Native American Identity
The trend witnessed all through North and South America was European settlers push natives aside, take their land, and kill their culture which resulted in mass deaths during revolts. The Europeans believed to be superior to the natives while the natives believed that the Europeans way of life was foreign to theirs, terming most of their practices such as education to be of no use. For a peaceful agreement to be reached between any two parties, both of them must be able to compromise a few of their beliefs to accommodate one another. This was not evident when the European settlers met with the Native Americans almost automatically meaning that conflict was always an option.
When Columbus first set foot on the Caribbean islands, the natives’ population was estimated at one million people, the number drastically fell to less than twenty thousand only thirty years after the Spanish arrived. With great interest, Columbus saw the island as a place to die for, a place that would bring great prosperity to the Spanish government. In his letter to the government after his first expedition he wrote, “This land is to be desired not to be relinquished… Here in a place most suitable and best for its proximity to the gold mines and for transportation to Europe… I took possession of a large town from the natives .I have made fortifications there, and I have left in it men, with arms and artillery and provisions for more than a year.” (Columbus, 1493)
After Columbus’ voyage, the Spanish government sent several other military expeditions to America to explore the territory and conquer the natives. The explorers forced their way of life on the natives terming their culture as inferior and undeveloped. Conquistador Francisco Coronado ordered that his troops tell the people that there is only one God in heaven and one emperor on earth to rule and govern it; they were all to forcefully serve as his subjects. They never gave the natives a chance of dialogue or try to live as their equals.
A century after the Spaniard conquest, the English and their descendants (new Americans) settled on the eastern seaboard and started encroaching westwards towards the Native Americans’ land. This resulted in conflict between the natives and the European descendants. Benjamin Franklin observed the difference in cultures of the two opposing groups with each party seeing their culture as the best and the opposing one as inferior. He wrote,” Savages we call them because their manners differ from ours, which we think are perfect and they think the same of theirs… Our laborious manner of life, compared with theirs, they think inferior; and the learning, on which we value ourselves, they regard as useless.” (Benjamin, 1784)
The natives held dear their way of life and fought to keep it from being eroded. Tecumseh, a Shawnee leader, used the example of other native tribes who were colonized by the white settlers as an example to his people and the main reason they opposed their rule. The white settlers went on to forcefully impose their rule on the natives even suggesting that they are not independent people and should not be considered as such. U.S Secretary of War, John Calhoun once said (1862), The rapid progression of civilization upon this continent will not permit the lands which are required for cultivation to be surrendered to savage tribes for hunting…The government has always demanded the removal of the Indians when their lands were required for agricultural purposes. European civilization was forcefully instilled on the natives and their culture consequently eroded.
In conclusion, the violence sparked by the arrival of the Portuguese would have been avoided in more instances than one, but the Europeans felt the need to impose superiority over the natives. Neither did they nor their descendants consider diplomacy as a means of co-existing with the natives rather they saw the natives as an obstacle to their advancement. This treatment affected the identity of Native Americans and they soon were seen as invaders in their own home. The violence to date is to date a stain in American history, a time of negativity that will forever be remembered.
References
Christopher Columbus, document 1
Benjamin franklin, document 3
John C. Calhoun, document 7