the fur trade brought them, and hunted to the meet the demands...rather than the needs of their families” (Page 15). Moreover, Native Americans previously used animals in religious rituals, but after European contact, animals became “regarded as a form of property” and “crucial components of Navajo and Pueblo economy” (Page 13). Accordingly, Native Americans engaged in trade with Europeans way more than they had with each other before the arrival, boosting the rate of economic activity in the New World. Adding on, many colonists emigrated to America in order to gain economic freedom which came with owning property. However, “Indian peoples generally regarded land as something to be shared and utilized...They soon learned that
The origins and development of slavery in Britain’s North American colonies during the colonial period can be traced down to the fact that North American colonies were created for the economic profit of Great Britain. Reasons for the development of slavery in the North American colonies can be the switch to slavery from indentured servitude due to the desire of free labor and the results of Bacon’s rebellion, the introduction of cash crops such as sugar and tobacco and the introduction of the plantation system, and the easy access of slaves due to the triangular trade and the middle passage.
Upon the European’s discovery and colonization of the Americas an irreversible transformation was triggered. The extreme differences in the cultures of the Europeans and Native Americans would prove to be fatal to the way of life that existed before European colonization.
In Changes in the Land, William Cronon points out the European colonists` pursuits of a capitalistic market and the impact it had on the New England ecosystem. Native Americans and colonists had different views on the use of land resources. The Natives viewed the land as something not owned, but as a resource to sustain life. They believe in a hunting-gathering system, hunting only when necessary. In the long run Native Americans lost their old traditions and were forced to adapt to the colonists` traditions in order to survive. This change contributed even more to the alteration of the ecosystem during the colonization period. In contrast, colonists viewed the
Slavery was a harsh system that consisted of forcing other human beings to work in harsh conditions; as well as restrict their freedom to the point where they had none. Slavery was first introduced into Colonial America in 1619, and lasted for 245 years. During those 245 years, slavery harshly affected those who were involved in its system. The institution of slavery has profoundly influenced and shaped multiple aspects of Colonial America and the United States. Slavery influenced the 13 Colonies and the U.S. by the growth in sales for Cotton, and farming. Slavery shaped Colonial America and the United States culturally, by proving to the slaves that white people were far more superior than African Americans, religion and Cult of Domesticity. Lastly slavery shaped Colonial America and the United States politically by causing rebellions, and abolitionism.
The possesion of land has proved to greatly amplify and draw out several different stereotypes and conflicts between societies in the world 's history. From Many different accounts all over the world today there has always been a dispute over land. However other disputes shadow in that of the colonial New England settlers and the Native Americans, both virtually revolving their lives around this concept of land distribution. For the settlers it meant wealth and prosperity, for the natives it meant staying alive. William Cronon 's book, Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England, illustrates the differences between these two separate societies and describes what life was like during the period of exploration and settlement in the New World. There are several other facts or opinions that one could take away from this passage, but the three main points are differences in the Colonist and Native conceptions of property, as well as how cultural stereotypes and eventual conflict emerged from mutual understanding of the land and use of property by each group.
The earliest signs of human bondage can be found in Ancient Rome where slaves were used for a large array of professions. Likewise, the slavery found in colonial North America had slaves included in every facet of the region’s economy. Colonial North America quickly grew dependent on African race-based slavery as the backbone to its economy. The first African Americans arrived to the New World near the coast of Jamestown in 1619 in the Chesapeake region (Clark-Pujara, 9/19). It was the first region to establish a society with slaves. One could say that African race-based slavery in the Chesapeake region developed because of the region’s economic dependence on tobacco production, scarcity of white indentured servants, increasing longevity for African Americans in the New World, and colonists establishing slave laws and codes.
Historically, relationships between European colonists and Native American were extremely complex and complicated. Due to the violent European colonization of America, Native Americans became susceptible to oppressions and extinction for over five hundred years (Poupart, 2003). European colonists’ central focus were directed towards acquiring maximum profits by exploiting Native American’s vast resources and utilizing their physical performance toward enslavement. This created devastation among Native American families, movement of various fatal diseases, and destruction of the traditional lifestyle of Native Americans (Starkey, 1998). The elimination of Native American culture came with strong opposition and resistance through civil organizations, religious movements, and conflict revolutions.
