Introduction
Indians were supposed to settle in America between 15000 and 60000 years ago. They were the first indigenous American ancestors with religious views, land care attitudes, gender distribution roles, and serene notions of freedom. Compared to the European colonies and society that wanted to conquer and defy the outer world, Indians paid more attention to their well-being and stimulation and facilitation of their irrigation systems and trade networks. There were distinct differences between those originating worlds, as well as they had common peculiarities that enabled them to coexist together. The diversity between these two civilizations was so staggering that it was next to impossible to understand the way they managed to influence each other in further cooperation.
Differences between an Indian Society and the Europeans
Indian societies were occupied with building roads, trading centers for internal sale markets, and building large planned towns with multiple-family dwellings; their primary orientations were crop and stock production and their nation-related development.
The European civilization focused on the expansion of its borders by conquering other countries. Various European countries, such as Spain, France, and Britain, wanted to extend their wealth, hoping to establish their religious and economic dominance in a new territory. While European colonies trespassed the American region, native Indians people found themselves in a desperate situation, such as Indian demographic crisis, meaning the total property expropriation and annihilation of their national values and a nation itself. As two civilizations met, they faced a prominent difference that had to be eradicated to make a complex configured empire.
Religion
As for Indian civilization, such a phenomenon as animism was common for them. Animism implied the sacred spirit lived in living and inanimate creatures, such as animals, plants, water, etc. Indians favored them by conducting religious ceremonies granted for land fertilization and hunting. People eligible to hold special spiritual rituals came into prominence as tribe authorities, getting leading tribe positions. Besides, Indian religion did not differentiate between the natural and supernatural, as they respected the presence of the holy spirit, which could acquire in everything surrounding them.
As to European colonies, they wanted to submit to native Americans by imposing Catholicism on them, as it was more genuine and orthodox. Besides, Europeans were determined that the implementation of the Christ religion provided freedom from sin, which would be the future agenda for “Christian Liberty.” Many European colonies wanted Indians to transform them in total obedience to Catholic church, thus decimating Indians’ moral values and religious dogmas to a core.
Land and Property
There were two different land approaches these two civilizations had. The term on private property ownership was foreign to Indians, as they believed that land was a common resource they used for hunting. This nation was not money-oriented, and they did not treat land issues as an economic commodity. They were decisive that nature and land were sacred universe units, and they could not own it as ordinary human beings.
The concept of private property ownership contradicted their moral dogmas and mindsets; wealth and mercenary spirits were not their life priorities; they paid more attention to the idea of generosity. They believed that fertilized land doled out several blessing benefits, and they could not own it or regard it as their private estate. As to European colonies, they were land-oriented, as they treated the land as a source of farming and planting. Taking the situation of total Indians’ ignorance to Europeans’ advantage, they managed to trespass and conquer all Indian lands, firmly considering that Indians did not have the rights to claim to it, as they did not use it properly.
Gender roles
There were no gender biases, superstitions, and prejudices among Indians. Women were free to express their affections for someone out of wedlock; they could engage in premarital sex without being criticized or penalized. In case they wanted to divorce their husbands, they did it freely without negative social and public endorsement. Besides, a woman’s position in society was superior to a man’s one, as most Indian societies were matrilineal. This matrilineal position came to all spheres of their lives, such as a manual labor distribution. Indian women were occupied with diverse agricultural duties when their husbands were away on hunts. As for Europeans, such a tendency as relationships out of wedlock was prohibited and obscene. Women could not divorce or cheat on their husbands, as they faced severe public censure and strong disapproval.
Notions of freedom
Indians designed themselves as free as they did not belong to any facility or social institute. They treated themselves as one common group among others, where they were units of the sacred universe. The idea of personal independence, imposed by Europeans, was foreign for them. Europeans considered Indians barbaric for their frivolous notions of freedom; they wanted to implement Christianity as a prerequisite for freedom from sin. Besides, they were one hundred percent sure that obedience to the law was another form of provided freedom, as the law was liberty’s salvation. In European colonies, women had few rights to project themselves as independent people, and were submissive to their husbands.
Conclusion
These two drastically different civilizations had little in common; Europeans wanted to eradicate and enslave that nation, imposing a new religion and terminating Indians’ long-standing perception of the world. It presupposes a great Indian crisis regarding expropriation of their properties and elimination of their old values. European colonies were obsessed with the expansion of their borders and chose weak opponents for achieving their goals. Indians aimed at spirit-related priorities were under the siege of the civilization that used their ignorance to their prominent advantage.