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The landscape of America was shaped by religious and cultural differences long before the arrival and subsequent settlement of Europeans. In this "new world", the indigenous people were naturally separated in their language, landscape, cultural myths, and religious practices with no outside influence. As the Europeans arrived in the Americas, they thought little about the cultural and religious traditions of the peoples they encountered. In fact, the common belief during this period was that the indigenous communities had no culture or religion at all. During this "Age of Discovery", the first to arrive were the Spanish and French. Spanish conquistadors and French fur traders fought for land and wealth, while their missionaries competed to "save the souls" of the natives. It was during this period that the Spanish first encountered the Akimel…
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America was first conquered by the conquistadors. What was not expected was the harshness and savageness of the native population of the Americas. One Spanish Explorer, Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca was such an explorer who documented his 8 years with a group of Native Americans known as the Karankawas. In his narrative, De Vaca, diminishes the stereotype of what Europeans believed the Native Americans were.…
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The arrival of the Spanish in the Americas opened the gateways to many other events that shaped the future of the land and its current inhabitants. The conquest of the Indians by the Spaniards was made possible due to horses, fire arms, and alliances formed with other Indians they had encountered along the way. Many years after the conquest, Bartolome de las Casas realized the treatment the Indians were receiving by Spanish was cruel and unjustifiable and decided to do something about it. Bartolome de las Casas essentially defended the Indians by clearly stating to Spanish Queen Isabella the innocent nature of the Indians and the barbarous treatment of the Spaniards towards them in order to create a change in their behavior.…
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Bartoleme de las Casas was born on 1484 in Sevilla, Spain. In 1502 he left for Hispaniola to spread the word of Christianity and monitor the progress of religion in that area. Once there he witnessed the brutal treatment of the indigenous people. He continued to participate in the conquest for an additional twelve years. After his services, he was rewarded with territory and indigenous people of his own. Once he met the gentle people, Las Casas realized that the way the Spaniards treated the Native Americans was inhumane. He sailed back to Spain to defend the people and plead for their better treatment. After this, Las Casa believed that “both Spaniards and indigenous communities could build a new civilization in American together” (Pagden).…
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The United States took possession of numerous Indians lands after the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus. They claimed those lands of America using the Christendom’s theory stating that Christian’s nations have an absolute domination over non-Christians territories. Plenty of Acts and Treaties were also used to whitewash this doctrine of domination; the Indian Removal Act in 1835well illustrates this “whitewash” practice. Originally intended to create pace and to ensure the integrity of Indians territories, the Removal Act created multiple conflicts in between Indians and Christian’s communities and resulted in the removal of the Indians people from their own homeland, as a result of the Americans ‘desire to conquer the Indians territories. Furthermore, the United States categorized the Indian people as “domestic dependent nations” and also as “migratory hunters” with no attachment to their homelands, therefore the lands of America were supposedly uninhabited and available for Christians ‘nations to govern.…
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The early European influences, or prejudices directly linked themselves to the final outcome of the cultural elimination of the Native Americans. The English settlers called the Natives "Savages" and labeled them as uncivilized. Several times John Smith, in his works calls the Natives evil and compares them to the devil with their so-called occult like behavior. These prejudices just allowed for more hate and greed to develop in the English settlers. Even in Crevicure, the author clearly labels the European settlers as the Americans and not even putting into mind the Blackfeet and other Natives who had lived on the land for thousands of years. This ignorance to acknowledge another culture other than their own just shows how easily the prejudice dipictions made it for them to kick the other civilization right out of the picture, making them basically obsolete.…
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Europeans were drawn to North America for economic and political reasons. Closely followed by Columbus’ “discovery” of the New World in 1492 were the establishments of European colonies as well as the French. The responses European settlers had to Native American tribes reflected their own cultural and economic viewpoints. The British tended to oppress Native Americans economically and culturally and denied their potential contributions to helping growing settlements in the New World. The Spanish responded harshly in terms of economy, although culturally responded peacefully their search for gold and quest to convert Native Americans to Catholicism. Consequently, the lives of the Indians of North America transformed significantly.…
