...Mulu Berehe 05/15/14. Essay # 3. “What Sacagawea means to me” There are many contradictions in life, yet none as influential in everyone’s life as the idea of colonization. In “What Sacagawea Means to Me,” Sherman Alexie illustrates how colonization is a contradiction. He states “colonization might be a natural process, tragic and violent to be sure, but predictable and ordinary as well, and possibly necessary for the advance, however constructive and destructive, of all civilizations.” I agree that colonization does have both positive and negative effects. Colonization causes many changes in the lives of the people being colonized and those changes can be both good and bad. To me the ideal form of colonization would be how the missionaries who came to Ethiopia did it. European colonization resulted in many negative effects on the Native Americans. Colonization lead to the destruction of the Native Americans’ life as they knew it. Within a short period of time their way of life was changed forever. The changes were caused by a number of factors, including loss of land, disease, enforced laws which violated their culture and much more. When the Europeans arrived they brought with them diseases unknown to the natives. The natives had no immunity to these unknown diseases, so they were easily infected and died from these diseases. This lead to massive deaths in Native American communities as they came into contact with the settlers. The killing of natives was not just done...
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...According to Guenter Lewy, the author of “Were American Indians the Victims of Genocide?”, American Indians greatly suffered due to European settlers, but the American Indian deaths were mostly caused by uncontrollable circumstances that the Europeans could not control. The American Indians' population decreased due to highly contagious diseases, internal warfare between Native American tribes and the European’s hostility, violence, and cruelty towards the Native Americans. According to Article II of the Genocide Convention, genocide is a crime or series of crimes “committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group” (Lewy 61-62). Throughout the article, Lewy gives many examples, based on...
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...of the American culture, which evolved from the time of the American colonization to date (Spiro, 2008). Evidently, American identity differs from any other lifestyle worldwide. Though the American identity phenomenon has been identified by many individuals, Crevecoeur, an American farmer illustrates a contrast in the life he spent in Europe and that, which he found in America and how British colonies have contributed to the American identity (St. de Crèvecoeur, Trent & Lewisohn, 1904). What distinguishes an American from a European In his first letter, Crevecoeur portrays Americans as a course group with varied religious groups and practices that exist in harmony. Crevecoeur emphasized that the immigrants finally had the opportunity to thrive through hard work and determination. His oratory hints that a European could be Americanized simply by clinching to American culture of patriotism (St. de Crèvecoeur, Trent & Lewisohn, 1904). Additionally, he emphasizes that this could even be much easier if the European morphed into a race of new men who struggle and posterity had the capacity to effect massive changes in the world. Furthermore, Crevecoeur stresses that, while the European tousled in the midst of religious and national alliances, the American embraced specifics of his identity like religion, and declaring his connection to all. Even more, he compares a poor European to a withered plant that lacks refreshing showers and vegetative...
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...The Aboriginal People of Newfoundland The Beothuk people of Newfoundland were not the very first inhabitants of the island. Thousands of years before their arrival there existed an ancient race, named the Maritime Archaic Indians who lived on the shores of Newfoundland. (Red Ochre Indians, Marshall, 4.) Burial plots and polished stone tools are occasionally discovered near Beothuk remains. Some people speculate that, because of the proximity of the artifacts to the former lands of the Beothuk, the Maritime Archaic Indians and the Beothuk may have been related. It is not certain when the Beothuk arrived on the island. In fact little is actually known about the people, compared to what is known about other amerindian civilisations, only artifacts and stories told by elders tell the historians who these people really were. Some speculate that they travelled from "Labrador to Newfoundland across the strait of Belle Isle, which at one time was only 12 miles wide. By about 200 AD the Beothuk Indians were probably well settled into Newfoundland."(Red Ochre, 8) The Beothuk were not alone on Newfoundland wither. The Dorset Eskimos, who came from Cape Dorset regions of the north around 500 BC also shared the island. They presumably had contact with the Beothuk, exchanging tools or engaging in battle. In any case the Dorset Indians died out leaving Newfoundland empty to the control of the Beothuk people who now had no enemies and a wide vast territory. The Beothuk, although part...
