One notable example was the use of the peacock flower to induce abortions: Indian and enslaved African women living in oppressive colonial regimes are said to have used this herb to prevent the birth of children into slavery. Europeans distrusted medical knowledge that came from African or native sources, however, and thus lost the benefit of this source of information.
The development of the Atlantic slave trade forever changed the course of European settlement in the Americas. Other transatlantic travelers, including diseases, goods, plants, animals, and even ideas like the concept of private land ownership, further influenced life in America during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
The exchange of pelts for European goods including copper kettles, knives, and guns played a significant role in changing the material cultures of native peoples. During the seventeenth century, native peoples grew increasingly dependent on European trade items. At the same time, many native inhabitants died of European diseases, while survivors adopted new ways of living with their new neighbors.
Middle Passage the perilous, often deadly transatlantic crossing of slave ships from the African coast to the New World. Skip to main content. Search for:. The Impact of Colonization Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: Explain the reasons for the rise of slavery in the American colonies Describe changes to Indian life, including warfare and hunting Contrast European and Indian views on property Assess the impact of European settlement on the environment.
Explore the complexity of Indian-European relationships in the series of primary source documents on the National Humanities Center site.
Section Summary The development of the Atlantic slave trade forever changed the course of European settlement in the Americas.
Review Questions How did European muskets change life for native peoples in the Americas? Compare and contrast European and Indian views on property. Answers to Review Questions European guns started an arms race among Indian groups. Tribes with ties to Europeans had a distinct advantage in wars with other tribes because muskets were so much more effective than bows and arrows. Guns changed the balance of power among different groups and tribes and made combat more deadly.
They used land as they needed, often moving from area to area to follow food sources at different times of year. Europeans saw land as something individuals could own, and they used fences and other markers to define their property.
Who were the colonizers? What were their purposes in being there? How did they interact with their environments and the native inhabitants of the lands on which they settled? Describe the attempts of the various European colonists to convert native peoples to their belief systems. How did these attempts compare to one another?
What were the results of each effort? How did chattel slavery differ from indentured servitude? How did the former system come to replace the latter? That their stories were similar is not surprising given that states employ similar racist ideologies, "development" policies, and pacification tactics against indigenous peoples throughout the hemisphere.
Many Western states have justified their domination of indigenous peoples through racist, illogical theories such as terra nullius, by which indigenous lands are considered "unoccupied" and "empty," their inhabitants deemed unable to manage their resources or conceive of property. Under such a policy, colonial and corporate elites, backed by a legal apparatus and scientific methods, are able to purchase and use land that does not belong to them.
Chief Arthur Manuel of the Neskolith band in the southern interior of British Columbia emphasized at the Indigenismo forum that his community's current problems with forestry companies stem from these colonial-era doctrines of discovery: "[These doctrines] said we indigenous peoples had no property interests. Arthur noted that this ethnocentric idea "is the essence of usurping and violating the rights of indigenous peoples" today.
He cited the Canadian government's Comprehensive Claims Policy, which has as a "primary aim Not only is this a "fundamental violation of As colonial policies are increasingly contested and proved unjustifiable, governments continue to implement "development" projects. In what is now a sadly familiar tale, indigenous communities throughout the Americas are uprooted so that hydroelectric dams can permanently submerge their territories.
Forcible eviction into far-off "model villages," and "integration'' into the industrial and urban work force destroy their cultures and result in enduring poverty. The illusion that development projects are undertaken in their interest faded long ago for indigenous peoples. Kimy Pernia Domico, a traditional leader of the Embera-Katio community in Colombia, watched the Urra Dam flood his community's farming land, destroy fish spawning routes, and create water-borne diseases.
Several members of the Embera-Katio community who resisted the dam were killed by government-linked paramilitaries, while the dam company ignored court injunctions and proceeded with construction. To those at the People's Summit who suggested that negotiation with states can be productive, Kimy replied: "You shouldn't consult with governments, but with people who are promoting biodiversity and protecting the land.
In contrast, Indigenous Peoples value the group or the collective more than the individual. Each person has their role, and each contributed to the success of the group. Extended families were large and included aunts, uncles, cousins, and so on. Indigenous Peoples viewed women as being equal to men. Women were supported, honoured, and respected for their role as the givers of life. In the Indigenous worldview, everything has a spirit and deserves to be respected.
The natural world was not simply a resource to control or conquer. They did not consider Indigenous laws, governments, medicines, cultures, beliefs, or relationships to be legitimate. They believed that they had the right and moral obligation to make decisions affecting everybody, without consultation with Indigenous Peoples. These beliefs and prejudices were used to justify the acts and laws that came into being as part of the process of colonization.
When the Europeans arrived, they brought smallpox and other diseases that were previously unknown in North America. The English-allied Native Americans were given part of that land, which they hoped would end European expansion —but unfortunately only delayed it. Europeans continued to enter the country following the French and Indian War, and they continued their aggression against Native Americans.
Another consequence of allying with Europeans was that Native Americans were often fighting neighboring tribes. This caused rifts that kept some Native American tribes from working together to stop European takeover. European settlers brought these new diseases with them when they settled, and the illnesses decimated the Native Americans—by some estimates killing as much as 90 percent of their population. Though many epidemics happened prior to the colonial era in the s, several large epidemics occurred in the 17th and 18th centuries among various Native American populations.
With the population sick and decreasing, it became more and more difficult to mount an opposition to European expansion. Another aspect of the colonial era that made the Native Americans vulnerable was the slave trade.
As a result of the wars between the European nations, Native Americans allied with the losing side were often indentured or enslaved. There were even Native Americans shipped out of colonies like South Carolina into slavery in other places, like Canada. These problems that arose for the Native Americans would only get worse in the 19th century, leading to greater confinement and the extermination of native people.
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