The American Indians were impacted by colonization in various ways. In the beginning, the colonists wanted to be friendly with the Native Americans. They knew the Native Americans could help them learn about the land, grow crops, and devise ways to survive the harsh winters in the North.
What were the problems that the colonists brought to the New World?
Although the colonists suffered diseases of their own early on, they were largely immune to the microbes they brought over to the New World.
How many Native Americans were there in the 1600s?
In the 1600s, when the first English settlers began to arrive in New England, there were about 60,000 Native Americans living in what would later become the New England colonies (Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New Haven, and Rhode Island). In the first English colonies in the Northeast (as well as in Virginia), ...
What religion did the New England colonies practice?
The primary religion of the New England colonies was the strict Puritan Christianity originally brought to the Massachusetts Bay colony by ships like the Mayflower, but as the colonies grew and changed, some of the colonists began to move away from that base. So too did views on the Native Americans who shared their land.
Why was the Plymouth colony not dependent on England?
After only five years, the Plymouth Colony was no longer financially dependent on England due to the roots and local economy it had built alongside the native Massachusetts peoples. Both sides benefited from the trade and bartering system established by the native peoples and the colonists.
What were the first conflicts in the Northeast?
In the first English colonies in the Northeast (as well as in Virginia), there were initial conflicts and concerns over the threat colonists posed to the Native Americans’ long-established territory. Still, colonists were able to build thriving colonies with the help of locals. Trade was one of the first bridges between New England colonists ...
What did Native Americans provide?
The Native Americans provided skins, hides, food, knowledge, and other crucial materials and supplies, while the settlers traded beads and other types of currency (also known as “ wampum ”) in exchange for these goods. Ideas were traded alongside physical goods, with wampum sometimes carrying religious significance as well.
What was the purpose of trade in the New World?
Trade was one of the first bridges between New England colonists and local Native American populations. For the colonists, it was about building the infrastructure and relationships they would need to stay and thrive in the New World. For the Native Americans, it was often about building potential alliances. After only five years, the Plymouth ...
Why did the indigenous peoples of Florida treat de Soto and his men warily?
The indigenous peoples of present-day Florida treated de Soto and his men warily because the Europeans who had visited the region previously had often, but not consistently, proved violent.
What were the Southwest tribes doing during the Spanish rule?
During subsequent periods, the Southwest tribes engaged in a variety of nonviolent forms of resistance to Spanish rule. Some Pueblo families fled their homes and joined Apachean foragers, influencing the Navajo and Apache cultures in ways that continue to be visible even in the 21st century.
How did the Powhatan War end?
The so-called Powhatan War continued sporadically until 1644, eventually resulting in a new boundary agreement between the parties; the fighting ended only after a series of epidemics had decimated the region’s native population, which shrank even as the English population grew. Within five years, colonists were flouting the new boundary and were once again poaching in Powhatan territory. Given the persistence of the mid-Atlantic Algonquians, their knowledge of local terrain, and their initially large numbers, many scholars argue that the Algonquian alliance might have succeeded in eliminating the English colony had Powhatan pressed his advantage in 1611 or had its population not been subsequently decimated by epidemic disease.
What was the name of the rebellion that led to the Spanish defeat of the Pueblo peoples?
Such depredations instigated a number of small rebellions from about 1640 onward and culminated in the Pueblo Rebellion (1680)—a synchronized strike by the united Pueblo peoples against the Spanish missions and garrisons.
What were the first impressions of Europeans?
For many indigenous nations, however, the first impressions of Europeans were characterized by violent acts including raiding, murder, rape, and kidnapping.
Where did the first English settlement occur?
In 1607 this populous area was chosen to be the location of the first permanent English settlement in the Americas, the Jamestown Colony. Acting from a position of strength, the Powhatan were initially friendly to the people of Jamestown , providing the fledgling group with food and the use of certain lands.
When did the Spanish colonize the Southwest?
Although Spanish colonial expeditions to the Southwest had begun in 1540, settlement efforts north of the Rio Grande did not begin in earnest until 1598 . At that time the agricultural Pueblo Indians lived in some 70 compact towns, while the hinterlands were home to the nomadic Apaches, Navajos, and others whose foraging economies were of little interest to the Spanish.
What were the results of the new policies of the colonies?
Many of the Colonies were upset with the new policies and attacked government tax collectors. The Boston Massacre and Boston Tea party were results of the new policies. The Colonies also created a declaration, boycotted taxes, and wrote a petition for King George the third.
What were the causes of the American Revolution?
There were several things that caused the American Revolution. After the French and Indian war, the British taxed goods that were not tax ed before. This outraged the Colonists and led to the Boston Tea Party. The Boston Tea Party was when Colonists snuck onto a ship and dumped all the tea, worth about $1 million. Tension was high between the British and Colonists. The first battle of the revolution took place at Lexington and Concord.
What would happen if the United States did not win the Revolution?
If America had not won the revolution and become independent, the United States might still be a part of Britain. We probably would not have as much freedom, land, and democracy. The taxes and money would also be different.
What were the negative things about the Columbian Exchange?
The Columbian Exchange was more negative than positive. There were many positive things that happened, but the negative things were more powerful . The biggest negative thing that happened was disease that killed millions of Natives. The Spanish enslaved the Natives for farming and mining, where the labor and malnutrition led to more deaths. The Colonists also pushed Natives off their land, which led to wars. There was a lot of bad and good in the Columbian Exchange and I do not know where we would be today without it.
Why were patriots not represented in the Parliament?
The loyalists felt they were virtually represented in Parliament because they were supporters of the British Empire while the patriots felt they weren’t represent ed because they could not vote for members of the Parliament. The loyalists also thought that all British colonies and British people pay taxes, so Americans should too. The patriots believed that the colonists should have a say in how they are taxed.
