Introduction
The most important event of the fifteenth century was the discovery of the New World by the Europeans. This discovery ushered in an era of large-scale immigration from Europe to America and the establishment of permanent settlements there. There were major consequences of the interaction between European settlers and the Natives of America. One native tribe that was affected by the appearance of Europeans in North America was the Mi’kmaq people. Scholars agree that the history of the Mi’kmaq did not begin with the arrival of the Europeans to North America.
However, their encounter with the Europeans became a defining moment in the history of the Mi’kmaq. The discovery of the existence of the Americas by explorers such as Columbus and the subsequent interactions between the Natives and the Europeans transformed the lives of the indigenous populations. This paper set out to discuss the discovery of America by the renowned Spanish Explorer, Christopher Columbus, and the consequences of these findings to the Mi’kmaq people.
How Columbus discovered the Natives in Canada
Christopher Columbus is arguably the most renowned explorer in the world. This Spanish maritime explorer set on a number of important voyages aimed at discovering new lands across the ocean. His most important achievement was the discovery of America in the Western Hemisphere following his voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. This monumental discovery occurred by accident. When Columbus made his first voyage across the Atlantic in 1492, his intended destination was Asia. By the fifteenth century, Europe enjoyed lucrative trade relations with Asia.
The Asian continent was rich in goods such as silk, jewelry, and spices. However, the trade flow was restricted since the goods had to travel over a long and dangerous land route from Asia to Europe. Europeans were eager to expand their trade relations with the continent but the lack of a cheap trade route made trading difficult. The limitations to trade imposed by the land route led to the desire for a sea route to be discovered. Such a route would open up trade with Asia since ships could travel faster and carry more cargo.
Christopher Columbus believed that he could reach the Asian continent by sailing West across the Atlantic. However, his voyage led him to a previously unknown land as he docked on an island in America. This 1492 landing was a historical event since it led to the opening up of the new world for further exploration by Europeans. The significance of Columbus’ voyages is that they led to the establishment of permanent European settlements in the Americas. Over the next ten years after the first voyage, Columbus made three other voyages to the New World where he ventured deeper into the discovered continent.
The contact between the Mi’kmaq and the Europeans was a direct result of Columbus’ discovery. Because of his discovery, the Europeans became aware of a vast new continent that existed in the Western Hemisphere. Various European kingdoms including Spain, France, Portugal, and Britain were eager to explore this new land and exploit it. Due to their positioning at the extreme East of the continent, the Mi’kmaq encountered the Europeans earlier than the continental natives did. Plank (2003) suggests that the Mi’kmaq may well have been the first native people in North America to encounter Europeans.
In the decades following Columbus’ discovery, many European expeditions were sent to the Americas. The expeditions engaged in tradition relations with the Natives of America. In addition to this, they set up permanent settlements and set out to colonize the vast lands that had until then been inhabited exclusively by the natives. The Mi’kmaq were among the many native tribes of the Americas affected by the invasion of the continents by Europeans. According to Hornborg (2013), the Mi’kmaq had lived in the region for over three Millenniums before Columbus’ discovery and the subsequent establishment of European colonies in America. The Mi’kmaq civilization was vibrant and it had a rich culture.
The Consequences of Columbus’ Discovery
Trade
Interaction between the Mi’kmaq people and the Europeans following Columbus’ discovery had a number of important consequences. The first was the development of a vibrant trading relationship between the two peoples. Plank (2003) declares that from the onset, the Mi’kmaq traded with the Europeans much more enthusiastically than other native groups.
By the start of the seventeenth century, trade with the Europeans had become an integral part of the Mi’kmaq economy. Wicken (2002) documents that the Natives had a great appetite for European goods. The products brought by the European traders had great value to the Mi’kmaq. For this reason, many families produced furs that could be exchanged with goods such as hatchets, knives, guns, kettle, cloth, and needles and thread.
The practical value of the European goods made trading a valued activity among the Mi’kmaq. The economic well being of individual Mi’kmaq families improved due to trade with the Europeans. Using European guns, the Mi’kmaq hunters were able to increase their hunting output. Wicken (2002) states that guns made hunting easier due to their accuracy when compared to the projectiles such as spears, bows and arrows, previously used by the Mi’kmaq. Hatchets were used for cutting firewood more efficiently and butchering animals. Knives were used to quickly process the furs and skins. The Mi’kmaq tribe therefore saw trade with Europeans as a means for obtaining goods that increased the ability of the natives to exploit the resources available on their land. The goods also reduced the time spent by the community engaging in hunting and trapping.
Diseases
One disastrous consequence of Columbus’ discovery was the introduction of diseases to the native population. As the Europeans made contact with the Mi’kmaq for trade or conquest, they spread dangerous viruses to them. Due to their isolated existence, the American Natives did not have immunity against the diseases. As a result, they succumbed to the European diseases that were introduced by the Europeans. As European missionaries moved into various villages to spread the Christian faith, they introduced dangerous viruses to the natives.