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...When the first Europeans came to the North American continent. they encountered the completely new cultures of the Native American peoples of North America. Native Americans, who had highly developed cultures in many respects. must have been as curious about the strange European manners and customs as the Europeans were curious about them. As always happens when two or more cultures come into contact. there was a cultural exchange. Native Americans adopted" some of the Europeans' ways. and the Europeans adopted some of their ways. As a result. Native Americans have made many valuable contributions to American culture. particularly in the areas of language. art, food. and government. Native Americans left a permanent imprint on the English language. The early English speaking settlers borrowed from several different Native American languages words for the new places and new objects that they had found in this new land. All across the country. one can find cities. towns. rivers. and states ,with Native American names. For example. the states of Delaware. Iowa. Illinois. And Alabama are named after Native American tribes as are the cities of Chicago. Miami. and Spokane. In addition to place names. English adopted from various Native American languages the words for animals and plants that were to be found only in the Americas and no place else. Chipmunk. moose. raccoon. skunk. tobacco. and potato are just a few examples. Although the vocabulary of English is the area that...
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...excuse to explore unfamiliar territories in the North America in search of furs. The competitions for furs in North America created rival between European states. The French, British, and Dutch all made claims to the region, but few Europeans actually hunted or trapped themselves. Instead, most Europeans set up trading posts where they negotiated and trading with the Native Americas. The European traded goods unfamiliar to the Native Americans such as firearms and alcohol in exchange for furs and skins. The intense competition resulted in the near extinction of numerous animal species. Native Americans did most of the labor in the fur trade at their own will, making rational market choices to get European goods, creating a new economic trading system. Unfortunately, the fur trade had negative consequences for Native Americans. Contact with Europeans ended up leading to the exchanging of disease and increased tribal warfare, instituted a separation in the Native American social system. Alcohol had a particularly destructive effect on native American society due to its addictive qualities and the Native Americans lack of tolerance, earning its name of Fire Water among the Native American communities. Many indigenous women married European men, helping to foster cross-cultural. Most indigenous women lost social status as a result of European contact, but some found small economic opportunities. The fur trade is what motivated the Russian to move into Siberia as they...
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...Valentin Gutierrez AMDG Mrs. Hochman Period 5 5/23/13 When the Spanish were building their empires in the newly discovered world of the Americas, they were using the native people that they came across as slaves. The Spanish forced the indigenous population to work in the mines and the plantations that they were developing. The Spanish caused the indigenous population of the Americas to decrease for many reasons. Many died of diseases such as measles and the flu. The body of the natives was completely vulnerable to these diseases because they never came across it and didn’t have a clue on how to combat it. By 1500s, it is estimated that there were about 50 million natives in the Americas. By 1600, after 100 years of European warfare, disease and forced labor, the indigenous population dropped to an estimated 8 million people. New laws made by the Spanish in 1542 put an end to them being taken as slaves. The natives could no longer work in mines and on the land. Instead, a new system was introduced called the encomienda system. Under this system, the natives would only do a reasonable amount of work for the Spanish landowner on whose land they lived on. This presented a big problem because the Spanish had to get the mining work up and running again, but they could no longer count on Mayan and Aztec slaves to do it. The Spanish decided to enslave some African people because they figured, well theirs no law on exploiting Africans so let’s bring them in large quantities...
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...experiences in the past which have shaped and transformed their history, culture, and society in many ways. During these experiences, both African and Indigenous people have used different forms of resistance in order to escape European colonialism and slavery. For Europeans, slavery was a major factor in their economic success. Millions of African and Indigenous slaves suffered at the expense of European settlers. The objective of the Europeans was to strip African and Indigenous people of their land, possessions, dignity, and even their lives in order to benefit themselves. Given the results of slavery and a look at the society in which we live today, this objective was not a complete success. Some forms of resistance were impactful, while others caused more harm than good. African slaves have been shown to use more secretive forms of resistance while Indigenous slaves used more open forms. Considering the various forms of resistance that African slaves used in comparison to the forms that Indigenous slaves used, and the outcome of this resistance, it can be stated that African slaves were far more victorious in their endeavours for emancipation than Indigenous slaves were. The land that Indigenous people occupied was highly sought after by Europeans for economic activity, as it contained commodities and people who they established as cheap and productive labour (Beckles and Shepard, 118.) Because of this, the Indigenous people were mistreated, enslaved, and stripped of their...
