European Colonists and American Indians Sample Essay

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

European Colonists and American Indians

Name

Institution Affiliation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My name is Xie Chung, and I’m an international student from China. Since my name is Chinese name, it’s hard to pronounce. But I have an English name, Crystal, so feel free to call me Crystal. This is my third semester at CSM. I’m majoring in Business and want to transfer to UCs. The reasons why I’m taking this course are not only for GE course but also my interest. For the reason that I was born in raised in China, so I haven’t learned about the US history before. Therefore, ever since I become a student at CSM, I have wanted to learn US history. Also, I live quite far from the school so that I decided to take on online course for this semester to save time.

European Colonists and American Indians

The first inhabitants of the Americas were the American Indians. They established their shelters in different parts of the state and formed sovereign tribes with the well-defined Indian way of life. These people got the name Indians from Christopher Columbus in 1492 a term which gave them a collective identity. European colonist’s invasion in the Americas had significant impacts on Native Americans. For instance, their attack led to an eruption of war between them and the natives.

When the European colonists came to America, they were in dire need of workers to help in the construction of houses and clearing of farming fields (Flavin, 2011). The only way to acquire these workers was through offering trade commodities such as weapons to Native Americans in exchange for people captured during tribal conflicts. The arrested people were sold as slaves to the colonists. Slaves were exposed to poor living and working conditions which blend a sense of bitterness among them. This bitterness made them retaliate demanding fair treatment. The war resulted in a massive loss of lives and property. Additionally, some of the native tribes fled away to escape slavery. The effects of the war are still felt today as some of the native tribes were destroyed especially those that lived in the south and southwest.

Another source of conflict between Native Americans and European colonists was religion. The natives were Muslims, while the colonists were Christians. When the colonists invaded the Americas, they wanted to convert the natives into Christians. The natives did not respond well to this because they could not abandon their religion and cultural practices in favor of Christianity. Therefore, they opted for resistance which triggered an eruption of war, thus distracting their daily activities and loss of lives and property.

Several factors influenced how Native Americans interacted with the Europeans. For instance, the French took advantage of the tribal conflicts between the natives to establish trade relations with some of the locals (Salisbury, 2010). The locals would, therefore, act as middlemen between the French and other Indian traders. The locals did most of the work but received little gains from their work. The French took part in the exchange of weapons and metal goods for animal products such as hides and skins. This trade led to the rise of social classes in American society as there arose a group of wealthy merchants. This trade also ensured continuous economic and diplomatic leverage among the locals.

Spain was the most powerful monarchy in Europe and strived to make their presence felt. For instance, they enslaved people in the Caribbean and acquired large tracts of land which they used for large scale farming. Additionally, they took part in the excavation of gold and silver, which they took back to their homeland. The Spaniards also established military bases in areas such as St Augustine and settled there. The aim of these military posts was to suppress any opposition posed by the locals. Catholic missionaries took advantage of the whole situation and attempted to convert the natives into Christianity. Although they managed to turn a few people, they faced a lot of opposition. Some of the Indians would collaborate with the Spaniards, but they continued practicing their cultural practices and religion, making the missionaries conclude that the natives were inferior and incapable of comprehending Christianity.

In conclusion, the number of natives diminished during the 17th century as epidemics brought by the Europeans killed a massive amount of the locals. In addition, intermarriage between the locals and the Europeans led to absorption of most American Natives.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Flavin, F. (2011). Native Americans and American History. University of Texas at Dallas, 1-11.

Salisbury , N. (2010). The Indians’ Old World: Native Americans and the Coming of European. Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture , 1-25.

 

 

 

 

European Colonists and American Indians Sample Essay