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The rise and fall of indentured servitude
Topics To The Subject Of Indentured Servitude
Problems with indentured servants for labor in early america
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Seldom considered, domesticated animals contributed to many of the unforeseen problems that wove the narrative of early colonial America. Creatures of Empire, by Virginia Anderson, outlines the events in which English livestock severely disrupted the lives and livelihoods of the natives in the 1600s. She writes of both the natives and two groups of English colonists’ experiences in the New England and Chesapeake regions. The colonists’ sought to civilize the Indians by means of animal husbandry and displayed little to no consideration for the preservation of the natives’ traditional culture throughout their imperialistic quest. Relations between the natives and colonists deteriorated as a consequence of oppressive English ideals, and values, …show more content…
along with the increasing population of both livestock and colonists. The inescapable presence of unruly livestock from lack of control by apathetic colonists initiated the growing disdain the natives had for the newcomers. This seemingly perpetual encroachment of livestock on established native lands lead to boiling tensions from natives, ultimately leading to violent retaliations by the Indians in the third quarter of the century. As Anderson states, “Like wounds left to fester, disputes about livestock plagued Indians and colonists alike,” (224). These disputes in question raise the debate whether history could have turned out differently, or whether the deep-rooted ideals of colonists irrevocably destined the fate of America at that time. At the turn of the seventeenth century, Indians initially held no relationship with foreign domesticated animals. Prior to colonists arriving at American shores, it is important to note that the natives lived with very differing perspectives of the animals that walked the Earth. Overall, Anderson writes, “animals fit into a larger set of conceptions about the world that drew no sharp boundary between natural and supernatural realms and did not dictate the subordination to humans for such beings,” (7). The Indians believed select animals’ possessed spiritual power, and conceived their relationship with them in terms of balance with the goal of reciprocity, not domination, and certainly not ownership. The principle of reciprocity through mutual support structured both how they thought and conducted themselves. The Indian’s understanding of animals as vital and occasionally spiritual equals laid the foundation for the inescapable confusion and challenge they faced once introduced to strange beasts that also possessed a novel status. While experiences with tame animals were rare, it provided possible framework for the Indians to fathom the nature of livestock and their connections to colonists. To the colonists, domestication acted not only as a social norm, but a way of life. Deeply entrenched in English culture, animals had been a necessary tool for success of farms and living life in England for decades, as well as being the emblems of civilized existence. Assertion of dominance over their animals proved to be crucial component of continuing the tradition and naturally promoting their civilizing mission in the New World. Natives found definitive dominance over creatures incomprehensible due to the many generations that had coexisted with the animals on more harmonious levels. The introduction of animals and their clashing status paved the path for growing tensions between the natives and colonials alike. Colonization acted as a formidable adversary against the continuation of long standing Native American culture.
Believed by the colonists, animals were a staple of their personal property and in essence, transformed people. In the Chesapeake region, the staple crop, tobacco, caused many unexpected problems for both sides. Due to minimal man-power, expense, and time, colonists in the region were unable to devote the necessary means of keeping track of their livestock. They accommodated this issue by relinquishing their fauna from an enclosed pen and allowed them to roam freely. With the newfound freedom, the animals would wander far from the plantations in which they originated, into native lands and often precious cornfields. When in contact with the cornfields, the instinctually wild animals would rampage the land, and cause havoc on Indian crops. This initiated justified retaliations from the Indians by killing the livestock; however, colonists deemed the backlash unjustified on the principality of the hierarchical status their animals still had. In the New England region, the nature of geography and closer sense of community due to lack of a vital crop allowed the colonists to keep better track of their valuable animals. However, with the influx of fresh immigrants and compounding livestock, the colonists scarcity and expense of labor due to long-fallow farming and free-range husbandry, drastically increased the unanticipated growing demand for land. In response to the rapidly expanding colonial boundaries, Indians “scrambled to mount a defense,” as Anderson writes (218). “Colonists coveted land around as well as within the boundaries of Indian settlements,” and were in essence unstoppable (219). During this time, Indians recognized that their bartering goods were becoming less and less valuable, essentially causing diplomatic relations with the colonists to deteriorate. Coinciding with the shift in diplomatic attention, colonists in both regions devoted less
