Eastern Woodland Indians and the Seven Years' War

871 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: European conquest and colonization of America

War is always destructive and devastating for those involved leaving behind a trail of death and barren landscape leading to heartbreak and shattered lives. War has its subjugators and its defeated. One enjoys complete freedom and rights while the other has neither freedom nor rights. Defeated and broken is where the Eastern Woodland Indians found themselves after both the Seven Years' war and the American Revolution. The Europeans in their campaigns to garner control of the land used the native peoples to gain control and ultimately stripped the rightful owners of their land and freedoms. The remainder of this short paper will explore the losses experienced by the Eastern Woodland Indians during these wars and will answer the question of which war was more momentous in the loss experienced. The Europeans invaded America with every intention of occupying the land, the bountiful natural resources as well as the complete domination of the native people. The Europeans desire for the land created an explosive situation for the native peoples as they witnessed their land and right to freedom being stripped from them. They often found themselves having to choose sides of which to pledge their allegiance to. The Europeans depended upon Indian allies to secure the land and their dominance as well as trade relations with the Indians. The Indians were in competition with one another for European trade causing conflict among the different tribes altering the relationships where friends became enemies and vice versa (Calloway, 2012, p. 163). These relationships often became embittered and broke into bloody brawls where it involved, "Indian warriors fighting on both sides, alongside the European forces as well as against European forces invad... ... middle of paper ... ... due to a long relationship of trade, alliance, and kinship with the French as well as the promise of "war honors" (Calloway, 2012, p. 174). In 1757, the British troops at Fort William Henry on Lake George surrendered to the French. This victory was short lived as most of the French's Indian allies attacked the surrendered fort because they felt betrayed by the terms of surrender. The native peoples unleashed a slaughter, which included scalps and captives (Calloway, 2012, p. 174). The Indians were severing ties with the French and the British war effort was increasing with vigor. The Native Americans began to side with the British not knowing what this would bring, which was more freedom and land stripped away from them. Works Cited Calloway, C. G. (2012). First peoples A documentary survey of American Indian history (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

Show More
Related

  • Native Reactions To The Invasion Of America By James Axtell

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    Each European country treated the Native Americans distinctively and likewise the diverse Native Americans tribes reacted differently. The vast majority of the tribes didn’t wish to overtake the Europeans, but to rather just maintain their status quo. Moreover, Axtell mentions that during the inaugural stages of the encounter, the relationship between the two parties was rather peaceful since the Europeans were outnumbered by the natives. Axtell depicts that unlike the Europeans, the Native Americans treated the strangers equally or superior to themselves. The Indians would welcome the Europeans into their towns and shower them with gifts and blessings. The relationship between the two factions was going serene until the cultural differences became a burden on both

    Read More

  • Beyond 1492-Native Reactions to Invasion

    963 Words  | 2 Pages

    “ [They] spent most of the conquest and colonial periods reacting and responding to the European strangers and invaders” (99). Both sides were different in many ways; Their communication, transportation, culture, and the way they survived differentiate the Europeans from the Native Americans. They both acted as wisely as they could when this encounters began after the discovery. “[Tribes] worked mightily and often cleverly to maximize their political sovereignty, cultural autonomy, territorial integrity, power of self identification, and physical nobility” (100). The Europeans were stronger, had better technology, better weapons, and had plenty of experience fighting people like the Native Americans. They could have easily conquer them , but they had a problem of resources, reinforcements and survival. Native American were many but they lacked the knowledge and experience of war and evolution. Europeans were technologically evolved and were experienced at fighting wars, but they ...

    Read More

  • Native American Relations during the Seven Years War

    1418 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Seven Years War was the first international conflict dealing with all major world powers. The majority of the issue was due to “real estate” speculation and territories surrounding the Ohio Valley (Ohio Valley, 156). Native American’s used furs and traded goods to play each power against each other ultimately resulting in war. The powers that were involved in the war fought for the support of the Native Americans in order to gain favorable lands and goods and the upper hand above the other powers. Ultimately, Native Americans were the most influential power during the war, and the relations held with them not only had affect during the war, but also had influence and led to post war struggles.

    Read More

  • Differences Between Colonists And Native Americans

    1055 Words  | 3 Pages

    The clash between the Native Americans and the colonists did not start off tumultuous. In the early days of the exploration and settlement of the New World they lived in peace. The Indians taught them how to farm and live off the land. In a strange land the colonists made an ally. However, the subsequent turn of events was inevitable. Perhaps the chaos that ensued could have been postponed but there was never going to be a peaceful cohabitation between the colonists and the indigenous people. There were so many vast differences between the religious views and ultimate goals of the two groups. The Native Americans had established trade relationships with various tribes, they had their own religions, and their way of life was a stark contrast to that of the colonists. The worldview of the respective peoples was foreign to the other and the idea of a holistic and unbiased approach to the life of others was foreign.

    Read More

  • Chief Pontiac and the Colonial American Conflict

    728 Words  | 2 Pages

    Early colonial America was full of rivalry and conflict. England was just at the finish of the French and Indian War, which took up nearly a decade 's worth of time and ended in 1763 with the Treaty of Paris. The British had exhausted an innumerable amount of money on the war, leaving them avoiding further conflicts as much as possible. Succeeding the victory of the French and Indian War, the lands previously belonging to the French were now under ownership by England. The Native Americans lost their French allies and were fearful that the new colonialists would invade into their territories. Since 1760, the chief of the Ottawa natives, Chief Pontiac, galvanized other natives to revolt against the British. As tension escalated, Pontiac succeeded

    Read More

  • French and Indian War

    2663 Words  | 6 Pages

    The French and Indian war took place between 1754 and 1763. Here between these nine years would serve as the blue print to America’s history and future. “What began as a struggle over territorial rights between British colonist and French settlers became part of an international war between the great powers” (Schwartz, 1). To truly understand the French and Indian war, many must take a look into the past events that caused the dispute between the British and the French. During the year 1498, the British claims to the continent were based on the London Company and the sailing of the waters under the rule of King James I. This is where the British company in the latter half of the seventeenth century, under the crown established a reign or province, extending from seas to sea.

