Native Americans vs. European Colonists

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The European colonists and the Native Americans of North America had very different views on nearly everything they encountered in their lives. Living in vastly different cultures lead both groups to have two extremely different outlooks on four main topics; religious beliefs, the environment, social relations, and slavery, differences which the colonists used to their advantage when conquering the peoples of the New World.

The colonists, by saying that the Native Americans were primitive and savage because of their differing and seemingly illogical attitudes, were able to do things that they could never have done to people they believed to be equals. Whether this was a conscious or subconscious method on the part of the Europeans remains hotly debated, but the fact remains that by pointing out the differences of the two main cultures as a negative denoting European superiority, the colonists were able to take the Native American lands and goods without much remorse.

When this country began, there were few European colonists with the modern perspective of tolerance towards different cultures. Hardly anyone sought to learn about the Indian culture, very few adopted it as their own, and the majorities were often fearful and anxious toward their new neighbors. These four main differences in religious beliefs, the environment, social relations, and slavery, were what sparked the ill treatment towards the Native Americans, an atrocious treatment that would continue for the next three hundred years in America.

Religious beliefs were very important to the first European Colonists who came to America. In Europe during the 1600’s, religion was something that decided a lot of things in a person’s life; what part o...

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...iogrosso "The Joy of Sects" and Books on Spirituality and World Religion, Religion Discussion Weblog, Editorial Consultation, Spiritual Direction. Web. 4 Mar. 2011. .

Popick, Jacqui. "Native American Women, Past, Present and Future." Lethbridge Undergraduate Research Journal 1.1 (2006). Web. 3 Mar. 2011. .

Pritzker, Barry. A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2000. Print.

Roe, Melissa A. "Indentured Servants." EH.Net | Economic History Services. Lafayette College. Web. 4 Mar. 2011. .

Taylor, Alan. American Colonies: The Settling of North America. London: Penguin, 2002. Print.

Wiesner, Merry E. An Age of Voyages, 1350-1600. New York: Oxford UP, 2005. Print.

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