effort to solving mundane problems the Indians had, such as animal trespasses. The daunting reality of growing populations plagued the English’s fear, and they felt they had limited options other than to spread out to abstain from overwhelming available resources in their area. “This relentless expansion, in turn, threatened Indians with nothing less than extinction,” the growing anxiety as a result bred indifference in seeking common ground between the two adversaries (224). By the 1970s, simmering tensions between the colonists and Natives reached a boiling point. Native efforts to combat perpetual persistence of colonial livestock amounted to no avail. Colonists lacked any further inclination to decrease their encroachment into Indian land as well as controlling their livestock. Wherever Indians sought refuge, livestock would eventually come. Evident that negotiations, cooperation, and sometimes acts of violence proved ineffective at combating the colonial armies, Indians resentment for their new neighbors and their animals grew stronger than ever. Considering the depth both cultures resonated within the societies of the natives and colonists, it is difficult to predict if these analyzed events could have transpired differently. The importance of native sovereignty against the colonists’ quest for ultimate conversion and dominion lead to unavoidable violence. As Anderson illustrates, “it was their own insatiable drive for land, fueled by demographic growth and the steady increase in their herd that overwhelmed the possibility for harmonious coexistence. Therein lies the tragedy of this story, Indians found room in their world for livestock, but the colonists and their descendants could find no room in theirs for Indians.” (246). This lack of compromise on the colonists’ behalf makes it difficult to assume ultimate peace ever could have been reached. Without the presence of domesticated animals and their influence throughout colonization, relations between the natives and colonists could have been radically different had it been the latter.
Fishing and hunting have been at the core of many American Indian cultures like the Nisqually since precontact. Indian hunting, fishing and gathering were conducted then—as they are now—not for sport, but for food and for a livelihood. This was well understood by the early colonists and later by the U.S. government. Thus, many of the treaties (e.g., Medicine Creek, 1854) negotiated between the federal government and Indian tribes in the nineteenth century contained provisions guaranteeing rights to hunt and fish. In the trea¬ty negotiated by Isaac Stevens, the tribe ceded to the U.S. some of the Nisqually vil¬lages and prairies, but Article Three reserved the tribe’s right to fish “at all usual and accustomed grounds and stations…in common with all citizens of the Territory.” (FL 12) But the growth of the European American population, and with it the proliferation of fenced lands, the destruction of natural habitat, and often the destruction of wildlife itself, drastically curtailed the Indians' ability to carry on these activities. Charles Wilkinson’s thesis declares that the “messages from Frank’s Landing” are “messages about ourselves, about the natural world, about societies past, about this society, and about societies to come.” (FL 6)
Although the English and Native Americans were both every different in how they viewed the land, there were some similarities between the two cultures. First of all, both agreed to the terms of a monarchy- the idea that a monarch that ruled over the land was more a symbolic figure of a whole people rather than a rich and wealthy land owner. Even though the English called their monarch a King, and the Indians’ a Sachem, the ideas behind the two were virtually the same. Secondly, if hunters were in pursuit of game, both cultures agreed to the fact that they could cross otherwise strict borders in attainment of the game. This shows that even though both were fairly precise in drawing village borders, food superseded otherwise legal boundaries. Lastly, the English and the Native Americans both were little different in their sense of how land could be bought or sold. Now, this does not mean that they thought viewed property the same or that they us...
Looking at the early English colonies in the Chesapeake Bay region, it’s clear that the English had not learned any lessons from their experiences at Roanoke. Poor planning, a bad location, unrealistic expectations, flawed leadership, unsuccessful relations with the local Indians, and no hope of finding the mineral wealth the Spanish found in Mexico, all contributed to failure. The first colonists in the Chesapeake region were not only ignorant, lazy and unambitious, but their attempts were hampered before they had begun. However, a solution to these problems was found in a single plant: tobacco. Nevertheless, this cash crop ultimately created numerous problems for the colonists. The ignorance and indolent acts of the Chesapeake colonists to unsuccessfully restore the colony by themselves led to the demise of the colony as a whole especially regarding the planting of agricultural goods for food.
