Introduction
The first Europeans who invaded North America which is dominantly occupied by Indians had a lot of impacts on behavior and the pattern of activities in these countries. The Europeans brought various changes to the land and the people who occupied the land. According to history, Europeans had occupied every part of North America by the nineteenth century and the Amerindians had acclimatized to the European mold. Amerindians benefited the Europeans in many ways and then invaders took the advantage of the natives through religion, trade, and land.
Reactions of the Native Americans
The first coming of the Europeans was considered useful by the Indians hence they were received very warmly. They were very hospitable to these newcomers contrary to the expectations of the foreigners themselves.
The Natives were willing to carry trade operations with foreigners. The Natives were very friendly to the Europeans to the extent that they offered a lot of support in terms of food and transport. They also did very well in advising the newcomers on the mode of communication that could be easily accessed. In return for all these services that they offered to these Europeans, the Amerindians benefited from the foreign products and other variety of commodities that were brought by newcomers. They also benefited from the commercial system that was introduced by the foreigners where capitalism was to be implemented and operational within North America. They also set up support structures and infrastructures such as trading posts. This enhanced capitalism.
The sole aim of the Europeans coming to North America was to gain land and settle. They came into the country with the ideas and opinions that it was their land. It was after some time that the Europeans spread to most parts of North America, the Amerindians realize that the newcomers had different intentions that were against their wishes and expectations. The Europeans started to occupy land that was occupied by the Native Americans and they were left with no home hence they were later extinct. Americans’ laws were converted in favor of the Europeans to allow them to take care of all the property rights that belong to the Natives. Other benefits resulted from the first coming of the Europeans which were perceived by the Natives as very crucial to their lives.
The intermarriages that occurred were of material benefits as fur traders and Amerindians were a concern. The relations that grew after the intermarriages were very imperative to the people of North America who had suffered from diseases for a long time. Diseases were very common and fatal and this had endangered the lives of the Natives for a long time. Europeans provided some health services. The exchange of cultures that occurred through intermarriages was considered by the Natives as very important in their lives. They did not react negatively to the invasion of the First Europeans as they believed missionaries could benefit them in various ways such as trading with goods that were brought by these foreigners. The European communities used a very sophisticated tactic to settle in North America which could be rejected by the Natives. The use of intermarriage was considered by the Natives as very important to them. The reactions of the natives were very mild.
The Indians comprehended the religious and social change that was brought by The First Europeans who were mainly French as very critical to their living. The Natives did not at any time exclude any European from their societies and this was very contrary to what was been done by the Europeans themselves. The children that were born through intermarriages were welcomed by the Natives into the tribal societies. The native culture was very adamant and could not be changed easily. The newcomers’ culture posed a lot of challenges to the Native culture. Jesuit missionaries introduced religion that was disliked by the Indians as it was difficult for them to comprehend. The missionaries tried as much as possible to converts the natives and this lead to a lot of disparities between the natives and them. Jesuit rigorous conversion procedures were considered weird by the natives The Natives were used to mass baptism that was adopted by the Latin American counterparts in the conversion of Indians to Christianity. This was not the same as the Jesuit model of baptism which demanded that for one to be baptized, he or she should be properly instructed and should be able to demonstrate sufficient knowledge in Christian ideology. There were relatively few conversions that occurred in most parts of North America as the Jesuit abandoned the place due to Fox wars that occurred after some time.
Some communities of the Native Americans disliked the French due to the fact they traded with their enemies. Fox was one of the tribes that did not comprehend the importance of the Europeans had resulted in war to hinder them from trading with their counterparts. Violence erupted in 1712 when the Fox was involved in a clash between the tribes that were on good terms with the French community. They attack the French and some of their counterparts in the Midwest.
The coming of the Europeans to North America has been perceived differently by different persons. These perceptions have relatively changed with time with associations of diverse images, warriors have been considered to be protectors of the legal environment. These perceptions have had positive impacts and manifestations. The coming of the Europeans has been perceived by the intellectuals of native America to promote the nations’ structure through the transition from the traditional mode of living to industrial capitalism. They perceived this idea of transition to be a way forward to true modern virtue and communitarian values. These intellectuals and other activists realized that the Foreigners had bad perceptions towards the Natives and that they did not respect their culture.
Conclusion
They perceived that the thoughts of the non-Indians towards the Indian policy and the cultural identity of the Natives were very negative and had to be challenged. The Indians had to challenge these perceptions by intervening with the non-Indians ‘ perceptions through the provision of their images through aspects of literature, drama, music, and film. All these were meant to identify the pride of the Indians. The Indians have had perceptions that the non-Indians treated them unfairly when it comes to matters related to sports and team mascots. They also perceived that the non-Indians had access to relevant information about the political structures that shaped their lives. They also perceived that the culture of these non-Indians had changed the way of living through organizations Society of American Indians. After realizing all these, they sought voice towards the goals of equality, civility, and understanding
Work Cited
David, S. Europeans in Native American Land. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2004, pp. 450-480.