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The Indian New World James Merrell Analysis

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Historians who practice historiography agree that the writings from the beginning of what is now known as the United States of America can be translated various ways. In James H. Merrell’s “The Indians’ New World,” the initial encounters and relationships between various Native American tribes and Europeans and their African American slaves are explained; based on Merrell’s argument that after the arrival of Europeans to North America in 1492, not only would the Europeans’ lives drastically change, but a new world would be created for the Native Americans’ as their communities and lifestyles slowly intertwined for better or worse. Examples of these changes include: “deadly bacteria, material riches, and [invading] alien people.” (Merrell 53) …show more content…

The Europeans came mostly in peace; however, the Native Americans saw the newcomers as a threat to their livelihood. Amoroleck, an Indian captured by the Europeans after a clash between the two, explained that the Native Americans attacked the settlers because they believed the settlers “were a people come from under the world, to take their world from them.” (Merrell 45) With early conflicts, neither party was coming out victorious with their losses out numbering their winnings between the Indians and Europeans. Eventually, the Native Americans would accept the Europeans and even live jointly, aiding one another whether it was determining the best hunting grounds, planting the right crops in the right area, or incorporating lifestyles by helping round up escaped slaves. The two parties learned to make the most out and how to benefit from each other. Merrell’s article proves the point that the lives of the Native Americans drastically changed just as the Europeans had. In order to survive, the Native Americans and Europeans had to work for the greater good. Throughout the article, these ideas are explained in more detail and uncover that the Indians were put into a new world just as the Europeans were, whether they wanted change or

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