    Read More

  • Westward Expansion and Those It Affected

    289 Words  | 1 Pages

    Many tribes had reigning governments and tribal counsels as a way of life. With westward expansion brought changes. Many Americans were killing their livestock, the food they ate, and Americans were settling more and more on the Indian lands. In time, Indians began to fight back and take what had been theirs. Once this happened, the Americans decided to make the Indians like Americans, so we took their land and tried to make them Americans.

    Read More

  • The Custer Controversy

    2232 Words  | 5 Pages

    Utley, R., Wilcomb, W. The American Heritage History of The Indian Wars. New York: American Heritage.

    Read More

  • Native Peoples in New England

    1589 Words  | 4 Pages

    Native American history spans tens of thousands of thousands of years and two continents. It is a multifaceted story of dynamic cultures that in turn spawned intricate economic relationships and complex political alliances. Through it all, the relationship of First Peoples to the land has remained a central theme.

    Read More

  • Native American Policy

    622 Words  | 2 Pages

    Beginning in the 1860s and lasting until the late 1780s, government policy towards Native Americans was aggressive and expressed zero tolerance for their presence in the West. In the last 1850s, tribal leaders and Americans were briefly able to compromise on living situations and land arrangements. Noncompliance by Americans, however, resumed conflict. The beginning of what would be called the "Indian Wars" started in Minnesota in 1862. Sioux, angered by the loss of much of their land, killed 5 white Americans. What resulted was over 1,000 deaths, of white and Native Americans. From that point on, American policy was to force Indians off of their land. American troops would force Indian tribe leaders to accept treaties taking their land from them. Protests or resistance by the Indians would result in fighting. On occasion, military troops would even lash out against peaceful Indians. Their aggression became out of control.

    Read More

  • Native American Relations with The United States

    4013 Words  | 9 Pages

    Josephy, Alvin M, The American Heritage Book of Indians, New York, American Heritage Publishing Co,1961

    Read More

  • Native American Relations

    481 Words  | 1 Pages

    During the numerous years of colonization, the relationship between the English settlers and the Native Americans of the area was usually the same. Native Americans would initially consider the settlers to be allies, then as time passed, they would be engaged in wars with them in a struggle for control of the land. This process of friendship to enemies seemed to be the basic pattern in the majority of the colonies.

    Read More

  • The Subjugation Of The American West

    1214 Words  | 3 Pages

    The movement westward during the late 1800’s created new tensions among already strained relations with current Native American inhabitants. Their lands, which were guaranteed to them via treaty with the United States, were now beginning to be intruded upon by the massive influx of people migrating from the east. This intrusion was not taken too kindly, as Native American lands had already been significantly reduced due to previous westward conquest. Growing resentment for the federal government’s Reservation movement could be felt among the native population. One Kiowa chief’s thoughts on this matter summarize the general feeling of the native populace. “All the land south of the Arkansas belongs to the Kiowas and Comanches, and I don’t want to give away any of it” (Edwards, 203). His words, “I don’t want to give away any of it”, seemed to a mantra among the Native Americans, and this thought would resound among them as the mounting tensions reached breaking point.

    Read More

  • Native American Reservation Life and History

    1235 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sandefur, G. (n.d.). American Indian reservations: The first underclass areas? Retrieved April 28, 2014, from http://www.irp.wisc.edu/publications/focus/pdfs/foc121f.pdf

    Read More

  • American Indians

    1645 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Native Americans or American Indians, once occupied all of the entire region of the United States. They were composed of many different groups, who speaked hundreds of languages and dialects. The Indians from the Southwest used to live in large built terraced communities and their way of sustain was from the agriculture where they planted squash, pumpkins, beans and corn crops. Trades between neighboring tribes were common, this brought in additional goods and also some raw materials such as gems, cooper. seashells and soapstone.To this day, movies and television continue the stereotype of Indians wearing feathered headdresses killing innocent white settlers. As they encountered the Europeans, automatically their material world was changed. The American Indians were amazed by the physical looks of the white settlers, their way of dressing and also by their language. The first Indian-White encounter was very peaceful and trade was their principal interaction. Tension and disputes were sometimes resolved by force but more often by negotiation or treaties. On the other hand, the Natives were described as strong and very innocent creatures awaiting for the first opportunity to be christianized. The Indians were called the “Noble Savages” by the settlers because they were cooperative people but sometimes, after having a few conflicts with them, they seem to behaved like animals. We should apprehend that the encounter with the settlers really amazed the natives, they were only used to interact with people from their own race and surroundings and all of this was like a new discovery for them as well as for the white immigrants. The relations between the English and the Virginian Indians was somewhat strong in a few ways. They were having marriages among them. For example, when Pocahontas married John Rolfe, many said it has a political implication to unite more settlers with the Indians to have a better relation between both groups. As for the Indians, their attitude was always friendly and full of curiosity when they saw the strange and light-skinned creatures from beyond the ocean. The colonists only survived with the help of the Indians when they first settler in Jamestown and Plymouth. In this areas, the Indians showed the colonists how to cultivate crops and gather seafood.The Indians changed their attitude from welcome to hostility when the strangers increased and encroached more and more on hunting and planting in the Natives’ grounds.

    Read More

More about Eastern Woodland Indians and the Seven Years' War

Open Document