Hornborg (2013) is careful to note that the introduction of diseases to the native population was not intentional. The Europeans did not know that the Mi’kmaq lacked a natural immunity to diseases that were harmless to the Europeans. The diseases had a devastating effect on the population of the Mi’kmaq. The European diseases exterminated entire villages and this greatly weakened the once strong tribe. According to Hornborg (2013), between 50% and 90% of the entire Mi’kmaq population was wiped up by European diseases.
Land Loss
An important consequence of interaction with the Europeans is that it led to the loss of land by the Mi’kmaq. Before interaction with the Europeans, all the available land belonged to the natives. There was great flexibility regarding how hunting territories were allotted among families with the Grand Council of the Mi’kmaq making decisions on the distribution of hunting territories among families and bands, based on their needs (Peabody, MacGregor & Thorne, 1987).
The situation changed when the European during the eighteenth century when the European settlers began to directly exploit the natural resources of the Mi’kmaq. Plank (2003) notes that at the onset of the interaction between the Mi’kmaq and the Europeans, the Europeans were only interested in trading. The two groups coexisted amicably for most of the seventeenth century since the Europeans did not construct permanent facilities or engage in action aimed at dispossessing the Mi’kmaq from their villages. However, the Europeans coveted the large amounts of land belonging to the Natives.
By the start of the Eigteenth century, competition for resources created by European settlement on Mi’kmaq land led to conflicts. Formal treaties were made between the Mi’kmaq Grand Council and the European settlers. In the first najor treaty, which was signed in 1752, the Mi’kmaq agreed to share the natural resources with the British. However, the British did not respect the terms of the treaties and they settled on the native’s hunting grounds. The influx of English settlers led to more incursion into Mi’kmaq hunting territories.
Peabody et al. (1987) document that the settlers cleared land and established farms on Mi’kmaq hunting grounds therefore decreasing the land available to the natives. By the end of the nineteenth century, most Mi’kmaq had been settled on reserves (Hornborg, 2013). The reserves were tracts of land set aside by the colonical government and acknowledged as exclusively for the use of the natives. In most cases, the reserves were situated in unfertile areas as the European settlers had taken possession of the best farmland.
Tradition and Culture
Contact with the Europeans due to the discovery of the New world by Columbus led to the eventual destruction of Mi’kmaq culture and traditions. Before encountering the Europeans, the Mi’kmaq had a rich culture that had existed for millenniums. When the first European traders landed on the Continent, they did not interfere with the natives’ way of life. Their primary concern was to engage in the lucrative exchange with the Mi’kmaq. However, as more trading ships arrived to North America, missionaries also came along. The missionaries endeavored to convert the natives to Christianity. The Europeans discouraged Mi’kmaq spirituality and the natives were persuaded or coerced to convert.
The traditional way of life was disrupted by the presence of the Europeans in North America. The Mi’kmaq lost majority of their land resources to the Europeans and this led to a dramatic change in their ways of life. Hunting had been the cornerstone of the livelihood of these people. As settlers pushed the Mi’kmaq off their hunting grounds, the natives could not sustain themselves as they had done in the past. Hornbort (2013) observes that by the start of the 19th century, the Mi’kmaq were starving and facing imminent extinction. These natives were forced to abandon their traditional economic activity for small-scale farming. The Mi’kmaq were not successful farmers since the land available to them was limited and often of low fertility.
The British authorities desired to assimilate the Mi’kmaq into mainstream Canadian society. To achieve this, they established boarding schools that would transform Mi’kmaq children into Canadians. The schools were located far from the native reserves to ensure that children were isolated from their parents for extended periods. During this period of isolation, the children were forbidden from practicing their culture. The school administration indoctrinated the Mi’kmaq children with non-native views. They were forced to adopt the English culture and communicate using the language of the colonial powers. Wicken (2002) documents that these traumatic changes had a lasting effect on the Mi’kmaq people. Children were cut off from their tribal communities leading to a loss in culture. The Mi’kmaq language was lost as the children adopted English as their language.
Conclusion
This paper has talked about how Columbus discovered the natives in Canada and the consequences of this discovery. It began by acknowledging that while the history of the Mi’kmaq did not start with the arrival of Columbus, it was dramatically influenced by the discoveries of this Spanish explorer. Columbus discovered the Americas during his attempt to discover a Western sea route to the Asian continent. His discovery introduced Europeans to the vast new continent that existed in the Western Hemisphere.
These Europeans set out to explore and exploit the resources of the continent. They also set up settlements in the land previously occupied by the Native Americans. A positive consequence of this interaction was the increase in trade between the two groups. However, the negative consequences were more and they included introduction of European diseases, loss of land, and loss of culture. It can therefore be concluded that Columbus’ discovery of America was detrimental to the well being of the natives in Canada.
References
Hornborg, A. (2013). Mi’kmaq Landscapes: From Animism to Sacred Ecology. Boston: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
Peabody, G., MacGregor, C., & Thorne, R. (1987). The Maritimes: Tradition, Challenge & Change. London: James Lorimer & Company.
Plank, G. (2003). An Unsettled Conquest: The British Campaign Against the Peoples of Acadia. Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Wicken, W. (2002). Mi’kmaq Treaties on Trial: History, Land, and Donald Marshall Junior. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.