Download
1 / 32
320 likes | 467 Views
European Conquest and American Identity. How the Colonization of the Americas Continues to Shape the United States. American Identity as a Concept.
E N D
European Conquest and American Identity How the Colonization of the Americas Continues to Shape the United States
American Identity as a Concept American identity, like that of all nations, is a social construction which reinvents itself across time. While certain principles have come to be representative of American values in the present – democracy, capitalism, freedom of conscience, for example – not even these concepts are uncompromisingly held. How democratic is the Electoral College? What restrictions exist on capitalism? If we believe in freedom of conscience and freedom of expression, then why are dissenters during times of war ostracized?
The Concept of “Other” – An Important Concept in Colonization Most of the source materials used to construct history are from European authors; very few Native American cultures had any written languages. Nevertheless, it is important to remember that European cultures of the 17th Century or before are just as unusual to us as Native American cultures may have been. Karen Kupperman, author of Indians and English: Facing Off in Early America advises, “It is important to realize that, just as the Americans and their culture is foreign to us, so the English are as well. It is a mistake to think that we can easily and directly understand the minds of English actors. Their purposes and meanings are alien and require imaginative reconstruction just as native American purposes and meanings do; and it is too easy to fall into the trap of thinking we know what they mean because their words appear to say something a modern person might say.”
The Iroquois Confederation Iroquois were not any one tribe, but a political organization not unlike the Powhatan tribe in composition – although not in political structure. The confederation was ruled by consensus building among tribal members. Some historians have argued – unsuccessful for the most part – that the Iroquois example influenced the “Albany Plan” of Union and the Articles of Confederation. Gender roles within the tribe dictated matrilineal bloodlines – and women were in charge of living arrangements, agriculture, and healing within the culture. For English and French settlers – for whom gender roles dictated that men should be in charge of sowing seeds and raising crops – it appeared that men in the tribes were abusive to their women. Men were raised as hunters and warriors in the tribe.
The Iroquois Confederation Because the tribe was situated neatly between areas of English and Dutch settlement and the French colonies of Quebec, the Iroquois were able to manipulate their trading partners and assert autonomy in their domain. The tribe forced European nations to compete for their cooperation, and thereby preserved a certain amount of autonomy even when they were at an military disadvantage in terms of weapons, and later, numbers.
Southeastern Tribes - Most of the Southeastern Tribes – like the Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Natchez civilizations – were able to avoid subjugation by the French and Spanish explorers of the region because they lacked – namely gold and silver. Situated where they were, it was impossible to enslave the populations. Spanish conquistadors like Ponce de Leon and later Hernando de Soto made cursory efforts to proselytize the Indians, but soon moved on. Epidemic diseases devastated the population – as it did all Native American tribes. Nevertheless, certain tribes like the Natchez were able to find agency by selling food to trade centered regions like New Orleans and by playing Spanish and French rivals off of one another.
Plains Indians Although we often associate the Plains tribes with the nomadic, buffalo-pursuing tribes of the late 19th Century, they were not always characterized by this way of life. By then, Americans had forced Eastern tribes into the region, disease had taken a devastating toll, and the horse – which had escaped New Mexico as early as the 16th Century, had prospered on the Great Plains and been domesticated by tribes like the Lakota Sioux.
Plains Indians In general, tribes lived in more permanent settlements, and traveled seasonally from camp to camp. Agriculture was practiced. While the tribes did rely on the buffalo, they were not constantly tracking the herd, as many envision they were in the years after the Civil War. (They weren’t then, either!)
Southwestern Indians The inhabitants of the desert Southwest seem to have had longstanding ties to the Aztecs in Mexico. The so-called Anasazi people – who had disappeared from the region prior to any European exploration of the region – were succeeded by smaller tribes like the Apache or the Navajo. The Apache were hunter-gathers, and more prone to assert themselves aggressively. The Navajo, on the other hand, were herders and engaged in irrigated agriculture, despite the unforgiving environment.
The Pacific Northwest The environment of the Pacific Northwest provided a forgiving climate and the satisfaction of basic needs. Since food was abundant, a unique social structure emerged which focused on task accomplishment – whether the task be related to the gathering of food, hunting, construction of shelter, or the limited agriculture which tribes like the Nez Perce or Kwakiutl practiced.
