The encounter between the Native Americans and the Europeans during the colonial period represented a critical turning point for both groups from their cultural beliefs, economic activities, and of course, in political activities. The beliefs and ways of life of the two groups differed significantly, and the contradicting cultures which were dissimilar reflected that a conflict would arise sooner than later that could define the end of one group or both of them. The famous encounter between the Europeans and the Native Americans occurred in the new world an area described by John Smith as New England which was originally a settlement for Native Americans who were mostly Indians. In their first encounter, there existed a sense of dread among the Europeans on meeting the Native American who had fought the early Spanish colonizers. The Europeans had mixed perceptions when it came to the American Natives. On the one hand, they regarded these people as gentle and receptive, and on the other, they had great fear connected to the definition that was mostly used on Native Americans as “flesh-eating primitives,” “savage, hostile and beastlike,” and “crafty loathsome half-men.” 1 These are descriptions that filled the European stomachs with water (Salisbury July 1996).
Europeans possessed guns and other weapons that made some of the Native Americans leaders see their arrival as a benefit rather than a threat. For the first years, the groups integrated and coordinated peacefully with each learning from the other. The Americans supplied food to the Europeans in times of starving in exchange for a weapon which acted as a major benefit to the Americans. The European thought that the Native Americans would take advantage of the starving time and expected them to act treacherously and heartlessly but this didn’t happen. Amazingly, the Europeans were left with little to worry about their condition as they believed that their lives were in God’s hands. This is evident when John Smith quotes “if it had not pleased God to have put a terror in the Savage’s hearts, we’d have perished by those wild and cruel pagans, being in that weakest state as we were” (Woodward March 2008). From the Native Americans point of view, Europeans posed no danger to them and had little to fear. Living on the east coast part of North America, the Native Americans practiced farming, hunting and gathering, fishing and engaged in trade 2 . They believed in their natural God and retained the belief that a natural strength controlled every action and thus could not permanently occupy land as they believe that everything was supposed to remain natural. The Europeans, on the other hand, believed in Christianity and God was their only source of strength (Anderson 1991). Simply because the Native Americans didn’t believe in Christianity, the European developed hatred towards them and described them as people who shouldn’t be trusted.
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As the inhabitants of the New England, the Native Americans treasured this place as it was productive in agriculture and fishing. They wanted the place to retain its naturalness, and therefore they performed their agricultural activities on a single piece of land for a short time and shifted to another place. They didn’t believe in the permanent ownership of land 3 . The Europeans were interested in land, and as it is evident in the exploration done by John Smith, they wanted to own land here and make the place their permanent settlement. They perceived their arrival as an opportunity to own permanent lands and fence them to restrict Native American from accessing their settlements. The company in Europe needed land, and thus, contrary to the Native Americans, the Europeans saw the area as an opportunity to develop it to become an industrial area. This contraction developed hatred and disagreements that exploded into a war that resulted to Native Americans being defeated as they had weaker and traditional weapons
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Bibliography
Anderson, Virginia DeJohn. "The Origin of the New England Culture ." The William and Mary Quaterly, Vol. 48, no. 2 , 1991: pp. 231-237 .
Salisbury, Neal. "The Indians' Old World: Native Americans and the Coming of Europeans ." The William and Mary Quarterly, Third Series, Vol. 53, No. 3, Indians and Others in Early America , July 1996: pp. 435-458.
Woodward, Walter W. "Captain John Smith and the Campaign for New England: A Study in Early Modern Identity and Promotion ." The New England Quarterly Vol. 81: , Issue . 1 , March 2008 : pg. 91-125.
1 Salisbury, Neal. "The Indians' Old World: Native Americans and the Coming of Europeans ." The William and Mary Quarterly, Third Series, Vol. 53, No. 3, Indians and Others in Early America , July 1996: pp. 435-458.
2 Woodward, Walter W. "Captain John Smith and the Campaign for New England: A Study in Early Modern Identity and Promotion ." The New England Quarterly Vol. 81: , Issue . 1 , March 2008 : pg. 91-125.
3 Anderson, Virginia DeJohn. "The Origin of the New England Culture ." The William and Mary Quaterly, Vol. 48, no. 2 , 1991: pp. 231-237 .
