Native Americans and European Explorers

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Native Americans and European Explorers
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History

• It is thought that the American Indians (aka
  Native Americans) originated from Asia and
  crossed the Bering Strait (Bering Land Bridge)
  20,000 years ago.

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Land Transfers

• These two maps reveal the dramatic transfer of
  Indian lands into white hands between 1775 to
  1894.
• The shaded areas are Indian holdings, the white
  areas those held by settlers

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Land Loss from 1775 1992
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Modern Population
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Why did explorations happen when they did?

• A variety of factors all came together to make
  the time period (1450-1700) the age of
  exploration
• Some of these factors were pushes, external
  forces acting on Europe
• Some were pulls, motivations and things that
  attracted the Europeans

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What is the easiest way to remember it all?

• The Three Gs
• Gold
• Glory
• God
• Although a little simplistic, this mnemonic is a
  great way to remember the main motivations of the
  European explorers.

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The First G Gold

• Gold was a hot item that explorers were looking
  for, but remember that it is really wealth, not
  just literal gold that explorers were after.
• Europe needed gold (and silver) to fuel the
  rising banking system
• Europeans also desired spices (Da Gamas voyage
  to India made him a 3000 profit!)
• Other natural resources would come to be sold for
  profit as well (timber, sugar, tobacco, ivory,
  etc.)
• This competition will be enhanced by the idea of
  mercantilism that emerges, the idea that there is
  only so much wealth in the world, and that to
  make your kingdom strong you must have more gold
  and wealth than the other kingdoms

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The second G Glory

• Just like the first G, Gold, Glory was a
  relatively new idea in Europe
• Came out of the Renaissance ideal of Humanism,
  and the focus on individual achievement
• With the rise of the printing press, the idea of
  gaining fame for ones actions was more possible
• Also, individual kings wanted glory for their
  kingdoms, competition spreads

The Triumph of Fame, a Flemish tapestry from 1502.
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The third G God

• As members of a universalizing religion,
  Europeans had always seen spreading Christianity
  as a good thing
• Especially after the Reformation, competition
  will spring up
• Colonization will become a race to convert native
  peoples to a particular brand of Christianity
• Jesuits (Catholics) are some of the most active

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Interactions between Native American and European
Settlers
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Food Exchange

• Almost immediately, Native Americans and
  Europeans exchanged knowledge about food items.
• From Europeans to Indians From Indians
  to Europeans
• - bananas - catfish
• - cattle - chocolate
• - chickens - pineapple
• - horses - potatoes
• - pigs - pumpkins/squash
• - sheep - sweet potatoes
• - sugarcane - tomatoes
• - wheat - tobacco

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Effect! Over time, the diets of both Native
Americans and Europeans widened as a greater
variety of food became available.
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Weapons

• The bow and arrow and spear served Native
  Americans quite well. With them, Indians hunted
  for food and went to battle.

• European settlers introduced the rifle. When they
  hunted for food or went to battle, the rifle made
  them successful.

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Effect! Over time, the European weapons proved
stronger and more powerful than Indian spears and
bows and arrows. The nature of hunting and
warfare changed and Native Americans traded for
European-style weapons whenever they could.
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Villages

• This is a Native village. Homes were arranged in
  a circle but there is no boundary around the
  village to keep people out.

• English villages were small and fortified with
  walls to keep Native Americans at a distance.
  This is Jamestown in the early 1600s

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Effect! Over time, the landscape changed as the
number of European communities increased and
resembled the cities of Europe while Indian
settlements were destroyed or pushed to the west.
Also, Europeans held on to their idea of land
ownership while the Native Americans did not
have the idea of ownership the land was used as
a person needed it.
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Homes of Europeans

• This home in Williamsburg, VA was huge and
  elaborately designed.

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Native Homes

• The homes of pueblo Indians used natural
  materials, were simple in design and were adapted
  to the environment.

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Effect! Over time, European communities and homes
resembled those of Europe. Native American homes
were not valued by the Europeans who settled.
Future homes were built in European style.
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Catholic Religion

• European settlers hoped to convert Native
  Americans to Christianity.

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Native American Spiritual Life
Native Americans had strong spiritual lives and
prayed for rain, for sun, for healthy children
for all good things in their lives.
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Effect! Over time, European settlers tried to
change the religious lives of Native Americans by
forcing them to be Christians. Not surprisingly,
native peoples resisted all efforts to convert
them to Christianity.
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European Languages Added

• You can predict that the European settlers
  brought with them the languages they had grown up
  with Spanish, French, Dutch, Portuguese, and
  English.
• Many of our cities have European names
• Scituate and Natick are Indian words.
• San Francisco and Los Angeles are Spanish words.
• Quebec and Trois Rivieres are French words.
• Plymouth and Needham are English words.
• Catskills and Poughkeepsie are Dutch words.

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Native Languages

• There were as many as 300 native languages spoken
  at time of encounter.

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Effect! Over time, Native American languages
disappeared from common use and European
languages, especially English, became widely
used. Names of places still may retain Indian
names, as well as a small number of words like
moccasins. Otherwise this has become a nation
that speaks European languages.
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Relations with Native Americans

• Spanish
• wanted to control the Native Americans
• French/Dutch
• wanted to trade with the Native Americans
• English
• wanted to live side-by-side
• glad for help they could get from the Native
  Americans
• cautious and wanted to change their ways to match
  their own.

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Enduring Impact

• Language
• The English language is the predominant language
  in the United States, even today. French is
  spoken in some parts of Canada while English is
  spoken in other parts. Spanish is spoken in most
  South American and Caribbean countries.
• Religion
• Christianity, the predominant religion of the
  European countries that settled the United
  States, remains a strong influence in the lives
  of many people.

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• Architecture
• Architecture in the southwest resembles Spanish
  architecture of Europe architecture along the
  Mississippi River resembles French architecture
  of Europe.
• Food
• Our diet, today, reflects much European
  influence. It includes many wheat products
  (bread, cake), beef and chicken, all introduced
  by Europeans who settled in the Americas.