The European’s drastically impacted the Native Americans upon their arrival to the New World. Researchers from Germany and the United States have stated, “European conquest triggered the loss of more than half the Native American population.”1 The three main groups that navigated their way to North America were the Spanish, English colonists, and the French. Despite the different groups of new comers, a very small number of them viewed the Native American people as their equals on any scale of tolerance. In today’s society, it still remains a heavily debated topic of discussion amongst people. However, the lives of the Native Americans would never prove to be the same as they were before Columbus and the European people arrived. They accidently
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The Indians shared their knowledge of foods like maize (corn), tomatoes, pumpkins, and chocolate. The Europeans shared their knowledge of foods like wheat, sugarcane, chickens, and cattle. As an effect of the wider variety of food, the diets of the two evolved overtime. In addition to the various supplies and food, the European people unfortunately also traded their diseases such as smallpox, typhus, influenza, diphtheria, measles, and malaria.5 The Native American people began to catch their diseases, because they had no immunity or treatment for them. They did not have exposure to these diseases because they did own livestock, which is often what produced the different types of diseases. Because there were not any known treatments to the new diseases among the Indians, it can be assumed that many suffered in their last days of life. Disease is just one of the many things that can be accounted to the loss of so many Indians in the …show more content…
“The Spanish ships not only carried human cargo, but also steel swords, firearms, explosives, and armor.”7 While the Spanish were supplied with the best defense items of the time, the Native American people were far less prepared for battle. The Native Americans were behind on the development of weapons with their bows, arrows, and tomahawks. It was simply no match to the cannons and guns of the enemy. The Indians became aggressive overtime in order to defend themselves. For example, “When some of the starving Jamestown residents tried to steal food from nearby Indian villages, the Indians ambushed and killed them. John Ratcliffe, the initial leader, was captured and skinned alive by women using oyster shells, then burned.”8 Here one can not only see the aggression development, but also the use of natural items such as weapons by the Native
The Indians shared their knowledge of foods like maize (corn), tomatoes, pumpkins, and chocolate. The Europeans shared their knowledge of foods like wheat, sugarcane, chickens, and cattle. As an effect of the wider variety of food, the diets of the two evolved overtime. In addition to the various supplies and food, the European people unfortunately also traded their diseases such as smallpox, typhus, influenza, diphtheria, measles, and malaria.5 The Native American people began to catch their diseases, because they had no immunity or treatment for them. They did not have exposure to these diseases because they did own livestock, which is often what produced the different types of diseases. Because there were not any known treatments to the new diseases among the Indians, it can be assumed that many suffered in their last days of life. Disease is just one of the many things that can be accounted to the loss of so many Indians in the …show more content…
“The Spanish ships not only carried human cargo, but also steel swords, firearms, explosives, and armor.”7 While the Spanish were supplied with the best defense items of the time, the Native American people were far less prepared for battle. The Native Americans were behind on the development of weapons with their bows, arrows, and tomahawks. It was simply no match to the cannons and guns of the enemy. The Indians became aggressive overtime in order to defend themselves. For example, “When some of the starving Jamestown residents tried to steal food from nearby Indian villages, the Indians ambushed and killed them. John Ratcliffe, the initial leader, was captured and skinned alive by women using oyster shells, then burned.”8 Here one can not only see the aggression development, but also the use of natural items such as weapons by the Native