Native American and Early American Colonists Grade school and even beginning level college history classes have taught early American exploration from a largely one sided view of the conflict between early explorers and Native Americans. The traditional image of the Native Americans as the sole victims, is an oversimplification of the conflict that existed between early explorers, settlers and Native Americans. Through the readings from Columbus, Bradford and some selected Native American writings, the traditional view of the Native American victim will be challenged and a broader view of the conflict will be presented. Columbus set out to explore a new land under the Spanish flag to bring riches and fame to Spain and the throne. In …show more content…
70). One last important viewpoint to give credence to is that of the Natives themselves. This account is unique and oftentimes not told. The first story mentioned is that of the freeing of John Smith as a ceremonial act that the natives hoped would earn them respect from the English. This instead had the opposite effect and eventually brought about an attack from the natives which killed over 500 colonists. In a speech from Pontiac (1763) he expresses concern over his people forgetting their heritage and blaming the English for the polluting of his people’s culture and beliefs. He holds the English in complete responsibility and calls for their blood. The traditional view of the natives as the sole victim is an oversimplification of the problems revolving around immigration and cultural diversity. Just from these three personal accounts from the time period we have three very different views of the issue. So, to say that one peoples are the victim is a gross oversimplification and misrepresentation of history. Columbus, C. (1493). Letter to Luis de Santagel Regarding the First Voyage. In Baym, N. (Ed.). (2008). The Norton Anthology of American Literature (seventh ed., pp. 24-28). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
The Native Americans are a prime example of the repression, poverty, and discrimination many minority groups have had to endure throughout the years. The Native Americans had their own land, culture and language. They were people able to adapt well to their particular region by hunting, fishing and farming crops. Their cultures primarily rested on wise use of all natural resources available. Many historians believe there were between 6 and 10 million Native Americans living in what later became the United States before the arrival of the Europeans (Parrillo, 2011). This paper will analyze the views the Europeans had about the Natives, what came about from these views and where the Native American
The Shawnees had their homes taken over and was left to rebuild their homes after being
Although the Natives were more on the defensive side when the Europeans arrived, they did not act upon their notion during the initial encounters. Amongst the many ways the Natives reacted to the Europeans, Axtell stated that the Natives employed 5 different strategies being to incorporate them and when that didn’t work, they attempted to beat them, then join them, then parrot them in their ways enough to trounce them in their own game. When all of the above failed, they resulted to ignore them
After The Revolutionary War, Americans were looking towards their future growth. As they looked west, they established The Northwest Ordinance of 1787. This ordinance called for Americans to be courteous of the Native Americans and their territories, but the idea of Manifest Destiny caused the government and the people of America to break many treaties. Native Americans were eventually forced into reservations where they remain to this day. The Native Americans lost everything and were, as a race, doomed to future failure by white settlers; they are still today plagued by the addictions and violence that come as a result of poverty.
The history between Native Americans and Americans is harsh. Native Americans have been pushed off of their land by Americans and put into smaller reservations. The united states have enforced a number of treaties trying to better the relationship but it has oppressed Natives. Recently the united states were plaining to build an oil pipeline that would run through native land and the native Americans did not want the pipeline to be built. So this created more tension between the two.
Ever since coming to North America, the colonists and early Americans have pushed away Native Americans. Natives were not only thrown into an unknown land, but were also killed in large numbers while changing their culture trying to fit in. The United States was nothing but rude to these people who owned the land centuries before the first Englishman ever stepped foot in America. The United States destroyed these societies to shreds without ever really giving them a good chance to live among the Americans. I believe the United States should have treated these Native Americans better instead of almost completely demolishing millions of innocent people trying to adapt to these new ways of life.
