Chapter 1 - 1.1



Chapter 1: Implication of historical events as source of present social problems

1.1. The first contacts of American Indians with Europeans
It is believed that American Indians may have been on the North America continent for fifty thousand years. They were not only the first Americans but also the great explorers. They were appearing on this land gradually and at different times over several thousands of years. The American Indians traveled from Asia on foot or by boat. They were taken through icy landscapes and along the coastlines during their explorations. Finally these earliest people spread out over the whole of the continent. They were forced to adapt their lives to the different environment. We can say that because of this fact American Indians were creative people. They learned how to live in deserts, in forests, along the oceans, even on the grassy prairies. As a result, they became the great hunters and productive farmers. The Native Americans built towns and traded over large distances with Europeans who landed in America (American Indians at European Contact 2005).

The immense changes appeared on the land along with the arrival of the great number of English, French and Spanish explorers. Initially the settlers were welcomed by Natives with exuberance and kindness. The generous sharing of Americans’ belongings, supplies, food and the skills which were necessary to survival in the New World can be an example of good relationships between these two nations (American Indians at European Contact 2005). Gołębiowski claims that Indians even considered Europeans to be better ones than they were (Gołębiowski 2004: 16). They were also very interested in thing that the colonist could provide. They began use new materials and products in their everyday lives. What is more, they found out from them how to make more efficient metal tools such as axes, hoes and knives (American Indians at European Contact 2005). These new trade goods changed American Indian lives but writing about Americans’ first contacts with other nation, we also must tell about their negative impacts on Indians life.

Firstly, European colonists carried a hidden enemy to the Indians new epidemic diseases. Native people of America had no natural resistance to the diseases that explores from Europe brought with them. American Indians suffered from smallpox, influenza, measles and even chicken pox. They did not know how to cure it. The result of these relations with European bugs was terrible and overwhelming for the Americans. Sometimes whole villages perished in a short time. It is believed that about 90 percent of the American Indian population may have died due to infectious diseases introduced to North America. This means that only one in ten Natives survived. So in the United States today there are the 2.5 million Indians (American Indians at European Contact 2005).

A second big change connected with the trade was slavery. American people were needed by European colonists to help build houses and clear fields. Explorers also captured Indians who were bought and sold as slaves. It is surprising to know that before 1700 in the Carolinas, one-fourth of all enslaved people were American Indian men, women and children. Many Native slaves worked in the Caribbean or were sold in cities like Boston. Consequently, slavery led to warfare among tribes and hardship. Many tribes had to escape from slave trade. It resulted in the destruction of some tribes entirely (American Indians at European Contact 2005).

Slavery and devastating diseases were not only the major problems concerned Native Americans. The crucial conflict, which is called The Pequot War, occurred in 1637. It is known to have been the first war between white people and Indians. The Pequots were a warlike tribes located along the Thames River in present-day southeast Connecticut. There were numerous quarrels between colonists. The Pequots were angry because of unfair trading, the sale of alcohol, destruction of their crops by colonial cattle and competition over hunting grounds. The critical point appeared after murdering by the Pequots of John Oldham in July 1636. Governor John Endicott of Massachusetts Bay called up the militia to punish the Indians. Allying with the Mohegan and Narragansett, the colonists attacked a Pequot village on the Mystic River in May 1637. The Pequot chieftain Sassacus was executed by Mohawk Indians in present-day New York. The effect of the Pequot War was very deep. A lot of people were killed, and others were dispersed among other southern New England tribes ([Indian] relationship with the Europeans 2010).

The impact of this savage struggle was, however, lessened by the alliance of whites with Indian neighbours anxious to see the Pequot destroyed; and, though New Englanders acted often without mercy or compassion, they remained concerned with Christianizing the Indian (Bradbury and Temperley 1998: 37).

The next scuffle between Americans and settlers appeared on February 29 in 1704. There was in Deerfield, Massachusetts. At this time a lot of tribes had sided with the French in the fight between French and English over the domination of northern New England. A group of 28 Frenchmen and 200 Indians started to fight with Massachusetts. In a brief assault, about 50 inhabitants were killed and taken about 100 Deerfield residences captive ([Indian] relationships with the Europeans 2010).

The first Americans experienced a lot of big changes soon after Europeans’ arrival. They experienced destructive diseases, slavery, a lot of armed conflicts and wars. Many Indian people in New England died of European diseases (American Indians at European Contact 2005). The Native Americans could adapt to foreign technology (Gołębiowski 2004: 17), but not to European germs. Their societies were destroyed by weapons of their opponents. American land was controlled by colonists. The Americans who survived were completely demoralized and depressed by this tremendous loss of their loved ones, of their lifestyle and of their culture ([Indian] relationships with the Europeans 2010). These above mentioned disasters were on a scale we can hardly imagine. In short, these Indians’ first contact with Europeans change the Native Americans way of life.