For slaves the transition to the New World was at times isolating and difficult. There were rotten, terrifying, and sometimes inhumane experiences that the slaves’ experienced as they transitioned to the New World. Slaves dealt with loneliness when their families were separated because they were sold or because of situations where the owners were controlling their lives.
The establishment of the original thirteen British colonies was not the first time that foreigners had reached the present-day powerhouse of a country, which is the United States of America. One example of Europeans in North America before the colonists was the French fur traders had frequently traded with the Native Americans. However, when the settlers arrived in the swamp studded marshes of James’ Town, which was the first colony, they must had been upset, as they were primarily after valuable minerals: gold, silver, as Britain’s economic system, at the time, was mercantilism—in which the main goal was to increase a nation’s wealth by regulating all of the nation’s commercial interests. Before the settlers arrived in the New World, French had traded some with the Indians. In A Micmac Indian Replies to the French, the French called the Native Americans’ home a “little hell”, a statement that the Micmac Indians didn’t find too tasteful—the Micmac Indian leader then asked why the French would leave their paradise, and risk their lives to reach a “little hell” . This reply from the Indian leader shows a few things—first, the Indians weren’t too impressed with the customs of the French, second—the Indians were knowledgeable of how important, as well as costly, their homeland was to the Europeans—and what goods it contained. Lucky for the settlers, one of their other interests was in the new world in plenty—land. One of the reasons the Europeans needed land so badly was that
Slavery is defined as the state of a person who is a chattel of another1. When must people hear this term they think about African Americans struggle in early American history. They conjure up visions of the American Civil War and the iconic image of the great emancipator himself, President Abraham Lincoln. The truth to be told though, slavery in United States history predates those events and figures. It actually started before the United States was even founded. Slavery in the United States actually was rooted in Colonial North America. As different nations raced to settle North America they used the cheapest labor to progress their cause economically. But, the
Slavery in North America first began when the first African slaves arrived in the American colony of Jamestown in 1619. They were first used to aid in the production of the American “cash crop” tobacco. From that point, white land owners depended greatly on the work of slaves. This did not seem an issue at the time but as more people came over to the Americas and more people developed their own ideas of freedom, a silent war broke within the country. The first great schism, the first act of cold war, was the 3/5 Compromise in which it was decided that an African servant was only counted as 3/5 of a person and therefore did not have a strong presence within the government . This was implemented in 1787, long before talk of Civil War would begin. Fast forward three decades, another rift began to spread across America. The Missouri Compromise. At this point in time, slavery was a hot topic. More people spoke openly about their opinions on the topic and that was met with opposition. With the expansion of American territory, there was the decision of if slavery would be allowed or not in the new territories. Missouri was brought into the nation as a slave state while Maine entered as a free state. The compromise on this though, was that “no slave state shall enter into the Union above the 36 30’ line” . It was James Monroe to sign this bill into effect. In another three decades, the Compromise of 1850 would wipe out all evidence of the Missouri Compromise. 1850 had five major
Chapter 3 was talking about black people in the colonial North Americas. This chapter was very interesting but there were three main parts in the chapter that really caught my attention and that was the slave life in early America, the Origins of African American culture, and black women in colonial America. Each part that I’m about to break down sheds light on what happened during that time.
The birth of America was rather dark than golden. At an early age, kids are taught in school about the great hero, Christopher Columbus, who claimed to have discovered this country. People have been deceived by false information given through textbooks and online sources, but under a thin layer of American history is the tragedy of Native Americans, who lived on this land hundreds of years before the “discovery”. The arrival of the settlers were the main turning points of change in lifestyle for the Native Americans, affecting the daily lives and traditions of the Native Americans in the past and today.
In this time period there was a very diverse population in North America. Slaves were more important in North America than they were in New England. Servants became important to North America to because of labor needs. According to TheUSAonline.com, “ The earliest colonist in North America faced great hardship and danger.” So there was a lot of challenges in North America. There are also a lot of events that have occurred in North America. Some events include people and issues that are related to some of the colonists.