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...Colonization in the Americas European settlers faced excruciating occurrences in their attempts to colonize the Americas. There were various challenges that came upon them. They faced uncivilized natives, economic struggles, and starvation. The European colonizers endured a very difficult time trying to stabilize a new home in North America. Harriott believed the natives would soon learn to be civilized through conversion or conquest, if they did not die from disease(1). Disease was a very big controversy for the settlers of the American colonies. They had to dodge the tragic diseases that the natives inflicted upon them. Europeans had tried to shade themselves from these drastic plagues and diseases. Crops were also something that became a problem for the a Europeans. Starvation began to take its toll and they needed to acquire crops. Searching for crops, planting, and harvesting them became a very common task for the European settlers. Economic struggles and poverty also played a great roll for the Europeans. They had dealt with natives making clothes out of deer skins and being half naked(2). A very big issue was the small native towns. The villages were extremely small and only contained ten to twelve houses. The Europeans wanted to drive the Native Americans out of their land and expand from there. They wanted to develop a better life and realized that they couldn't do that with the natives still there. Land expansion, known as Imperialism...
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...institutions, seem to have faired off better than colonies in tropical countries that lacked them. This can be rationalized since European countries set up institutions in different locations with varying intentions. (Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson 1370). By identifying the characteristics and the resulting influences of various colonial institutions, in addition to why different locations were more suitable for these separate institutions, it will become apparent as to why tropical countries turned out poorer than areas with temperate climates today. One type of colony set up by Europeans was an extractive state. “The main purpose of the extractive state was to transfer as much of the resources of the colony to the colonizer” (1370). These colonies were exploited by Europeans and didn’t offer institutions that protected their native citizens against the ruling government. Their existence was solely to produce profit for the elite, which was done through extracting the lands’ gold, silver, and cash crops (Easterly and Levine 8). The ruling government would generally extract these colonies valuables, then “set up a complex mercantilist system of monopolies and trade regulations to extract further resources from the colonies” (Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson 1375). Since there was an overwhelming economic motive behind the colonization of these lands, Europeans would focus on controlling the colonies population by establishing an authoritarian state (1375). This was done with the intention...
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...Disease and epidemics have challenged the human population for millennia. The Columbian Exchange, or the trading of disease, food, crops, and ideas between Europe and the Americas beginning in 1492, brought many changes to the societies, politics, and cultures involved. The Columbian Exchange is a two way exchange, commonly posed as a beneficial event to both parties. The Europeans gained trade goods such as silver, cotton, carvassa, and sugar and the Americas were introduced to new food sources, animals, and Christianity. Although the Columbian Exchange may have been beneficial, many negative effects were created that caused an abundance of change to Europe and the Americas. While the Americas faced devastation owing to the exchange, Europe...
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...Shepard Krech III offers an in-depth analysis of historical Aboriginal peoples’ behaviour in his book “The Ecological Indian.” Accounts of Aboriginal peoples’ origins and traditions are dissected and investigated in an effort to determine their level of concern for the environment. Krech delves into the state of the world during the Pleistocene era and eventually considers the state of the New World during the time of the fur trade. Krech is very critical of Aboriginal peoples’ reputation as natural conservationists. I believe that Krech manipulates evidence in ways that favor his argument. This might be a given for a controversial topic, but the author goes too far in deprioritizing information that supports Aboriginal peoples as historical conservationists. Krech’s rhetoric flows over and under major points that support the idea of the Ecological Indian, moving swiftly past them and on to evidence that portrays Aboriginal peoples as wasteful and abusive to nature. Krech introduces the concept of the Ecological Indian by discussing the 1960’s advertising campaign of the “Crying Indian”, who seemed to mourn for the polluted environment. Krech correctly considers the Crying Indian to contain several subtle points – Aboriginal peoples are the victim of White pollution; Aboriginal groups treat land and resources with respect. By using an upset Aboriginal man, this advertising company set Aboriginal peoples against white people, as defenders against attackers. Krech considers...
