How Did The Influence The Colonists Have On Indians

The influence the Colonists had on the Indians caused many changes to the native people, animals, and environment. One specific material good that Francis Higginson considered an essential item to bring when coming to the New World, the pistol, led to a change for both the native people and the wildlife of the New England area. The Colonists introduction of the pistol caused a shift from the Indian ways of life which sought to “take only what you need”, to a strong involvement in the trade of animals and their furs, which caused unintended effects to their ecological livelihoods.
Spears, bow and arrows, and other hunting mechanisms were sufficient when the Indians limited their hunting to “not kill more than necessary” (98)1, however as the

Indians often traded furs in exchange for European goods, and with the advancement of the pistol, Indians were able to increase their amount of trade greatly. Acquiring pistols allowed Indians to sell animals/fur to Colonists who could have done it themselves for free (100)1. By selling these animals, Indians learned they could gain new English technologies, and better yet, “personal prestige”(97)1 from these goods they traded. The introduction of the pistol allowed Indians to rise on the social chain by selling animals to obtain material possessions that could not be had by other

Due to the desire for advancement of trade, the known way of Indian life of taking a minimal amount from the land was altered and “disintegrated of their earlier ecological practices” (99)1. Indians began to kill an increasing number of animals of several species (beaver, otter, moose, fox, etc.) (99)1. By the Seventeenth century, this caused New England’s animal populations to decline drastically. (100)1. In 1672, John Josselyn explained that hunters (European and Indian) had diminished the populations of the turkey to the extent where it was rare to see one wild in the woods (100)1. In 1694, deer populations became so reduced there was an enforced closed hunting season to help keep the populations up (101)1. The advancement of the hunting business due to the introduction of the pistol and advanced weapons had led the Indians out of their typical conservatory way of life, into a life full of exploitation of these animals; which in turn led to diminished, and in some cases extinction of, populations. For the Colonists, this was not the largest issue, however, for the Indians, this posed a particularly large problem. The tool they invested in, the pistol, allowed them to trade, and eat, without the source of hunt (animals) the Indians would find themselves struggling for both food and the ability to gain materials from