...style they only used what they needed to for survival. The different lifestyles determined the different environmental uses of the land. Although, culture however, encouraged trade. The Europeans and Indians made alliances from the trade market, which changed the Indian lifestyle. The Indians now had prices for objects that never had a price before. The market trade would become damaging to the Indians way of life, which the Indians where unaware of. When the Europeans came to New England they didn’t just change the environment of the land, plants and animals, but also changed the lifestyle of the Indians already living there. Europeans turned New England into a form of global capitalist economy, changing New England forever.
...h and the French and Indians, but shows some of the ironic nature of this conflict: that due to kidnapping and tribal adoption, some Abenaki Indians were likely to have almost as many English ancestors as the frontiersmen they opposed. The English frontiersmen could be as "savage" as the Indians. Brumwell does very well dispelling the clichés and stereotypes that many have become accustomed to. He uses records of the Abenaki Indian oral tradition to give a voice to both sides. It is a great book from start to finish. This is a true history buffs companion and a great addition to any library. The book is as complex in its knowledge as it is simplistic and detailed in its imagery. As a result, this book can be read by both specialists and general readers alike and can be pared with almost any text giving light to the French and Indian War or the aftermath thereof.
In the introduction, Hämäläinen introduces how Plains Indians horse culture is so often romanticized in the image of the “mounted warrior,” and how this romanticized image is frequently juxtaposed with the hardships of disease, death, and destruction brought on by the Europeans. It is also mentioned that many historians depict Plains Indians equestrianism as a typical success story, usually because such a depiction is an appealing story to use in textbooks. However, Plains Indians equestrianism is far from a basic story of success. Plains equestrianism was a double-edged sword: it both helped tribes complete their quotidian tasks more efficiently, but also gave rise to social issues, weakened the customary political system, created problems between other tribes, and was detrimental to the environment.
The characteristics that came to shape the life in New England were the rocky, barren soil, the extreme climate and the rich waters. Although there was farming in New England , colonists looked to other means of survival. They looked to the rich waters for fishing and trade. The coastline of New England was very fertile with sealife. So, fishing became a way of commerce and trade providing a steady economy to New England. Because of the rocky soil and extreme climate, the colonists were forced to plant many different crops on a small pa...
In Thomas King’s novel, The Inconvenient Indian, the story of North America’s history is discussed from his original viewpoint and perspective. In his first chapter, “Forgetting Columbus,” he voices his opinion about how he feel towards the way white people have told America’s history and portraying it as an adventurous tale of triumph, strength and freedom. King hunts down the evidence needed to reveal more facts on the controversial relationship between the whites and natives and how it has affected the culture of Americans. Mainly untangling the confusion between the idea of Native Americans being savages and whites constantly reigning in glory. He exposes the truth about how Native Americans were treated and how their actual stories were
The process of assimilation, as it regards to the Native Americans, into European American society took a dreaded and long nearly 300 years. Initially, when the European’s came to the hopeful and promising land of the “New World”, they had no desire or reason anything but minimal contact with the Indians. However, starting in the 1700s the European colonists population skyrocketed. The need for more resources became evident and the colonists knew they could attain these necessities by creating a relationship of mutual benefit with the Native tribes. The Indians, at first skeptical, however became growingly open to the colonists and the relationship they were looking to attain. Indian furs were traded for colonial goods and military alliances were formed.