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Well all of these, were some things that Cabeza had to deal with. Cabeza however, had developed a respect for the native americans that welcomed him in. He was provided food, shelter, and had learned how to speak over 4 different languages while under captivity of the indians. One day, Cabeza was with the indians and had run into the spaniards who were spanish soldiers. “They wanted to slave the indians we brought with us, we were told that we had been lost for a long time, and of ill fortune and no worth, and that they were the lords of the land whom shall be obeyed by the indians.”(Document D) “The indians were, not at all convinced. We came from where the sun rose and, and the spaniards, came where it set. We cured the sick, and the spaniards killed those who are well.” (Document D) This states that Cabeza stayed with the indians, even how they were being treated, that he respected them.…
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When the Euro-Americans started to settle America they forced the Native Americans to adapt their culture and religion. The settlers were very serious about their Christian religion. They thought it was the one true faith and all people should believe in it. Euro-Americans actually feared the Native Americans because they felt that Native Americans were evil because they didn’t have a religion. What the Euro-Americans didn’t understand was that the Native Americans did have a religion and their own beliefs. Their religion and beliefs may have been very different from Christianity, but they did have one.…
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But at the same time, some of the Natives were said to be less than receptive, or peaceful. This may be in part to how the Europeans treated them. Often the Europeans would peacefully introduce themselves to the Natives, to only take them captive, take their belongings, or kill days later. These interactions alone show that the Europeans were very dominant over the Indians. One of the main reasons the Europeans enjoyed so much success in their conquests was…
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The king wanted to control the land and discover gold, so it was essential to know what the Native Americans were like. What Cabeza de Vaca found out was that the Native Americans were charitable, such as when, “As the sun rose next morning, the Indians appeared as they promised, bringing an abundance of fish and certain roots… mostly grubbed from water with great labor.” That would allow the king to assume that these are kind people and the Spaniards could rely on them if needed. Also, it could be assumed that the natives could be easily manipulated if they needed any supplies while in that foreign country.In fact the Native Americans were so kind that, “The Indians, when hearing our plight, sat down and lamented for half an hour…” The natives, the king could assume, would assist them with anything. If anything happened to the…
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Columbus viewed the Indians as very generous and kind people. However De Las Casas refuses to see Indians are just like Columbus said. He feels or wants to mistake the Indians’ kindness for a weakness, easily manipulate them into enslavement, and do all these cruel and inhumane things to the Indians. De Las Casas and the Christians on the island of Hispaniola began their destruction. Families were being broken up, women and suckling children were being separated. In analysis this very thing is happening in modern times such as terrorism that has people fearing for their lives. Casas stated, “For everyone Christian that the Indians slew, the Christians would slay an hundred Indians” (69). Shockingly De Las Casas was one of the ones that introduced Africans to slavery as well (67). However De Las Casas plan didn’t go as plan for very long because people like Spanish emperor Charles V followed suit with the New Laws of the Indies, which gave Indians full protection and forbade enslavement on any…
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They felt that the acceptance of Christianity did not strike them as an all-or-nothing proposition. So really, it seemed as if everything the Indians said went in one ear and out the other because instead of leaving the Indians alone and letting them continue to follow their own norms, the Spanish still wanted to try at any cost to get what they wanted. As the Spanish conquistadors continued to take over Mexico, they rebelled by persecuting the Indians so they could force them to convert to Spanish religion. Reports were made and sent back to Spain about how they treated the Indians. One report, made by Felipe Guaman Poma during the mid 1500s to about 1615, shows many drawings depicting their treatment. There is one picture of a holy Spanish man who was trying to perform a form of conversion ceremony on an Indian woman, tired of suspicion and persecution and fearful of rejection. Around her head, he writes, “confess me, Father, of all my sins. Don’t ask me about huacas and idols, and, for the love of Jesus Christ and His Holy Mother Mary, absolve me [of my sins] and don’t throw me out the door. Have mercy on my…
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In the beginning the Europeans were ecstatic that they had found a “new world” that was uninhabited. Finding this “new world” would solve many problems that the Europeans faced, many wanted to have religious freedom to worship anyone/anything that they pleased. The “new world” was the perfect place to move and have religious freedom. After exploring and being in the “new world” for a while the explorers realized that the “new world” was inhabited after all. However, they did not view the inhabitants as people, they viewed them as savages and slaves. The natives were just as surprised to see the Europeans. The natives thought that the Europeans were gods when they first saw them because they were white and were riding horses, neither of those had been seen by the natives…
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The customs they acquired included: ownership of private land, owning family farms, and even using slaves for labor. These Native Americans were considered by the whites to be “Civilized Tribes”. This process of absorbstion began as early as the 1600s. For example, missionaries attempted to convert the Indians to Christianity. Their efforts were largely in vain.…
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