The First Nations, the Virginians, and the New England Puritans all had a different respect or attitude towards the physical environment in North America. While the First Nations had inhabited the land for already some time, it was a new land for the European colonist. There are many different factors that contributed the three groups’ differing attitudes towards the environment, but it comes down to their purposes or goals in the “New World.” In the long run, these differing attitudes had multiple consequences.
The biggest difference of the three groups is the attitude of the First Nation people to both the Virginians and the New England Puritans. The Native Americans had been living in America for hundreds of years before the settlers came.
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According to the header for John Smith, “The Virginia Company was formed by a group of investors seeking to establish a new colony in North America” (120). This was strictly a business venture. This is how their purpose affects their attitude towards the physical environment. They saw the land as money, and their attitude was that they were willing to do almost anything to make the venture successful. A possible consequence of this attitude is violence and harsh relations the Virginians had with the Native Americans. While the Virginians were focused of making a profit of the land, the New England Puritans saw it as a refuge.
The New England Puritans sought religious freedom for themselves in the “New World.” They compared themselves a lot to the Israelites and saw the new land as a “Promised Land.” Their attitude towards the land was that of respect, but they believed God wanted them to “use” the land. In their point of view, the Native Americans were living in the wilderness and not pleasing God. This produced tension with the Natives because Puritans would often expect the Natives to leave the land that they wanted. A possible consequence of this was King Phillips War.
In conclusion, the First Nations, the Virginians, and the New England Puritans all had different attitude towards the physical environment of North America. These differing attitudes are sadly what caused most of the bloodshed in the early days of European
“Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists and the Ecology of New England” was published in 1983 by historian William Cronon. The book focuses on environmentalism and history of New England. Cronon describes the shift from Indian to European dominance, the European’s view of nature through an economic lens, and the anthropogenic changes to the environment that occured. Throughout the book, Cronon argues that the European colonists used various tactics to assert dominance over the Indians.
The colonists were taking the Native American's property and taking advantage of the native Americans in the trade by getting them drunk so they could get more land. King Philip, the religious leader the Native Americans.
Besides English settlers there were numerous other representatives of the European countries settling in the new land. And as the Puritans came to practice their own believes so did other nationalities, as explained in the study material. In my own interpretation America represents change and the believe system as well as the way religion was previously practiced was now changing. This change was greatly influenced by the intellectual movement called Enlightenment, which started in Europe and this influence had bearing on the Great Awakening. Besides Puritans now there were Catholics in Maryland, Quakers in Pennsylvania and the Episcopal Church in the southern states.
1. How are the Puritans going to justify the taking of Native American land? The puritans defended taking the local land by trusting it was the correct thing ", the pagan for thine legacy, and the farthest parts of the earth for thy ownership. " And to legitimize their utilization of power to take the land, they referred to Romans 13:2: "Whosoever therefore resister the power, resister the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. "
Throughout history, women have continuously been the targets of oppression. One historical incident that exemplifies this trend was the Salem Witchcraft Hysteria. The Salem Witchcraft Hysteria resulted from various causes; it occurred in a specific historical, social, and economical context. In regards to the history of the Salem Witch Trials, it is particularly evident that the Puritan society regarded women as subservient to men. This notion can be drawn all the way back to the story of Eve.
Throughout the seventeenth century, conflict between Europeans and Native Americans was rampant and constant. As more and more Europeans migrated to America, violence became increasingly consistent. This seemingly institutionalized pattern of conflict begs a question: Was conflict between Europeans and Native Americans inevitable? Kevin Kenny and Cynthia J. Van Zandt take opposing sides on the issue. Kevin Kenny asserts that William Penn’s vision for cordial relations with local Native Americans was destined for failure due to European colonists’ demands for privately owned land.
The English colonies were very different. They wanted to populate their new home, and pushed out the natives to make more room for their people and tobacco crops. The settlers thought the Native Americans to be “heathens without faith” and “agents of the Devil,” causing many disputes. The natives shared cruel views of the settlers. The aggression between the two groups led to war.
There are significant historical contextual factors underlying the tensions between these groups. Culturally, Natives and settlers held very different worldviews, values, and ways of life, which led to prejudice, misunderstandings, and miscommunications. (Vevier, 4) They also competed for resources and land, causing violent confrontations that shaped the development of Western society. Some characters exhibited deeply prejudiced and antagonistic views of Natives, seeing them as savage and untrustworthy, while other characters possessed a more understanding and open-minded perspective.
The New Englanders took religion seriously, making unitary laws according to Puritan standards. John Winthrop, later chosen as the first Massachusetts Bay Colony governor, was seeking religious freedom. Wishing to inspire the colonists to dwell in brotherly unity, he summoned them together to remind them “that if we [colonists] shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world.” On the other hand, those in the Chesapeake region came for the wealth that America promised. They were there to become prosperous or die trying.
The ideas constructed by the Puritans were not simply a principal starting point for American culture because they were the first in the country, but because they offered distinct ways of thinking that are still deep-seated in our culture today. Although many of the ideas of Puritans have evolved or vanished over time, it is important to give credit to the Puritan writers and thinkers such as John Winthrop and John Cotton who offered ideas that were new at the time and that stayed with the American consciousness—culturally, socially, and politically. “John Winthrop's legacy can be seen primarily in the fields of government, commerce, and religion. It was religion that would most impact John's life; his religion would ultimately impact the
New England’s economy would also be influenced by the British tax later that would cause Americans to revolt many of which trusted in their faith to guide them The Puritans who settled in Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630 were also motivated by religious beliefs. They believed in the idea of a "city upon a hill," a vision of a holy community that would serve as an example to the rest of the world (American YAWP, 2.6). This belief led to a strict social order and a commitment to the moral and spiritual purity of the community. It also led to conflicts with other religious groups, such as the Quakers, who were seen as a threat to the Puritan social order.
How did Europeans attitudes toward the land lead to changes in the ecology of New England in the 17th and 18th centuries? The Europeans attitudes toward the land was they wanted to own and take possession of the land. Colonists occasionally admitted as much when they needed to defend their rights to lands originally purchased from Indians for Indians legitimately to sell their lands they had first to own them (Cronon, 57).
According to the social characteristics of the said New England region, the Separatists and Puritans of this region would likely not support the French and Indian War. The Separatists, or Pilgrims, wanted to be separate from the Church of England. However, in these times, it was illegal to not worship the Church of England, so they left for America to avoid religious persecution and worship as they choose. The Puritans, similar to the Separatists before them, left for America for religious reasons. They had tried and failed at reforming the Church of England, so they left Britain and settled in the New England colonies.
They wanted to create pure, moral Christian society based on moral living. By hard working, integration of religion in politics, and social development of certain lifestyle practices, Puritans had a large influence on the development of the New England colonies from 1630s through the 1660s. Puritans believed in hard work as the pathway of success since they thought they were favored by God to succeed (Doc I). They tried to shun idleness and believed that being lazy is not profitable (Doc C).
The Natives believed that the Europeans are “edgy, rapacious, and remotely maladroit.” Sure enough, the settlers in Jamestown kenned little about farming and found the environment baffling. It was conspicuous that the colonists needed the avail of the Natives. Despite their inexperience the English dominated the Indians. From “the beginning the Virginia Company indited that the relationship would ineluctably become bellicose: for you Cannot Carry Your Selves so towards them but they will Grow Discontented with Your habitation.”