European Contact and the Formation of the New World
The New World is the term for the connection that formed after Christopher Columbus’ voyage in the 15th century, when European settlers landed in the Western Hemisphere of the Americas. Columbus led four voyages in which he discovered the Caribbean islands, the Gulf of Mexico, and the South and Central American continents as part of the New World. [1] The New World that formed after Columbus’s discovery led to European expeditions during the era of European colonization. Columbus’s aim was to discover a route to East Asia, and on the journey, he discovered the American region while sailing west from Europe.
The colonization started off with the first Spaniards in America. Spaniards came to America and built houses there; some of them came for the rich resources found there. Later on, France and England also sent their explorers to the West and colonized there. The native Indians were the people found in the area discovered by Columbus. Thus, they are named native Indians. They were tribal people. [2]
Before moving on to the impact of the New World on native Indians, it is important to know the buildup of mixed cultures formed after European colonization and the relationship of native people with Europeans. The settlers of Europe arrived in the North American region, which was land for the tribal natives who had lived there for many thousands of years. The tribal natives were robust people with different languages and religious beliefs. They were mostly labourers who worked on crops and lands and traded goods for their living.
The Europeans and Indian tribes met in the 16th century when Europeans from France and Spain landed on the east coast of the American region. The relationship between the native Indians and European settlers changed from place to place based on economic, social and political factors. The relationship dynamics of the two changed due to two factors: religion and economic gain. [3]
Spanish Expansion, Land, and Colonial Ambition
The Spanish were among the powerful monarchs, and they had a strong desire to get the resources of the American land. The European settlers’ major concern was to own the land, as being the owner would be a symbol of strength and power. Many of the Europeans who arrived in the New World realized that it was hard to own land. The settlers from England also reached the east coast of America and the colonies’ lands. The settlers of England offered Europeans land to help them acquire property in return for crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
The mindset of the Indians, on the other hand, was that they believed that people or the settlers could use the land for harvesting, but they could not own the land. They did not have the idea that the colonists had a plan to confiscate the property. The relationship was amicable at the start; settlers were few compared to the native Indians. The native Indians helped settlers build crops and taught them how to live by harvesting.
The example of the friendliness among settlers and native Americans is evident from the story of the metasoma and northern settlers from Europe. Metasoma was the leader of the Indian tribe, and he helped the settlers survive on the land during their winters. The tribal people provided the settlers with all the food and other helpful sources of living for many years. They enjoyed the first feast together, which was celebrated as Thanksgiving. But later on, the consequence of the settlers’ invasion of the tribal land brought a kind of European disease that resulted in the death of Metasoma’s brother. The friendly relationship shifted into a relationship of fear and mistrust; the familiar scenario was wrecked and deformed after the majority of settlers took control over the land of the native Indians. The relationship of peace turned dismal and violent, bringing the deaths of 3,000 Native Americans and 600 settlers in a violent war in 1665. [4]
Settlement, Conquest, and Indigenous Displacement
The effect of the New World on the Indians was based on the settlements that the settlers made. The Spaniards established military points or posts in the North American region, which is now named San Augustine. The major impact of colonization on the Indians was the change of religion. Settlers were all Christians, and they wanted to change the religion of Native Americans as well. Some of the farmers who worked for Spaniards were converted to Christianity by Catholic missionaries. San Augustin became famous for the cultural blends and intermarriages between Spaniards and Indian women that occurred there. The old tribal Americans were faithful and close to nature. They chose to stick to their own religious beliefs. [3]
The French settlers took advantage of the rivalries and conflicts between the tribal area people and Native Americans, and they used them for their benefit by starting trade exchanges across the lake with tribes like Huron and Montagnais. The Native Americans used to capture animals and were famous for stripping off their skins and trading fur with the French people. The French priests were cunning enough to learn the languages of the tribes, and they converted the Indians to Christianity. In the 18th century, competition over trade increased among Dutch, French and English settlers, which helped the Indians economically and diplomatically.[3]
The next big impact of the European settlers was the introduction of various European disease syndromes among tribal people. The Indians were close to nature, and they had weak immunity against the diseases carried by the Europeans into their regions. The diseases were measles, chickenpox, influenza, malaria, and yellow fever. [5] There were many deaths among the Indian inhabitants of the New World.
Disease, Enslavement, and Environmental Transformation
The Indian population decreased in number as a result of European diseases. The number of labourers decreased, which resulted in the enslavement of Africans on a large scale in America. Environmental change was also brought about by the Europeans of the New World. The pigs colonized the land where the sheep and beavers used to eat. Pigs ate them, and it affected the hunting of native animals by Native Americans for survival.[6]
The Europeans had knowledge of medicines and drugs in the New World. Columbus introduced sugarcane on his voyage. The European settlers introduced tobacco material. The tobacco was sold in the region for smoking and weed. Many herbs were also brought into the Native American regions.
The Europeans researched and collected the chocolate-drinking recipe from England and devised a method of extracting chocolate from cocoa beans. The Indians were nature-loving people, and they spent their lives in close interaction with every natural thing. They had much more knowledge about plants and other botanical things. The European settlers took help from and advantage of their expertise in cataloguing botanical species.[7]
Property, Trade, and the Exploitation of Tribal Conflict
The central objective of European colonization was property ownership, and all of them wanted to build houses. They benefited from the tribal wars fought by the Indians on American land. They traded weapons and other goods with many tribes in exchange for the labour they wanted. The labourers among the Native Americans were skilled and hardworking. The Europeans paid for tribal slaves in the tribal wars for the construction of their properties.
The Native Americans were unaware of the mindset that each settler brought to colonization. They welcomed the immigrants, but after the influx of settlers from the 16th to the 18th centuries, factors like trade, political power, and property ownership changed the geographic and living conditions of Native Americans.
Native Americans faced enslavement, hunger, inhumane behaviour, and a death toll after the colonization of the Europeans in the New World discovered by Christopher Columbus’s voyage to the east coast of America. They not only targeted the Indians for their food and property. They also considered them evil or devilish creatures who did not believe in Christianity. The tribal people were killed for their own religious beliefs. Many native Indians were converted by Christian priests. With the passage of time after the 18th century, colonization by the Dutch, Spaniards, and French took control of America, and the Indian population was reduced to a minority.
References
History.com. 1492: Columbus reaches the New World. n.d. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/columbus-reaches-the-new-world.
Khan Academy. Environmental and health effects of European contact with the New World. n.d. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-us-history/period-1/apush-old-and-new-worlds-collide/a/environmental-and-health-effects-of-contact.
The education. A NEW WORLD (1000–1776). n.d. https://highered.mheducation.com/sites/dl/free/0809222299/45391/USHistory.html.
OER. The Impact of Colonization. n.d. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-ushistory1os2xmaster/chapter/the-impact-of-colonization/.
Teaching History. European Colonisation. n.d. https://teachinghistory.org/history-content/ask-a-historian/25447.
Vox News. American History of Mixed Cultures. 3 October 2012. https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/1519967.html. 3 October 2012.
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