Assignment 1: How The Environment Shaped Native American Culture

After the Civil War ended many people were in hope of finding land since population was increasing. Since the West was underdeveloped and uncivilized, many decided to expand the land. First the Louisiana Purchase increased the opportunity of expansion. Then industrialization and the Homestead Act also caused many companies encouraged to move West due to the low cost of land and that the transportation was provided through the railroads. In order to complete such goals, something had to be done with the Natives since it conflicted with their home area.

In the Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican time period in history, there were many groups of Native Americans that had diverse cultures and societies. The technological and intellectual advancements in these societies, depended on where they were located in Mesoamerica. The Native Americans discovered many things that could help them live an advanced and satisfying life. Each tribe had different necessities and objects that they needed in order to survive. The Native American cultures in these areas had various developments that the different European cultures could use to make themselves more powerful and become strong enough to annihilate many of the Native American cultures.

In 1540 to 1700, the Scientific Revolution occured, events and tools created during this time period would change life forever. First, the astrolabe and the compass were both technological advances created to help navigate and explore the world. Also, at this time Asian spices were huge, but Italy and Egypt controlled the trade routes to Asia. Then, explorers started to sail the world, finding new routes and lands. Lastly, Christopher Columbus tried to sail to Asia in late 1492, but messed up on his way there and discovered the New World.

Prior to the discovery of the New World by Europeans, Native Americans populated what is presently North and South America in massive numbers; however, due to massive population loss, mainly caused by diseases introduced by Europeans and Africans, the Native Americans were unfortunately forced to live as inferiors to the Europeans. A major issue that faced native populations of the New World was the fact that the Europeans introduced foreign animals that carried diseases the natives had never seen before. Specifically in Mexico and Peru, the natives had alpacas and llamas in small and isolated groups, so diseases were not able to originate in them [McNeil 178]. On the other hand, the animals that the Europeans brought over, such as cattle,

Native Americans, French, Spanish, and English The Native Americans were the first to settle in America. Their culture was developed more for survival than enjoyment. They migrated from the area that is known as Asia. There were many different tribes located in America.

Their beliefs were rejected by the white-american culture which made it difficult to assimilate or control the tribes by the United States. The U.S. was trying to convert the plains tribes from hunter-gatherers to farmers in the the European-American tradition. Native Americans tends to focus around nature. Their religion includes a number of practices,ceremonies and traditions. Their religion ceremonies included feasts, music, dances, and other performances.

Also, the extinction of buffalo affected them negatively and the domination of the whites disrupted their surroundings. The Westward Expansion impacted the Native Americans land and culture. Before the Americans started coming to the West and settling, the Native Americans had a peaceful life. Twenty-eight tribes lived in the Great

This is why the numbers went down so drastically. Secondly, while the Native Americans were dealing with a decrease in population. They were also dealing with diseases. According to The Washington Post, “The Native Americans brought over measles.”

Native Americans were greatly affected by the expansion of the United States during the 1800s. As the U.S. moved west, they stole large amounts of Native American land by settling the land and killing the Natives who once lived there. Also during this time, their culture was being taken from them due to assimilation. While United States citizens were expanding into the west, many Native American lives were lost. They were also responsible for destroying a major food and supply source for Native Americans.

This resulted from the arrival of the Spaniards in 1492. In only 100 years, the Native American population was only about 750,000; 24 million less than the original 25,000,000 plus. Christopher Columbus had an incredibly negative impact on the world because he enslaved the Native Americans, didn’t help the kind Natives when they got infected by diseases that the Spaniards had brought to America, and killed off most of the Native American population. The tactics he chose to use were violent and destructive by the standards back then and now prove he was a not a hero but a

The Columbian Exchange affected Europe and The Americas similarly between 1492 and 1750 because of the exchange of new plants and animals, but some environmental and demographic impacts on The Americas and Europe were opposite from each other, with Europe benefiting from new crops and The Americas suffering from disease and deforestation. One similarity in the effects The Americas and Europe saw during the Columbian Exchange was an introduction of new plants and animals between both worlds. In regards to plants, The Americas were introduced to plants such as sugar cane, bananas, and onions, while Europe was introduced plants such as corn, potatoes, and vanilla. In regards to animals, The Americas were introduced to animals such as cattle, sheep, and horses, whereas Europe was introduced to animals such as turkeys.

The Americans continues to push the Native Americans farther away from their homelands and mistreated them even making them walk the Trail of Tears which some call a American Holocaust. Eventually, the Americans tried to remove the Native American culture and just assimilate them into the modern world just like the Europeans in the early

Europeans began exploring the Americas in late 15th century. This had many effects on both the land of the Americas and the Native Americans that inhabited them. Many of the Native American cultures perished with the coming if the Europeans while some survived. A good deal of the Native American cultures that did survive, were very small. The Europeans did not mean to find the Americas, in fact, they were on a voyage to find a new route to Asia and The Indies.

Before the Spanish ship that changed it all, which arrived in the “New World” in 1492, thriving organized communities of native people had centuries of history on the land. That ship, skippered by Christopher Columbus, altered the course of both Native American and European history. 1492 sparked the fire of cultural diffusion in the New World which profoundly impacted the Native American peoples and the European settlers. Prior to European contact, Native Americans lived as hunter-gatherers, living and traveling in groups of typically less than 300 people. These Native Americans spoke over 400 languages and practiced a myriad of different religions (The American Pageant).

Ownership of land was the concept of private property that one person or group owned permanent, absolute control of a part of land. This was difficult to understand for many Native Americans because they have practiced a communistic land system for a long period of time. Land was not a product, perceptible, or an inert item that could be sized and sold. The Native Americans never established a structure or civilization of personal land ownership. Their land was not possessed by people and instead belonged to the community as a whole.