The Powhatan The example of the Powhatan tribe is particularly instructive in covering this aspect of history. The tribe’s domination was in the area surrounding the Chesapeake – along the East Coast, largely outside the influence of the Iroquois. The tribe was too far north to be dominated by the Creek Confederation Nevertheless, they were hemmed in and pressured by the same factors which influenced other tribes: environmental changes, the devastation of European disease, and conflicts with other tribes, largely over competition for resources – hunting grounds, for example.
Chief Powhatan – Wahunsunacock War Chief – Opechancanough Since Powhatan was the leader settlers at Jamestown negotiated with, it is frequently assumed that he was the all powerful leader of the tribe. While he did have absolute power over the settlement of Jamestown in certain decisions, he was not an absolute monarch. English settlers, who’s schema for understanding governments was limited by their own experiences, assumed incorrectly that he was. In fact, like many tribes, there were “inside” leaders and “outside” leaders. Inside leaders, like Wahunsunacock, were tasked with maintaining alliances within the confederation – marrying influential leaders in other communities in order to build bonds and strengthen the Confederation. Outside leaders, like Powhatan’s brother, Opechancanough, were war leaders, as the settlers at Jamestown would learn. Powhatan Leadership
Native Americans to English English colonists, like all European colonists, were constantly seeking to draw more settlers to their region. Hence, portraying Native Americans as health, strong, noble, and cooperative – or at least manageable using force – was critical. It does, however, make the interpretation of their published journals and private letters more difficult for historians. There were more than a few willful misinterpretations – a quite a few honest misunderstandings – along the way.
The Portuguese Although most American accounts trace the history of African slavery in the English colonies back to a 1619 Dutch trade vessel which arrived in Jamestown, the origins of American slavery are more properly traced back to the Dutch. The use of slave labor on sugar plantations off the coast of Africa goes back to the early 1500s.
The Spanish and Slavery Immediately in need of labor, the Spanish enslaved Native Americans upon their arrival in the New World. It was the obligation of any conquistador to explain to the Native Americans that they were now subjects of the King of Spain; furthermore, they were obliged to Christianize the Native Americans. While the crown projected the best of intentions, the actions of the conquistadors were altogether different.
The Spanish and Slavery The Spanish, nevertheless, were known for their extreme brutality – so much so that in the 1540s the LeyesNuevas – “New Laws” were put forth by King Charles V in order to reinforce the original mission: the Americans would be subjects of the Crown; they would accept Christianity; they would be paid wages to work on the encomienda.
Spanish Atrocities Isabel Allende – in a fictional account of the foundation of Chile, Ines of My Soul: “He swooped down upon the Indian settlements without mercy, rounded up all the men – from children to elders – locked them in wood barrels and burned them alive… Violence like Aguirre’s exists everywhere and has throughout the ages… All of this was happening in the Americas, while in Spain, Charles V was promulgating the LeyesNuevas, new laws in which he affirmed that the Indians were subjects of the Crown. He warned the encomenderos that they could not force the indigenous peoples to work or subject them to physical punishment; they must be given written contracts and paid in hard coin. And beyond that, the conquistadors should approach the Indians on their best behavior, asking them with gentle words to accept the God and the king of the Christians, hand over their land, and put themselves at the orders of their new masters. Like so many well-intentioned laws, these went no further than putting ink to paper… What did Spanish do when foreigners came to our land to impose their customs and religion? Fight them to the death, of course.”
A Note on Historical Fiction Although the traps which fiction sets up for historians are too numerous to list, fictional accounts often help students and historians alike by offering models of empathy. Some, like Toni Morrison’s A Mercy or The Unredeemed Captive by John Demos offer a more complicated understanding of colonial history – and create worthwhile novels in the process.
Reliance of African Slave Labor Native American slaves – whether they were taken by English, French, Spanish, Dutch, or Portuguese colonists – were unreliable as a source of labor. They simple ran off, rejoining their own tribes adopting others. Enslaved Africans, on the other hand, were less likely to run away, since the landscape was hostile and intimidating and their captors held a decisive advantage in terms of violent physical force.