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...impact of exploration on European and native societies. 2. TWL know the roles of key individuals and their impact during exploration. 3. TLW understand the location of European settlements in the New World. 4. TLW apply reading comprehension strategies to social studies. Skills: 1. TLW demonstrate map skills. 2. TLW demonstrate collaboration skills. 3. TLW demonstrate reading skills. 4. TLW demonstrate comprehension skills. 5. TLW demonstrate writing skills. 3. Applicable Tennessee Standards: * Explain the cultures of the Western Hemisphere’s native peoples prior to European contact. * Pre-Colonial Native American groups. * Determine how various groups resolve conflict. * Identify Native American groups in Tennessee and the Western Hemisphere before European expansion. * Reasons for European exploration and settlement. * Understand how to use maps, globes, and other geographic representations, tools, and techniques to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective. * Identify routes of explorers of the Americas. * Identify cultural groups who inhabited North America in the 17th century. * Reasons settlements are founded on major river systems. * Read and interpret facts from a historical passage about an early American Spanish mission. * Describe the immediate and long-term impact of Columbus’s voyages on native populations and on colonization in the Americas. * Accomplishments...
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...Jeremiah Hamilton CH 203: 1203 Reading Response September 4, 2013 Columbus, de las Casas, and the Conquest of the New World Christopher Columbus and Bartolomè de las Casas both describe their trips to the New World; however, they have very different insights about their experiences there. The letter that Columbus sent to the king and queen described his first voyage to the New World in 1492 and de las Casas writes about the things he experienced as he journeyed along Columbus’s later trip in 1502. It seems as if in the Columbus letter, Columbus was somewhat scouting out the area noting the land, resources available, and characteristics of the native peoples in order to decide what his people can gain from the land. On the later voyage in 1502 with de las Casas, it seems as if the Spaniards used Columbus’s first encounter with the native people and voyage experiences to, using the knowledge gained, exploit the land and people for the personal gain of the Spaniards. The purpose of the letter Columbus sent to the king and queen was to determine the resources available in the New World that they could take for the betterment of Spain. Columbus describes the Indies as many beautiful, fertile islands and points out where the resources are. He assures the king and queen that based on the timid nature of the indigenous people, it would not be hard to conquer and exploit the land for their own gain. Throughout the letter Columbus seems to see the natives as a lesser species...
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...found, learned of or observed it first. However, this is most definitely not the case of Christopher Columbus. Over the last few years, authorities on New World demographics had suggest that about 145 million people had lived in the lands that Columbus had visited (Source 4). Hence, how could it be that these lands were “discovered” by him if he wasn’t the first to be there? Columbus was not the first to discover that the earth was round, although many do believe he did. Consequently, this is all a lie because “...educated Europeans of Columbus’ time did not believe the earth was flat” (Source 4). Hereby again, Christopher Columbus should be given credit for discovering that the earth is round because he was not the first to learn of this. In addition, Columbus was not the first Non-American to find the New World. When Columbus were to go find Asia he was well aware of newly discovered lands across the Atlantic. Also, people from all over the world, even Europeans, had been to the Americas for reasons should as trading, fishing, refugees and settlements (Source 4). However, his legacy is another reason for discontinuing the celebration of Columbus Day. The celebration of Columbus Day should be discontinued because of the barbarous legacy he had left behind that has been followed by many over the centuries. Although, Christopher Columbus hadn’t discovered the Americas, he had discovered genocide. He is the founder, creator and inventor of genocide. Within two generations, all Indians...
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