Essay Sample on Native Americans & Europeans: Conflict, Trade & Geography

Introduction

Native Americans and European settlers did not always have a good relationship. There were many conflicts between the Native Americans and the European Settlers. Some of the reasons why the Native Americans fought the Settlers was land for cultivation. However, some Native American groups participated in trade with foreigners. Some even converted to Christianity. One of the significant factors that influenced the relationship between the Native Americans and European Settlers was geography. The location near specific European Settlers group or particular Native American groups affected the relationship. The essay will explore how geographical location changed the relationship between Native Americans and European Settlers to understand the role of geography in modern human interactions.

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Conflict

The proximity of European Settlers groups and Native American groups caused conflicts and wars between the two. When a group of European Settlers moved into a region, there was bound to be conflicts with the nearby Indians. The Indian tribes had organized themselves in empires before the coming of the Europeans. When the settlers moved into a region, they grabbed community land that belonged to the Indians. Also, the colonists needed the Native Americans to work for them as slaves (Nunnally, 2015). Conflicts, therefore, started because of these reasons. Some Indians even attacked the settlers before they could settle in since they did not know what to expect. Also, the European settlers could sometimes raid the Natives to acquire food (Teachinghistory.org, 2019). An example of these conflicts was the conflict between the English and the Powhatan Indians.

When the English first arrived at Jamestown, some of them were attacked before they could set foot on the land by the Powhatan tribes. However, the tribe allowed them to settle and even provided food for them. Trade was also practiced between the two groups. In 1609, the Indians started attacking the English after they realized they were not leaving (Teachinghistory.org, 2019). Also, the English Settlers did not return the hospitality extended to them and could not even marry Indian wives. English settlers could also raid Indian settlements. The conflict between the Indians and the European lasted for over a decade. Since the English Settlers settled near the Powhatan tribe, there was war and conflicts (Saunt, 2017).

Social-Cultural Interactions

Social and cultural interactions of the settlers and Native Americans were usually affected by the distance between the two groups. When Settlers migrated to a region with many Native Americans, some of them converted to Christianity. Also, some aspects of European culture were adopted by the Natives. Natives who lived with the Christians learned to use European languages to understand the bible. The Spaniards attempted to convert the Guale (Teachinghistory.org, 2019), an Indian tribe, into farmers. Also, intermarriages between Native Indian Women and European men were very common in some areas. Activities such as trade ensured Native Americans started using European products such as guns, instead of arrows. The native Indians borrowed much from the European settlers.

When the South East Indians were faced with European diseases and capture by Settlers, the Spaniards took advantage of the weak groups and concentrated on spreading Christianity (Shi & Tindall, 2017). In Florida, Spain formed a military post at today's St Augustine. Here, missionaries tried to convert the Timucuan and the Guale people into Christian farmers. However, some of them went back to their traditional beliefs. As conflicts between Indians and the Spaniards continued, some of them were moved to missionary centers and converted to Christianity. Intermarriages were also evident in this region (Saunt, 2017). The social and cultural interactions between Indians like Guale and the Spaniards took place because the groups were located near each other.

Trade

Trade was very common between the Native Americans and the European settlers. Through trade, Settlers were able to obtain food, fur, and other products, while the Indians acquired guns and textiles (Shi & Tindall, 2017). The proximity between the Native Indians and European settlers' groups, therefore, greatly influenced trading activities. One of the leading native American traders were the Huron. Their location between the mainland and St Lawrence river toward the Great Lake Region enabled them to act as intermediaries between the Indian tribes in the continent and the French. The Hurons who converted to Christianity were allowed to purchase French muskets, hence encouraging them to be Christian. (Teachinghistory.org, 2019) By being near each other, groups of European Settlers and Native Americans were able to trade.

Conclusion

The Native Americans and the European settlers had complicated relationships. The Indians could welcome the immigrants only to fight with them later. The geographical location greatly influenced the relations between Native Americans and the Settlers. Close location encouraged conflicts and war between the natives and the Settlers as they settled. Also, location impacted on the social and cultural interactions, with Native groups near European Settlers converting to Christianity. Besides, trading was done by native Americans and settlers near each other. Therefore, the location greatly influenced Native Americans and European settlers. Even today, location determines the relationship between different groups of people.

References

Nunnally, M. L. (2015). American Indian Wars: A Chronology of Confrontations Between Native Peoples and Settlers and the United States Military, 1500s-1901. McFarland.

Shi, D. E., & Tindall, G. B. (2016). America: A narrative history. WW Norton & Company.

Saunt, C. (2017). "Our Indians": European Empires and the History of the Native American South. In The Atlantic in Global History (pp. 63-79). Routledge, Retrieved from https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781315108995/chapters/10.4324/9781315108995-5

Teachinnghistory.org. (2019). The New World: A Stage for Cultural Interaction. Retrieved November 21, 2019, from https://teachinghistory.org/history-content/ask-a-historian/25447