Native Americans played an immensely important part in the history of the United States. Without them, many of the early European settlers would not have been able to survive on their own in the “New World” with the constant famines, diseases, and fighting with one another. The Native Americans, however, had their kindness returned by the plagues and war which led to their near-annihilation. The common view of the matter is that Columbus and the Europeans were wholly responsible for the misfortunes that befell the Natives, and although it is a widely accepted idea, James Axtell presents a different perspective. He says the Native Americans played their own role in carving out the New World and ignoring that fact would result in the reduction of the Natives’ role to just passive victims. Axtell makes several claims about how their own actions contributed towards their end result, contradicting the commonly accepted thought. The evidence presented throughout his essay “Beyond 1492” helps to
In the summer of 1492, Christopher Columbus, a skilled navigator and seamen, departed Spain in search of a direct route to Asia. With financial support from Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella, Genoese merchants, and capital from his own fortune, Columbus and his fleet of three ships traveled west towards what was to be the New World. After sailing for several months facing many hardships, Columbus and his crew discovered new lands that were to be claimed for Spain. These men experienced beauty of inexplicable terms, and interacted with many new types of peoples. Upon his return to Spain, about 3 months after his arrival at San Salvador, Columbus drafted a letter to Ferdinand and Isabella
Hello I am Pontiac. I am an Ottawa Indian from the Midwest, born on the Maumee River. I became the Chief of the Ottawa Tribe in 1755. As a chief, I realized that a strong leader needs to have many allies in case of war. I created an alliance with the French and supported them during the French and Indian War against the British. After a huge lose, I was not going to be ruled by the British or let them take over the Ottawa Tribe land. I decided to establish a large alliance with other tribes, including Chippewa. My Indian army came together to start the Pontiac’s War. I wanted to exile and get rid of the British from the Americas, so all my ally tribes would live free. On July 31 1763, I lead an attack called the Battle of Bloody Run. I
The development of the European colonies from the beginning in 1607 to the end of the American Revolution when the Constitution was ratified in 1789 had many effects on the Native American Indians. (pg.58, 283) This period of time for the Indians was a time of rapid change and oppression. To better understand what the Indians experienced when the European colonists or settlers arrived there are key events that need to be explained. I believe that these key events where the most important and created the most conflict. The events that I will be discussing are; Jamestown, the colonists and Algonquian wars, smallpox, the Beaver wars, economic change, the industrious revolution, the Walking purchase, the Indian Awakening, losing French support, Pontiac’s rebellion, the Declaration of Independence, Indians fighting in the Revolution, and finally the Treaty of Greenville. I believe that these events highlight what cause and effect the European settlers had on the Native Americans.
The Seattle Washington City Council is taking a great step towards healing the suffering America experienced as Europeans began to inhabit the land. Christopher Columbus and the travelers of his day had the opportunity to honor the Natives and trade peacefully with them. Some of the Natives even welcomed the Europeans to live among them. Instead the Europeans treated the Indigenous people as slaves and stole their land. The terrible illnesses that wiped out so much of the population is a tragedy. While some Europeans were kind, the injustice that occurred has not fully washed away from the Native American people. The negative effect from horrific treatment and illnesses are still evident, they carry a great burden for their ancestors. “Indigenous
The English acted harsh towards the natives, lying, stealing and killing the natives. Firstly, the English gave the Indians a false gift with small pox killing many of the Indians. This was the first of many harsh acts twords the natives. At first the Indians attacked because the English were invading their land but eventually it became peaceful. Only when the English started to get greedy and lazy did the push the Indians inland and steal and ravage their community's. The Spanish intertwined themselves into the Indians community to remain peaceful, and allowed the Spaniards to spread Christianity throughout the Indian community. The English drove the Indians because they kept wanting more from the new land. They ravaged the Indians stealing
The American Revolution has had a profound impact on the demographic evolution of this continent; it might be the single most influential historical event to affect North America. Perhaps, the group most affected by the American Revolution is Native Americans. As is too often the case, history was written by the victors and in the case of Native Americans, whether they fought for the British or the Patriots, these original inhabitants of our land were most certainly not victorious. Realizing the impact an independent United States of America would have on their own survival, many Native American tribes chose to ally themselves to the British. Cherokees, Creeks and Mohawks, among others, foresaw the westward expansion and population growth that an America, unchecked by British rule, would realize. To say every Native American tribe played the same role in The Revolution would be contrary to fact, but without a doubt in the end, whether friend or foe, they all realized a similar fate.
Before a proper explanation can be given, there must be a background to give the reader a brief glimpse of who the man Columbus was. Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy in 1451. Columbus also was the child of a pair of two wool merchants. Columbus, during his early years worked on a merchant ship. Afterwards, Columbus sought out a higher education in the fields of cartography, navigation, and astronomy. These topics that he learned later would fuel his ambition for exploration . After receiving permission to explore, he began his journey for fame and gold. Initially, Columbus planned to sail from more foreign ports such as England and Portugal, but was denied. Then, he sought patronage from Spain, who had an interest in his plan.
The central theme of this essay is that there are two sides to the story, one of them is a group led by John Smith and the other is another group led by William Bradford. There are differences and similarities between these two groups. These two groups were looking for the better of them and their future and by that they traveled to find success. They soon stumbled upon this other group that were a group of indians. The Native Americans helped the groups that were uncertain of them, but in exchange in order to help the new landers they had to be friendly and also help them and that’s exactly what happened.