The stress of this caused their once coveted friendship to wither and morph into an ill hatred. The English began a campaign of the demonization of Native Americans. The image of Native Americans was described in Red, White, & Black as friendly traders who shared a mutually beneficial relationship with one another. Evidently, a very different image started to appear when land disputes arose. The new illustration the English painted was that Native American people were “comparable to beasts” and “wild and savage people, that live like heards of deare in a forrest”. It was sudden change of heart between the two societies that supports Waterhouse’s claims of the changing relationship of the English and Native
Louise Erdrich’s short story “American horse” is a literary piece written by an author whose works emphasize the American experience for a multitude of different people from a plethora of various ethnic backgrounds. While Erdrich utilizes a full arsenal of literary elements to better convey this particular story to the reader, perhaps the two most prominent are theme and point of view. At first glance this story seems to portray the struggle of a mother who has her son ripped from her arms by government authorities; however, if the reader simply steps back to analyze the larger picture, the theme becomes clear. It is important to understand the backgrounds of both the protagonist and antagonists when analyzing theme of this short story. Albetrine, who is the short story’s protagonist, is a Native American woman who characterizes her son Buddy as “the best thing that has ever happened to me”. The antagonist, are westerners who work on behalf of the United States Government. Given this dynamic, the stage is set for a clash between the two forces. The struggle between these two can be viewed as a microcosm for what has occurred throughout history between Native Americans and Caucasians. With all this in mind, the reader can see that the theme of this piece is the battle of Native Americans to maintain their culture and way of life as their homeland is invaded by Caucasians. In addition to the theme, Erdrich’s usage of the third person limited point of view helps the reader understand the short story from several different perspectives while allowing the story to maintain the ambiguity and mysteriousness that was felt by many Natives Americans as they endured similar struggles. These two literary elements help set an underlying atmos...
Since gentleman were unaccustomed to labor, there were very few men who could raise crops for the colony. In 1609, the Chesapeake colony had lost three-quarters of its population due to famine during the winter. The Native Americans’ refusal to trade with the Chesapeake colonists also took a heavy toll on their food supply. The colonists had to turn to other sources of food such as mice, horses, and dogs. For they claimed that they had eaten more in one day back in England than they had in one week in the New World [Doc1]. In 1610, a terrible drought and another series of summertime illnesses had set in. The colonists were plagued with fevers, diarrhea, and swellings which caused their numbers to go down by another 50% [Doc 7]. The Puritans had a diet which was high in sea salt which weakened their immunity system and made them more vulnerable to diseases. They encountered cold related diseases such as pneumonia, frostbite, and scurvy. Within the first of two months of their arrival, two to three Puritans died every day. The climate of the New England colonies did not serve them as well. The land was too stony and sandy for them to plant many crops, and the growing season was only five months long because of the long, cold winters. These difficulties put a wall between the colonists and their goals for creating a society whether it was
According to Santana, Chief of the Kiowa, “These soldiers cut down my timber; they kill my buffalo; and when I see that, my heart feels like bursting; I feel sorry” (Santana, 1867). This quote shows the Chief of the Kiowa’s perspective of the actions the American soldiers were taking. In Europe, timber was in high demand since Europe 's supply was running low. This resulted in Americans cutting down many of their trees to trade with Europe. Native Americans expressed great gratitude for their land and when it was being destroyed it affected them deeply. In “Promise of the High Plains,” a flyer created in the 1800s it states, “The finest timber West of the Great Wabash Valley” (The Railroaders) when trying to convince the people why to move west. This flyer shows that Americans were advertising the timber on the western land to convince more people to move. Buffalo was also a very important resource for the Native Americans culture and way of life. Buffalo was used as food, clothing, and housing. Not only were Buffalo used for survival, but they were also part of their religious rituals. With buffalo numbers decreasing fast, Native Americans tribes faced starvation and desperation. There were many different actions the Americans did to destroy the land of the Native Americans. The murder of Buffalo and cutting down of timber was just a few of the impacts the settlers
Chesapeake colonies of Virginia and Maryland were settled in the early 17th century. It was a difficult live for the first colonist; they had limited labor and were constantly raided by Native Americans. Colonist tried to use the Native Americans as a source of slavery. Most of the colonist’s farms were by forest areas so Native Americans would just leave in to the woods. Colonists were afraid of pressuring them from the fear of getting ambushed by gangs of Native Americans. Another reason Native Americans men made bad slaves was because the women in the tribes did the agricultural work in the Native American villages.
he horse, Equus ferus caballus, is a subspecies from the family Equidae. Over the past 50 million years, through survival adaptations, the common horse has evolved from a relatively small, multi-toed animal into the large, single toed animal known today (Wilson,. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Baltimore).