Colonial North America Show
The second, larger Puritan colony of Massachusetts Bay was conceived as a "city upon a hill." But it also struggled with internal turmoil—like the Salem Witch Trials—and external conflict, like King Philip's (Metacom's) War. Colonial North America
Consider what interactions between the first Spanish explorers and Indigenous Peoples demonstrate about encountering the unfamiliar. Last Updated: August 1, 2017
When two people meet for the first time, each takes stock of the other, often focusing on differences. Scholar Martha Minow warns that difference always “implies a reference: difference from whom? I am no more different from you than you are from me. A short person is different only in relation to a tall one; a Spanish-speaking student is different in relation to an English-speaking one. But the point of comparison is often unstated.” 1 By identifying unstated points of comparison, we can examine the relationships between those who have the power to assign labels of difference and those who lack that power. The first meetings between Europeans and the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas 2 illustrate Minow’s argument. Historians Peter Carroll and David Noble describe those encounters:
To the Arawak, the newcomers were so obviously different in language, dress, and color that the Arawak doubted that the Europeans were human beings. “They believe very firmly,” wrote Christopher Columbus after his first voyage to the Americas, “that I, with these ships and people, came from the sky.” 4 Other Indigenous Peoples reacted in similar ways to their first encounters with Europeans. Columbus and other Europeans had their own misconceptions. They mistakenly believed that the Arawak were “Indians.” Carroll and Noble write:
In describing the “Indians,” Europeans focused not on who they were but on who they were not. They then went on to describe what the Indigenous Peoples did not have. Amerigo Vespucci, for whom the Americas are named, described the “Indians” as neither Muslims nor Jews. He noted that they were “worse than heathen; because we did not see that they offered any sacrifice, nor yet did they have a house of prayer.” John Winthrop, an Englishman who helped found the Massachusetts Bay Colony, justified his claims to the Indigenous Peoples’ land by arguing that they did not mark their ownership of it in ways that Europeans recognized. He wrote that they “enclose no land, neither have they any settled habitations, nor any tame cattle.” 6 To many newcomers, the Indigenous Peoples were not only “backward” but also dangerous. In historian Ronald Takaki’s words, “They represented what English men and women in America thought they were not—and, more important, what they must not become.” 7 Colonial leaders warned that colonists must strictly adhere to the laws and moral guidelines that defined their communities; otherwise they would allow themselves to become “Indianized.” Increasingly, “to be ‘Indianized’ meant to serve the Devil.” It also meant to be “decivilized, to become wild men.” 8 After all, the English viewed "Indians" as people living outside of “civilization.” Such ideas were rooted at least in part in religious beliefs. As Carroll and Noble point out in their description of Spanish explorers,
Such attitudes were not limited to Europeans who were Catholic. They were shared by Protestants as well. Relations between the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas and the Europeans were also shaped by the fierce competition among European nations for wealth and power. As Europeans took control of more and more of the Americas, millions of Indigenous People were killed. Countless others were pushed into the interior of both continents. Still others were forced into slavery. Connection Questions
paperclip Explore resources that meet the Massachusetts History and Social Science Framework.
paperclip Explore the motives, pressures, and fears that shaped Americans’ responses to Nazism and the humanitarian refugee crisis it provoked during the 1930s and 1940s.
paperclip Students examine the steps the Nazis took to replace democracy with dictatorship and draw conclusions about the values and institutions that make democracy possible.
paperclip Students are introduced to the enormity of the crimes committed during the Holocaust and look closely at stories of a few individuals who were targeted by Nazi brutality.
paperclip Students deepen their examination of human behaviour during the Holocaust by analysing and discussing the range of choices available to individuals, groups, and nations.
paperclip Students both respond to and design Holocaust memorials as they consider the impact that memorials and monuments have on the way we think about history.
paperclip Students grapple with the meaning of justice and the purpose of trials as they learn how the Allies responded to the atrocities of Nazi Germany.
paperclip Students learn about the violent pogroms of Kristallnacht by watching a short documentary and then reflecting on eyewitness testimonies.
paperclip Students examine the Nazi ideology of “race and space” and the role it played in Germany’s aggression toward other nations, groups, and individuals.
paperclip Students examine how choices made by individuals and groups contributed to the rise of the Nazi Party in the 1920s and 1930s.
paperclip Students explore the long history of discrimination against Jews and come to understand how anti-Judaism was transformed into antisemitism in the nineteenth century.
paperclip Students reflect on the idea of democracy as they analyse the politics, economics, and culture of Germany during the period of the Weimar Republic.
Most teachers are willing to tackle the difficult topics, but we need the tools. — Gabriela Calderon-Espinal, Bay Shore, NY What was the English colonists attitude towards the Native Americans?Initially, white colonists viewed Native Americans as helpful and friendly. They welcomed the Natives into their settlements, and the colonists willingly engaged in trade with them. They hoped to transform the tribes people into civilized Christians through their daily contacts.
What was the relationship between Native Americans and the English settlers like?While Native Americans and English settlers in the New England territories first attempted a mutual relationship based on trade and a shared dedication to spirituality, soon disease and other conflicts led to a deteriorated relationship and, eventually, the First Indian War.
How did the New England colonies treat the natives?The Native Americans were forced to give up their lands so the colonists could grow even more tobacco. In addition to their desire for land, the English also used religion to justify bloodshed. In 1637, New England Puritans exterminated thousands of Pequot Indians, including women and children.
What was the main source of tension between the colonists and Native Americans?The biggest source of conflict between Native Americans and European settlers was the issue of land ownership and land use. Europeans felt land should be privately owned, while Native Americans believed land should by owned and used by everyone.
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