New Worlds for Both: European Settlers and Indians in Early America

When many Europeans arrived in the United States in the early 1600’s, they lived a much more modern and much more technologically advanced than the primitive lifestyle of the indigenous people they referred to as “Indians.” Europeans referred to their selves as “civilized” and regarded the Indians as “barbarians”, “savages,” and even “animals.” Their interactions and multiple differences often led to misunderstanding, and conflicts and bloodshed. These two cultures, had been isolated from each other, and displayed an extensive variation of ideals. Europeans and the Native Americans had completely different social, economic, and spiritual practices.

European and the indigenous people, later called “Native Americans”, had very contrasting views of women in the social structure. European views of women, were that they had little, if not any social importance, the men were far more important, than his wife, such as whole purpose was to make babies, and cook dinner for the family. However, this was quite different in the Native American society. In Native Americans societies, women often held important positions of authority. For example, in Indian society there was a council of chiefs, who were all male, but they were appointed, by an elder woman of the tribe, along with having impeaching powers. Also, Indian women could divorce her husband if she decided to do so. This was very different from Europeans, who regarded this to be rather bizarre and dangerous to the sexual hierarchy. Europeans regarded this sexual equality as another example of the uncivilized nature of Native Americans and felt that they needed to become more civilized people.

Religion was another wall of separation between the Indians and Europeans, especially considering the polytheism of the Indians, and monotheism practiced by the Europeans. Since the very first contact between the Europeans and Native Americans, the Europeans sought out to “civilize” those they mistakenly referred to asIndians by telling them of their Almighty God. The Europeans followed a religion thatwas very disciplined with a trained clergy, and a strict church schedule. On the contrary, Indians were much more centered on the belief that the spiritual power, thatexisted everywhere in nature, from the plants, the flowing streams, and animals they hunted for food. Native Americans perceived the material and spiritual as a unified realmof being. By contrast, Europeans Protestant and Catholic traditions were more inclinedto emphasize the sphere that separated the pure, spiritual beings in heaven, such as, God,the saints and the angels, from the sinful men and women who susceptible to a world oftemptation and evil.

The Europeans and the Indians had very contrasting ideas of personal wealth and ownership. The Europeans believed that only the rich, noble few should own land, and firmly believed in the practice that when you passed away, the land would be passed to the next of kin in the family, along with the families honor and legacy. In European society, what you owned determined your social status, political power, and wealth. The Indians believed that land could not be a personal possession by anyone, it was to be shared property all tribe members. They believed that the land was sacred, and each family should have a piece of the whole. As a general rule, the Indians believed that everything on earth is meant for all to be given to all.

Each one of these cultures had conflicting views towards social, economic, and spiritually. Europeans and Native Americans could be classified as two totally different cultures. Women were regarded in the social structure in two different ways as well. Europeans held the religious ceremonies in a much more structured way, while the Native Americans were less structured in their approach. This often led Europeans tobelieve that this was bizarre and the Indians needed to be converted to their religion.Nevertheless the original inhabitants of North America remain, at the end of the century,the most deprived community in the world's richest nation.