The Europeans’ arrival to America was marked by the attempts of Native Americans and colonists to pursue their interests. English people considered Indian tribes “savages” and did not prevent conflicts that sparked across the colonies’ territories (Shi, 2018). The military powers from each nation or tribe commonly sought to drive the other away. European religious figures only fueled this conflict by claiming that Native Americans worshiped devils and must be converted (Shi, 2018). The introduction of a foreign culture brought disparity to Indian tribes. Slavery was a common way to resolve conflicts and worked in the colonists’ favor. Shi (2018) states that “traders at times fomented war between Indian tribes” and employed natives to hunt their kin (p. 72). Nations failed to adapt to the presence of local populations due to the economic prospects of new land.
There were attempts to disrupt a chain of conflicts between the tribal communities and Englishmen to protect the interests of the Empire. Shi and Mayer (2019) reveal that one of the early agreements between colonists and natives did not “permit any person to trade or commerce with any of the said Indians” (p. 30). This decision was made because the expanding commerce between nations was linked to a growing distrust. Eventually, locals were either assimilated into European settlements or weakened by diseases and conflicts and moved their communities (Shi (2018). In conclusion, adaptation attempts have failed, and European nations either assimilated Native Americans or drove them out with deadly force and enslavement.
References
Shi, D. E. (2018). America: A narrative history (11th ed.). New York, NY: W. W. Norton.
Shi, D. E., & Mayer, H. A. (2019). For the record: A documentary history (7th ed.). New York, NY: W. W. Norton.