Before the Europeans came to the New World, men and women from
Asia came to the continent of North America. They spread themselves out through the deserts, plains, and even forests. As
they adapted to their new land they come up with various and distinctive cultures and living ideas. In 1492 when Columbus
finally sailed to North America he labeled these people "Los Indios," meaning the Indians because he mistakenly believed that
he landed in the East Indies. Today they are known as Native Americans. Before they got into the first contact with the Europeans,
the Indians were civilized in their ways and had their own way of doing things which was done with peace. This completely
changed when the Europeans set foot on the soil. Views on everything were very diverse between these groups. (America's Fascinating
Indian Heritage). The Native Americans at first saw the Europeans as Gods because of their technological advancements such
as steel knives and swords, but the Europeans believed the Natives were nothing but an enemy from the beginning. They did
not respect their way of life, especially their spiritual connection with nature and because of this and many other differences,
major conflicts rose between the two groups. (Shaffer) The first contact with the English was troubling for the Natives because
English stole their land, brought diseases that killed numerous, and started conflicts. Nonetheless, many might even argue
that the contact with the Europeans was a good thing because it brought the Indians technological advancements that they did
not posses and thought them a better way to live. However, even if they gained a lot more, they also lost many things and
unfortunately that became both their lives and their land.
Even before the English entered the "New World",
there was a development of civilization within few Native American groups. The earliest of these were the Paleo-Indians, who
were believed to be resourceful hunters and quickly adapted to regional environment. During this time farming also began and
while the men did the hunting and fishing the women took on roles such as remaining at home and taking care of children. They
also had a lot of respect for nature and only used it when they were in desperate need of it.
"American Indian people
recognize a social contrast between themselves and other animals and fish, birds, and plants. When the need is great, Indians
will take the life of a tree, animal, or fish, but they use every last shed or eat every edible part of the living creature
they kill."(Hirschfelder, 27)
They cherished everything they had and seemed peaceful until the Englishmen came and
stole their land as well as demolished their beliefs and practices.
The English came to the New World in 1607 and settled in to Jamestown,
Virginia in order to find gold. However many died of starvation and the Powhatan Indians tried to give them food in order
to help them survive. The Natives even offered land to the English but of course they took this as a right to expand at their
own will. Soon colonists spread throughout Indian land and when they did not get their way they usually murdered a mass number
of Indians including both women and children. To protect their land and family the native leaders retaliated. (Wissler, 131-135)
These encroachments by the colonists led to violence, which the English attempted to subdue by establishing treaties with
Native peoples. In their treaties, various Indian groups such as the Powhatan, Piscataway, and Nanticoke agreed to obey the
English laws in order to gain peace. Under these treaties the English promised to give Native Americans their freedom on their
own territory, one of the things being the freedom to hunt at their own will. The lands set aside were called reservations,
or “manors.” Most of the treaty provisions were not enforced and the English settlers moved onto reservation lands
and restricted Native uses of non-reservation lands. (Dillon, 17). Of course by the 1700s, Piscataway, Nanticoke, and Powhatan
treaties with the English were completely ignored and tensions started between the English and the Indians.
"They gave
us a piece of land that they termed as a reservation for the Piscataway people. They put us there, with the idea that they
would protect us forever, took all weapons away from us and in turn gave them to a group of Indians who swore death to us,
known as the Susquehanna’s… We found out we couldn’t trust the Maryland colonists and our people fled”
(words of Redwing Tayac, Wissler)
While much tension rose from bad treaties, it only came to small results and a few
deaths. But soon those small incidents turned into major bloody wars between the two groups who were not willing to share
the land.
Due to land disputes, the Native Americans and English encroached
in many wars. The first war took place from 1636 to 1637 and was known as the Pequot War. English colonist had begun to move
farther inland, encroaching upon Pequot and Narragansett lands, and as a result the Pequot began attacking the new settlement
since they did not want their land to be taken over. Soon, the English allied with the Narragansett, who were traditional
enemies of the Pequot, and massacred the Pequot village at present day mystic, Connecticut. (Torr) They killed many Pequot’s
and soon their population declined dramatically. Colonist' hunger for land and their heavy-handed treatment of Natives led
to another disastrous war in American history known as the King Philip’s War. This became the bloodiest war in America
and took place in 1675. The Narragansett, 4000 in all, constituted one fifth of the Indians in southern New England but soon
the English colonists were taking over. In 1675 and 1676, Wampanoag, Narragansetts, Nipmucks, Pocumtucks, and Abenakis all
began attacking English towns due to and disputes as well as stories of the whites murdering a mass number of natives. The
war was named King Philip's War after Philip, who led the uprising and was the chief of the Wampanoag. He nearly destroyed
the Massachusetts Bay colony, wiping out every English settlement west of Concord.Unfortunatly, Philip's head was carried
to Plymouth, where it was displayed for 25 years, and his wife and son were sold into slavery in the West Indies. (Dillon)
"When it comes time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so when their time comes
they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song, and die
like a hero going home." (Chief Aupumut words, in Wissler 68)
The war was devastating for Native Peoples and at times
entire families were sold into slavery abroad while others were forced to become servants locally. The Wampanoag had to adapt
aspects of their culture to survive; their political independence soon ended. Nevertheless, Native Peoples continued to live
in Plymouth Colony. Many maintained tribal ties and a strong sense of community.
Aside from wars, diseases became another cause of death for the
Native Americans. They had no protection against illnesses such as smallpox, cholera, and measles, which the English brought
to the Americas when they came. Many tribes suffered enormous losses frequently; up to ninety percent of the population was
wiped out. The English epidemics between 1614 through 1620 killed three-quarters of the Wampanoag and exterminated entire
villages. After a decade of intermittent warfare the English colony had grown to about 8,000 while the Powhatan population
had fallen to 5,000 due to disease that English have passes on to them. (Crosby, 35-38) Many other tribes were also affected
by the diseases they didn’t encounter before and many tribes demolishes completely due to this drastic overtaking. Nonetheless,
even numerous Europeans were affected by the diseases, but still not nearly as much as the Native Americans who were not used
to those kinds of diseases.
Therefore, the first contact with the Englishmen was not very pleasant for the Native
Americans. They did indeed try to make peace but the land hungry Europeans only frustrated them and they soon rebelled. The
Europeans stole land, spread the disease they brought from Europe killing numerous Indians, and also started many conflicts.
Most definitely, the decline in Native American population after 1700s was due to the harsh Englishmen that only wanted land
and goods that the Indians possessed.
Works Cited
America's Fascinating Indian Heritage. Pleasantville, N.Y: Reader's Digest Association, 1978.
Crosby, Alfred
W. Columbian exchange biological and cultural consequences of 1492. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Pub. Co., 1972.
Dillon, Richard H. North American Indian wars. New York, NY: Facts on File, Inc., 1983.
Hirschfelder,
Arlene. Native heritage personal accounts by American Indians, 1790 to the present. New York: Macmillan, 1995.