Enslaved Labor The capture and sale of enslaved Africans had begun long before Portuguese traders began to exploit the market in the 15th Century – Arab traders had purchased African slaves for centuries. The Portuguese, however, began to use African Slaves on sugar plantations of the coast of Africa, and the model easily spread to the Caribbean and mainland Americas.
Race-based, Hereditary Slavery While slavery had existed for many thousands of years, the concept of slavery was changing dramatically during the first two centuries of the conquest of the Americas. Previously, slavery had been a condition of warfare – political philosophers always compare slavery to a ‘state of war.’ It was punishment for a crime or the misfortunate result of losing in battle. In the Americans, however, slavery would become a race-based, hereditary system. This did not happen right away – for generations, the children of enslaved people were born and lived as free men. But by the 17th Century, strict laws were being put into place to make slavery a condition of one’s birth, particularly among the English.
Spanish Conquests While the Spanish had a huge advantage in the rush to claim land in the New World, and accordingly, were able to accumulate enormous wealth, they were not in a position to defend their lands from European rivals for very long.
Spanish Possessions While the Spanish could claim enormous influence in the New World, their ability to control the geography of the region was tenuous, at best. Were it not for the chaos and devastation of pandemic disease, few of their colonial claims would have held. Inflation from the massive infusion of Spanish gold and silver acquisitions led to long term economic consequences in Europe that undermined the Spanish in terms of European and world domination. • Aztec Empire /Mexico • New Mexico • Florida • Greater Antilles • Lesser Antilles • Incan Empire/Peru • Chile • North Coast of South America • Pacific Islands – the Philippines
French Possessions Of the European colonial rulers, the French created the most diverse empire. With sugar plantations the islands of the Caribbean, a sparsely populated empire of trade centered around Quebec, and their domination of Louisiana, the French were scattered across the New World. The creole cultures which developed in their regions were uniquely suited to the geography and cultures inhabited by their colonists. While disease and military conquest played a major role in their settlement of the New World, the French were less possessive of the land, and more willing to accept syncretism, or the adaptation of the Catholic faith to Native American traditional religion. • Quebec • Louisiana • Settlements in the Great Lakes Regions • Caribbean Sugar Islands
The Dutch – New Amsterdam More than any other empire, the Dutch were committed to trade. The nation was late to the colonization game, and made few inroads onto the mainland of North America, but New Amsterdam was uniquely suitable to the development of commerce. The Hudson River Valley – from Albany to it’s delta at Manhattan, was a skeletal version of the economic powerhouse which is New York City today. It was also a diverse region, and – at least until the governorship of Peter Stuyvesant – one that was tolerant of other cultures. Many of the characteristics of the Dutch settlement appear to define the region even today. • New Amsterdam • Islands of the Caribbean • Asia, Indonesia
Russians? The concept of Russian America merits at least a mention. The cultural influence of the Russians was limited, although their settlements, principally committed to the fur trade, were far ranging along the West Coast – from Alaska to coastal California.
The English Empire If other nations were committed to exploiting the natural resources of the Americas or trading with Native Americans, the English soon abandoned these notions in their colonies to focus on agriculture: sugar, tobacco, and other crops proved more lucrative. The English emphasis on the acquisition of land and property rights inevitably led to conflict with Native American tribes. • Newfoundland, Maritime Provinces • Roanoke Island • Jamestown • Plymouth Plantations • Bahamas and other Caribbean Islands • Rapid Expansion over time
Which cultures have had the greatest influence on American Society? Consider all of the following cultural groups which met in New World. Which groups seem to have had the greatest influence on contemporary culture? In groups of five, rank the nine (9) most important groups in terms of their influence on American Society. Be prepared to explain you answers. • Eastern Woodlands Tribes (Iroquois) • Southeastern Tribes (Creek Confederation) • Powhatan (Virginia, Jamestown) • Southwestern Tribes (New Mexico) • Pacific Northwestern Tribes (Nez Perce, Kwakiutl) • South American Civilizations (Aztec, Incans) • French Colonists (Louisiana, Quebec) • Dutch Colonists (New Amsterdam) • Enslaved Africans (Throughout the Americas) • Spanish Conquistadors (Southwest, Mexico, Florida) • English Colonists (Jamestown, Plymouth) • Russian Traders (Alaska, Pacific Northwest) • Portuguese Traders (Brazil, development of Sugar Plantations)
