Relationship Between European And Native Americans In The 1500s

To begin with, the 15th and 16th centuries mark the commencement of European colonization and the integration of American and European culture. Countless Europeans and American Indians were influenced by one another, throughout the Columbian Exchange. Granted, the Native Americans suffered immensely, but there are more importantly numerous significant advantages to be noticed because of European migration. The Columbian Exchange led to the introduction of various products and sources of food, the merging of different groups of people, and transformations in American government and economy. Without the combination of European and American Indian culture, life today would be incredibly less progressive and different.

Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette are French explorers best known for their joint discovery of the Mississippi River in 1673, an area which the Native Americans called the “Mesipe”. Being the first white men to see and explore this area, they brought various information about the character of the river, the animals, the Indians living on its shores, the forests, the soils, and the minerals that surrounded the river back to the French. They also told people about the magnificence of the vast country that lay outside their borders which encouraged people to move westward. These explorers are credited with the first exploration of the Mississippi River however, they are not the first. Hernando DeSoto was a Spanish Explorer who was the first

“1491” Questions 1. Two scholars, Erikson and William Balée believe that almost all aspects of Native American life have been perceived wrong. Although some refuse to believe this, it has been proven to be the truth. Throughout Charles C. Mann’s article from The Atlantic, “1491”, he discusses three main points: how many things that are viewed as facts about the natives are actually not true, the dispute between the high and low counters, and the importance of the role disease played in the history of the Americas. When the term “Native American” is heard, the average person tends to often relate that to a savage hunter who tries to minimize their impact on their surrounding environment.

In the late 1600’s, many European settlers arrived in North America in hopes of escaping the hardships they faced back home. America initially promised colonists the wealth, religious freedom, and escape from oppression they desired. New England was home to dense forests, and hills which was not optimal for crop growth. Therefore, the colonists directed their attention towards trade and commerce. The people in this region were devoutly religious and believed in the education of children.

When European settlers first broke land in American, several differences divided them from natives previously inhabiting this "new" land. Back home the Europeans were accustomed to large masses of people inhabiting small areas with well defined borders under a single government. The native Americans however were the exact opposite; they were accustomed to smaller groups of people in large vast areas with socially defined borders. The native Americans were also, for the most part, self governed within their respective tribes. With these stark differences, coupled with the ethnocentric perspective of the Europeans, it is easy to see how conflict quickly exploded into violent incidents.

The English wanted to colonize with the natives of Roanoke, we, the English sent over settlers to help push the colonization. Before that the English came over in ships to scout the land. The natives came over in canoes, just one Indian. By that one Indian floating over to greet the English they discovered friendship that would last about 3 years. The English started a naval war with the Spaniards, one of the men that was in charge, John White and from what I've read, he's a man who likes destruction.

They also had very different views on religion, with the European's coming from a strong Catholic background and Native's having a more spiritual religion referred to as animism. Contact among the Europeans and Native Americans eventually resulted in the Columbian Exchange which caused huge political, cultural, social and economical changes across the globe. 2. There were many underlying motivational factors for England wanting to colonize the New World. The main reason is obvious, people were excited to get an opportunity towards making a decent living or possibly even becoming wealthy.

Quite simply put, Europeans viewed Africans and Native Americans as inferior to themselves. They were considered to be heathens and barbarians by the Europeans. And, at least initially, they were not Christian. It was believed that Europeans could save both Native Americans and Africans not only spiritually but also economically and socially. This type of attitude also most likely made it much easier for the Europeans to discriminate and exploit them.

The European Enlightenment allowed Western Europe to shed off the burdens and superstitions of medieval, feudalistic Europe, while retaining the idea of European prestige over other nations. Prior the Enlightenment, Europeans often lived in superstitious, irrational societies based on authority over others by the higher institutions. However, Europeans thought of themselves as morally superior to other nations based on their adherence to Christianity, as evident by the Crusades and Reconquista, as examples. After the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus, European colonial dominance emerged in the 16th century, allowing Europeans to be even more elevated over the rest of the world. This continued into the modern day, even after decolonization of the middle 20th century.

The New World was home to Native Americans before it was ever home to Europeans. Europeans, mostly the English were who began to shape it to their needs and personal identities. New England, for example was considered to be tight knit and as a result of having families developed schools, and churches to fit their lifestyle. New England and Chesapeake were distinct societies during the colonization era of North America with different settlement patterns, motivations, and economies. Patterns of settlement for New England and Chesapeake differed greatly.

Upon the first colonial establishments, the Europeans viewed Native Americans as uncultured, unintelligent, and uncivilized. The first colonizers found themselves ultimately superior to the perceived rudimentary cultural and societal customs that were observed. Native Americans viewed Europeans as a strictly one sided cultural mass enforcement foreign establishment, stopping at nothing to enforce their perceived superiority in all forms of cultural and societal aspects. Differences in land use, gender roles, and societal history added to the wedging and hostility between the Native Americans and European people. Upon the European's first impression of Native American culture, the first notable aspect of their "species" and society was their promising outlook as potential slave laborers.

Throughout the late 1400’s and the 1500’s, the world experienced many changes due to the discoveries of new lands and peoples that had been never been visited before. The new-found lands of the Americas and exploration of Africa by the Europeans led to new colonies and discoveries in both areas. It also brought different societies and cultures together that had never before communicated, causing conflict in many of these places. While the Europeans treated both the Native Americans and West Africans as inferior people, the early effects they had on the Native Americans were much worse. Beginning in the late 1400’s, many different European explorers started to look for new trade routes in the Eastern Hemisphere in order to gain economic and religious power.

During the late 15th and early 16th centuries, eExplorers from Europe had made vast advancements on traveling methods and shipbuilding and had new methods to travel the world. Due to needs for faster trade routes or access to new markets, most powers, starting with Portugal, had started sending Explorers to find different ways to trade and navigate. This would eventually lead them to the New World where they would meet people of different culture. Explorers during this period have many positive and negative effects on the natives. Europeans indirectly killed off native with diseases, enslaved natives with cruel slave methods, and tried to completely erase the native cultures in place of the typical European cultures and religion.

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).