Dbq Native Americans

1165 Words3 Pages

When the English set their sights on the colonization of the New World, they expected to be arriving in a vast wilderness, untouched by any man. They were quite surprised to discover that there were, in fact, many tribes of people spread throughout the “new” land. At first, these Natives were not a problem. They were actually a blessing to the English settlers. However, within a few years the relationship between the British and the Native Americans started to sour, turning from friendliness and a certain degree of codependence to suspicion, until all-out warfare eventually broke out between the two peoples. As the first Englishmen settled in the New World and discovered it was populated with other men quite unlike themselves, their relationship with said peoples began as one of mutual friendship and curiosity. While the Native Americans were at first cautious of and curious about the Europeans, they also immediately showed the white men …show more content…

In document 2 Mr. Barlowe recalls how one Native “came running out to meet us very cheerfully and friendly,” and how they even carried the white men “on their backs to the dry ground.” The Indians took them into their homes, washed their clothing and feet, and “entertained [them] with all love and kindness” (doc 2). The English also showed great hospitality to the Natives as their relationship developed, leaving their homes “open to the savages, who were always friendly entertained at the tables of the English,” and even having them “commonly lodged in their bedchambers” (doc 10). The two often traded, as well, each intrigued by the treasures the other had to offer, as discussed in documents 2 and 10. The early settlers even had trade laws to protect Indians, decreeing that “no man shall…take away

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