When the English arrived in Massachusetts in the 1700’s colonists were excited to see acres upon acres of open land. They saw great opportunity in this land, as they would be the first to farm and cultivate it. They also came upon Native Americans. These Indians, having different relationships with animals than the English, did not believe in owning livestock. When the colonists came, they tired to implement their values of owning livestock and transform New England into a civilized colony.
For example, why would a female Native want to own a hunting knife if her job was to harvest the corn fields? The Natives also worked as a community, willingly giving away objects and tools that no longer served a purpose to them to others that needed them. The lack of desire for ownership confused the English colonists greatly, but also allowed them to easily take advantage of the Native Americans since they were not aware of the land they were sitting on. The only way that an English colonist could own land was if it was given to him by the Crown or if it was purchased from the Natives, which led to colonists making ridiculously unfair deals with Native Americans for monumental amounts of land. For example, one
In 1742 the chief of Onondaga of the Iroquois Confederacy knew that his land that the people shared would become more valuable than it has ever been. (Doc B)The reason for this was because the “white people” also known as the Americans wanted the land of the chief. The feelings of the Chief result in complaining to the representatives of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia,
In order to show their power, they expanded into Indian’s lands because they wanted to show sovereignty and ownership. Also, in technical terms, the U.S. had control over the Appalachian lands, even though it was Indian territory due to the Treaty of Paris with Britain, but Indians still claimed it as their land. Also, white settlers or squatters were eager to find their own land instead of illegally living off of other people’s
Native groups often took land and materials from weaker groups whenever it suited them. They understood the concept of ownership by conquest. From the time the first settlers landed on Turtle Island [America], the Natives were pushed from their home. In 1783, George Washington wrote a letter to James Duane, outlining principles of the Indian Policy of the Continental Congress. Washington outlined ‘an enlightened People’ would consider the Native to be deluded and that “as the country is large enough to contain us all; and as we are disposed to be kind to them and to partake in their trade…we will draw a veil over what is past and establish a boundary line between them and us beyond which we will endeavor to restrain our People from Hunting or Settling” (4).
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.
Elaborating on concepts from the previous chapters, Cronon discusses how and why New England in the 1800s was ecologically different from New England in the 1600s. The author lists many relevant issues which influenced the ecological change: deforestation, dams, crop disease, European pests, and so forth. Cronon states that there is a clear difference between New England before and after European colonization, but stresses the dangers of analyzing ecological change simply by contrasting two landscapes (before and after European colonization). Cronon discusses how disease helped to promote European expansion, and how economic and ecological imperialisms reinforced each other. He also mentions that Indians continuously evolved, and an earlier
As the Indians now had land to live on, and didn’t have to worry about maintaining the land as much. The way the Indians were able to have land was because they lived on reservations. Reservations, were controversial, but they did give pretty stable land to the Indians. On the topic of reservations, Bennett Elmer said, “The 1851 Indian Appropriation Acts allocated funds to move Western tribes onto reservations.”
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.”
One Man’s Vision Against a World’s View During the 1600’s the world changed drastically due to the widely held belief that expanding empires would lead to great fortune and world domination. William Penn, an Englishman who was inspired to build a community tailored to his Quaker beliefs (that of the “friendly neighbor), wrote an invitation to his English compatriots regarding the land he saw and his ideas of that land. In “Letters to the Free Society of Traders” (1683) Penn wrote of the land, the plants, and the people favorably.
England began colonizing the Americas in the early 1600’s, the first step in creating the United States we know today. The development of these colonies, historians argue, was most greatly affected by environmental and geographic variations. I support, yet modify, this statement to be that the individual culture of each colony was shaped by the area’s geographical features and surroundings. It was not the people that determined the culture, but the peoples reaction to their geography that molded the culture. Therefore, the main influencer was the geography and natural features of the land.
When the Europeans began colonizing the New World, they had a problematic relationship with the Native Americans. The Europeans sought to control a land that the Natives inhabited all their lives. They came and decided to take whatever they wanted regardless of how it affected the Native Americans. They legislated several laws, such as the Indian Removal Act, to establish their authority. The Indian Removal Act had a negative impact on the Native Americans because they were driven away from their ancestral homes, forced to adopt a different lifestyle, and their journey westwards caused the deaths of many Native Americans.
The Spanish based their colonies on the promise of finding gold and possessing it, while the English Settlers based their colonies on the preaching of Christianity all while believing that the land they possessed and owned was how they would gain their liberty, independence, and ultimately their freedom. The Native Americans believed that the land belonged to not one person, but to a community instead; as long a you showed deep respect for it and cared for it as so mandated by the great spirit. Whether it be by the use of violence, religious education, or respect, every society and every person had different views on how the land and its resources should be
Ownership of land was the concept of private property that one person or group owned permanent, absolute control of a part of land. This was difficult to understand for many Native Americans because they have practiced a communistic land system for a long period of time. Land was not a product, perceptible, or an inert item that could be sized and sold. The Native Americans never established a structure or civilization of personal land ownership. Their land was not possessed by people and instead belonged to the community as a whole.
The lands that the Native Americans were previously calling their homelands were immediately sold and used for their resources (timber, mining, gold etc.) I like the quote under the Treaty Timeline portion that highlights this best as quoted by Ohiyesa, “The greatest object of their lives seems to be to acquire possessions-to be rich. They desire to possess the whole world” (Why Treaties Matter, How Treaties Changed Lands and Lifeways) I think that this another example of how we have been socialized to believe the Eurocentric perspective that is taught in textbooks.
