Indian And Spanish Relationship example essay topic

In this book, Taylor, and exceptional history writer, is trying to convey numerous facts that the community is suppose to comprehend. By utilizing these facts, one can broaden its knowledge on past historical events. A historical event that relates to the topic would include the Norse, because they were technologically more advance than most countries at that time and proceeded to set the trend for many other countries. The first newcomers to America besides the Indians were the Norse, who proceeded to land on the northern tip of the United States also know as present day Nova Scotia.

When the Norse reached land, they saw numerous amounts of grapes which made perfect sense why they named it Vinland. The Norse had to with stand a number of attacks from the Skraelings, and had to tolerate nasty winters. This is the first known colony established in North America but it was very short lived. When the Spanish, British, and French start to appear on the frontier with the Indians, the whole scene changed tremendously, because each one had their own way of dealing with problems they encountered with the Indians. Throughout the countless encounters with the Indians, the cultural and economic responses of the Spanish, British, and French were very different from each other; however, sometimes it did not always go they way the countries had planned.

Conceivably the least involved European country in their economic relationship with the Indians was Spain. On the other hand Spain had the greatest cultural relationship. In order to make this connection with the Indians in North America, Spain had to send out a trusted and steadfast companion by the name of Christopher Columbus. Columbus began to ponder more and more how he could formulate additional money to boost Spain's economy without having to travel all the way down the coast of Africa. So he decided that he would voyage across the Atlantic and hopefully run right into Asia. This is not precisely what occurred.

Columbus took off from the coast of Spain with three ships and ninety men which Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand gave him but they sought part of the money he made back in return. When he arrived in the Caribbean he happened to see many inhabitants of similar decent of the Canaries which confused him a little, because Columbus thought the people in Asia would look different than people so close to his land. In order to prove his power in a boosting fashion, Columbus wanted to do something a little different. Taylor states it well, "To impress and intimidate the Taino, Columbus publicly demonstrated the sound and fury of his gunpowder weapons". (Taylor-35). This proved to scare the Indians a little since they were not accustomed to this sort of power.

Their weapons consisted of spears and rocks which were not even close to the technology of the Spanish. This demonstrated that the Indians had an exceptionally different view on life and were basically in there own little world not knowing right from wrong. When they proceeded to not cloth themselves, the Spanish were truly convinced that there culture was extremely diverse. At first, the Indians were very shy and resisted to come close to the Spanish, but this changed rapidly when several of Columbus's men started traded with them. Pierson 2 This economically helped the Indians and the Spanish because each group was receiving something in return that could eventually Given that the Indians had no sense of trade, they were giving the Spanish 22 pounds of cotton for a simple copper piece from Spain. The colony of Hispaniola boomed when more and more Spanish ships arrived but the population of Indians decreased immensely with the occurrence of numerous diseases.

Each of the Indian and Spanish relationship was truly diverse and sundry given that an abundant number of Spanish leaders converged with them. Another example of this relationship would be with Herman Cortes. This ruthless leader and brilliant lawyer, lead a series of massive and very deadly attacks on the Indian's gold mines, plantations, and some of their gigantic colonies. Over powering and intimated these poor Indians was not a big deal for Cortes given that his men were fully armored and brought along ferocious dogs named mastiffs and horses. Cortes biggest accomplishment and sense of pride was invading and overpowering Montezuma, and his city of Tenochtitlan. His men and he proceeded to steal a tremendous amount of gold and silver which was there whole reason of going to the new world in the first place.

After Cortes, came a series of Spanish Conquistadors who were successful in conquering the Indian empires of the Incas and Mayans, but if the Spanish were not triumphant in their first attack, the disease they left would rampage through the city and eventually exterminate everyone. The last and final Spanish man who had the worst relationship with the Indians was Hernando de Soto and his companion Francisco Vasquez de Coronado. Taylor writes, "Soto and Coronado unleashed waves of violence, destruction, and disease that devastated the native peoples in their own ways". (Taylor-72) Soto and Coronado combined forces to have 600 men strong. Since there supply of food was extremely minuscule, they held chiefs and wives ransom until they paid them with maize and beans. The force of men carried 300 sets of chains and iron collars to enslave the Indians and sell them as porters.

