How Did The Spanish And French Terrorize Native Americans?

The era of New France marked a transition in which the Native Americans were not acquainted with, the contact with the Europeans. The civilization of the French was much different than the previous settlers. Rather than the French enslaving the Native Americans, they resided alongside them and even cultivated their language. This is deemed as striking because they did not expect or force cultural conversion from the Native Americans. Allan Greer captures these themes in his book, Mohawk Saint, in regards of the Mohawk Saint named Catherine Tekakwitha.

The French, as opposed to the Spanish and English, were more focused on forming alliances and economic links and frequently saw the indigenous peoples as inferior. This strategy promoted a more harmonious coexistence between the French and the native peoples and contributed to the development of a cultural exchange that is still going strong today. The French fur trade was established thanks to Champlain's exploration and mapping of the area, which was a key factor in the colonisation of North America. In addition to bringing the French wealth, the fur trade brought them into touch with the native peoples, which aided in the formation of alliances and cultural interchange between the two groups.

Throughout the 16th to 17th century, European powers were scrambling to find opportunities in the New World. Three prominent European countries; the British, French, and Spanish, were exploring the Americas for their own personal agendas. They wanted to find ways to expand their empires and also to build their respective economies. However, they ran into the Native American populations that had settled in these “new lands.” As expected, conflict between the two groups emerged.

One of the lasting impact the Spanish settlements had; the settlers created a bad relationship with the natives. The natives had several purposes to contemn the settlers. One reason being, in document c, that it states that the natives inculpated the settlers, or more specifically priests, for transporting disease from Spain to the native’s motherland. Corresponding to the natives, the settlers also have their motives for resenting the natives. For instance, the Apache and Comanches tribes had slaughtered several innocent settlers and soldiers, as well as raiding a couple of missions around San Antonio and La Bahia (doc b).

I enjoyed reading your discussion post. The Columbian Exchange was considered to be unique as far as the valuable products, and then it was not so good because of the serious illness took over rapidly. Indians were really in danger at the time of the exchange, because smallpox was affecting them and causing them to decrease in population. Not only was smallpox a hender, but along with syphilis. On the other hand Europe had prosper by gaining medicine, crops, animals, and more.

The relationships between the three major settlers and the Native Americans differed in many ways. All the evidence needed is in the seven documents shown. Each of the documents provides insight to one of the three nationalities. It is fair to assume that the English were focused more on friendship, the Spanish set their eyes on the gold, and the French were insistent on converting the Native Americans to Christianity. Though they may have been cruel to their enemies, the natives were very kind and friendly towards the English colonizers, as stated in Document One.

The English colonized North America for several different economic reasons. Basically, they found goods that had a market in Europe. The English that settled New England found timber that was great for building ships. The English that settled the middle colonies of New York and Pennsylvania found good farmland that was great for growing food that could be sold in Europe. Finally, the English that colonized the southern colonies found that area was good for growing cash crops like tobacco.

“They are by nature the most humble, patient, and peaceable, holding no grudges, free from embroilments, neither excitable nor quarrelsome.” (Las Casas) The Indians had no greed, hatred, or arrogance.

The Native Americans were seen as weak willed, for they barely resisted the conquest of their homes. If the Native Americans showed no incentive of retaliating and were better at manual work, it seemed natural to the Spanish that they be enslaved. The Native Americans, on the other hand, saw the Spanish in a different light as well as they watched many Spaniards become obsessed with gold. The Spanish were given Gold as gifts and went crazy just holding it and lusting for more, like savage monkeys. The Spanish, by nature, couldn’t help but become greedy monsters for gold, because in Europe riches were equivalent to power.

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 gap between the rich and the poor widened and not everyone prospered. Many people were taken advantage of and maltreated, including particularly Native Americans and African Americans. European Conquistadors conquered Native Americans and their territory and in the process committed genocide. Roughly ninety percent of the Native American population died due to the Europeans’ arrival. If they were not killed, they would be bound to a contract such as the Requerimiento which blackmailed them into obeying the European rulers.

Spain began to introduce new foods into Mexican cuisine, such as wheat, meats, and olive oil. Spain was able to take techniques from mexican cuisine and blend it into their own. Native americans were also looked as like lower class people. Higher social groups like the europeans were trying to convert Native Americans to act and become civilized. Civilized meaning participating in traditions that the Spanish did.

Throughout the late 1400’s and the 1500’s, the world experienced many changes due to the discoveries of new lands and peoples that had been never been visited before. The new-found lands of the Americas and exploration of Africa by the Europeans led to new colonies and discoveries in both areas. It also brought different societies and cultures together that had never before communicated, causing conflict in many of these places. While the Europeans treated both the Native Americans and West Africans as inferior people, the early effects they had on the Native Americans were much worse. Beginning in the late 1400’s, many different European explorers started to look for new trade routes in the Eastern Hemisphere in order to gain economic and religious power.

The Europeans gave the Native American both positive and negative things. The positive things were: wheat, sugar, rice, coffee, horses, cows, and pigs. The negative things were: smallpox, measles, bubonic plague, influenza, typhus, diphtheria, and scarlet flower. Then, god, glory, and god. The Spanish came for god, glory, and gold.

While the colonization of the America’s was negative for many reasons such as the spread of illnesses, and the forcing of religion upon natives, it was also beneficial to the Native’s because it allowed them to have better weapons and to have different foods and goods in their lives. The Europeans exposed the Natives to many new diseases once they colonized the new areas they discovered. The Europeans greatly impacted the family life and religion of the inhabitants of the areas they found. There was also a lot of exchange going on during the conquest of the Americas because the Natives were excited by the new gadgets they had never seen before that the Europeans brought over.