This was the extent of many of his expeditions, in do so he released hundreds of viruses and disease into colonies. Although the British exhibited a true cultural and economic relationship with the Indians, the Indians did not always return the favor. One example is how the promoters wished to establish a strong connection between them and the Indians. The promoters offered numerous gifts such as food, clothing, and shelter in the winter but the only things the Indians wished to receive was trade of metals.

As one can see the Indians hated completing tasks of the British and were only satisfied with their own ways. Whenever the British attempted to have the Indians present themselves to superior members amongst the colonial, they would start huge controversies and occasionally a brawl would break out. Along with the little fights amid the British colonists and the Indians, there were the intense fights over survival. When colonists started believing that they could survive off the Algonquians, which were there enemies, everything went downhill. Lane, a veteran of the grim war, went head to head with the Algonquians killing Winging, the chief, and deputy chiefs just because they would not offer them maize. Another example was when John White and a group of British colonists endured the long journey from England to be left in the Chesapeake Bay.

Pierson 3 The colonists soon evacuated the bay and voyaged to Croatian, but they were eventually murder by Powhatan for trespassing. This proved that the cultural respect for the Indians was totally vanished, but the natives did not care because they were intrigued by the all the new English colonist's technology that came from over seas every couple weeks. Since the new colonists were not acquainted with Indians yet, the natives react even quicker to trading. This was alright with the colonists until they heard stories of seventeen colonists imposing themselves on a village just trying to ask for food, and the Indians butchery all of them and leaving their bodies out to hang. Or those trying to trade with the Indians for other things than guns and steel weapons and having their head fall off for no reason. Having their head fall off was lucky, but if they were not lucky, maybe they would bend them over a wheel until everything was broken, or perhaps one might be burnt at the stake.

Although much was done to try to help the relationship between the British and the Indians, their cultural differences between the two led to much difficulty, death and confusion. There had to be a mutual dependency between the French and Indians in the purpose that they relied on more trade with the Indians, because of the lack of produce they could grow. One of the first expeditions took place in 1541 in Canada when Jacques Cartier built a fort on the St. Lawrence River. This eventually failed because the French were dumb enough to try to steal from the Indians instead of trading which lead to death and destruction. Sooner or later the French established a good cultural relationship with the Iroquoian which were arch enemies to the Algonquian. While the English traded with the Algonquian, the French traded with the Iroquoian which in turn helped them out in the long run.

The Indians in the north were depended on the French because they supplied them with European metals and alcohol whereas the French needed food and beaver fur pellets. Since the Indians worked hard to hunt numerous pellets, the French were able to start up small temporary camps along the coast for trading. There was such an abundance of pelts that a ship could pull up into the harbor and Indians would line the beach waving pelts in the air. The supply and demand in Europe soon diminished when the hunters killed the beavers at an uncountable rate allowing no more furs to be found anymore along the coast of Canada. French travelers would take expeditions into the woods for days just to find a good deal on the furs.

This was a very harsh job because of the brutality of the winters. A prime example was Samuel de Champlain, a trusted soldier and explorer, who proceeded to established the colony of New France and Quebec. He and Huron Indians traded on a regular basis until the Algonquians attacked and killed the entire population of 20,000. So even if Samuel de Champlain had a decent relationship with one group of Indians, there were always those other Indians waiting to capitalize on the mistake he had made with them early in this life, such was the case in this circumstance.

Through several trials and errors of the events taken place with the Indians, the cultural and economic response of the French was a true success with some minor difficulties, while the British and Spanish were positive in the economic response, they failed tremendously in the cultural relationship category. Although a lot was done to help in all aspects of each group so that everyone would come out on top; however each group suffered survive casualties in their try to maintain a strong and steady relationship with the Indians.