What was the goal of the Declaration of Independence?
The goal of the Declaration of Independence was to separate the United States from Britain and become its own independent country. In 1776, Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet called “Common sense” which motivated Americans to break away from Britain. On July 4, the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence.
How did European colonization affect the North American environment?
Perhaps European colonization’s single greatest impact on the North American environment was the introduction of disease. Microbes to which native inhabitants had no immunity led to death everywhere Europeans settled. Along the New England coast between 1616 and 1618, epidemics claimed the lives of 75 percent of the native people. In the 1630s, half the Huron and Iroquois around the Great Lakes died of smallpox. As is often the case with disease, the very young and the very old were the most vulnerable and had the highest mortality rates. The loss of the older generation meant the loss of knowledge and tradition, while the death of children only compounded the trauma, creating devastating implications for future generations.
What were the reasons for the rise of slavery in the American colonies?
Explain the reasons for the rise of slavery in the American colonies. As Europeans moved beyond exploration and into colonization of the Americas, they brought changes to virtually every aspect of the land and its people, from trade and hunting to warfare and personal property.
How did the Europeans influence the slave trade?
The growing slave trade with Europeans had a profound impact on the people of West Africa, giving prominence to local chieftains and merchants who traded slaves for European textiles, alcohol, guns, tobacco, and food. Africans also charged Europeans for the right to trade in slaves and imposed taxes on slave purchases. Different African groups and kingdoms even staged large-scale raids on each other to meet the demand for slaves.
What happened to Africans when they reached their destination in America?
When they reached their destination in America, Africans found themselves trapped in shockingly brutal slave societies. In the Chesapeake colonies, they faced a lifetime of harvesting and processing tobacco. Everywhere, Africans resisted slavery, and running away was common.
Why did Europeans travel to America?
Just as pharmaceutical companies today scour the natural world for new drugs, Europeans traveled to America to discover new medicines. The task of cataloging the new plants found there helped give birth to the science of botany. Early botanists included the English naturalist Sir Hans Sloane, who traveled to Jamaica in 1687 and there recorded hundreds of new plants ( [link] ). Sloane also helped popularize the drinking of chocolate, made from the cacao bean, in England.
How many slaves were there in 1700?
By 1700, the tiny English sugar island of Barbados had a population of fifty thousand slaves, and the English had encoded the institution of chattel slavery into colonial law. This new system of African slavery came slowly to the English colonists, who did not have slavery at home and preferred to use servant labor.
What was the demand for labor in the colonies?
Everywhere in the American colonies, a crushing demand for labor existed to grow New World cash crops, especially sugar and tobacco. This need led Europeans to rely increasingly on Africans, and after 1600, the movement of Africans across the Atlantic accelerated.
What was the impact of the Declaration of Independence on the colonies?
The colonists were remarkably prolific. Economic opportunity, especially in the form of readily available land, encouraged early marriages and large families.
How did the colonists increase their numbers?
Their numbers were also greatly increased by continuing immigration from Great Britain and from Europe west of the Elbe River. In Britain and continental Europe the colonies were looked upon as a land of promise.
What did the British government do after the French and Indian War?
After the French and Indian War the British government determined that the colonies should help pay for the cost of the war and the postwar garrisoning of troops. It also began imposing tighter control on colonial governments. Taxes, such as the Sugar Act (1764) and the Stamp Act (1765), aimed at raising revenue from the colonies outraged the colonists and catalyzed a reaction that eventually led to a revolt.
How many colonies were there in the United States?
Alternative Titles: colonial America, thirteen colonies. American colonies, also called thirteen colonies or colonial America, the 13 British colonies that were established during the 17th and early 18th centuries in what is now a part of the eastern United States. The colonies grew both geographically along the Atlantic coast and westward ...
What tax was introduced to the colonies to raise revenue?
It also began imposing tighter control on colonial governments. Taxes, such as the Sugar Act (1764) and the Stamp Act (1765), aimed at raising revenue from the colonies outraged the colonists and catalyzed a reaction that eventually led to a revolt.
How many colonies did the British have?
Within a century and a half the British had 13 flourishing colonies on the Atlantic coast: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content.
Where were the colonies located?
The American colonies were the British colonies that were established during the 17th and early 18th centuries in what is now a part of the eastern United States . The colonies grew both geographically along the Atlantic coast and westward and numerically to 13 from the time of their founding to the American Revolution. Their settlements extended from what is now Maine in the north to the Altamaha River in Georgia when the Revolution began.
How did the expansion of the West affect Native Americans?
Expansion of the west definitely impacted the Native Americans in plenty of ways, it changed their culture and way of life. Native Americans were forced to adjust to the American way of life, although not all Native Americans wanted to such as Chief Sitting Bull but others took the change peacefully like Chief Black Kettle. What caused the expansion to the west was the transcontinental railroad which linked the nation. In order to build the railroad and allow settlers to move in along it the US government took a lot of Native American land, going against the treaty they had in place with the Natives ( Doc 3) . This forced Native Americans to live alongside American settlers.…
What were the differences between Native Americans and English settlers?
Differences Between Native American And English Settlers. The English settlers great ly affected the powhatan tribe which ultimately led to future conflicts. The emergence of English settlements led to a decrease in Native American land. Native Americans were closely linked with the land that they lived on.
Why did Europeans come to America in the 1600s?
In the 1600s Europeans came to America in search of new opportunities and a better life, but instead they found problems with the Native Americans who had been there long before them. During this stretch of time each colony and group of Indians had their own social, economic, and political tactics for dealing with their new neighbors. These very tense relationships were created because each group (Indians and Europeans) tried to force their traditions on to one another. The Indians initially tried to help the Americans but the colonists couldn’t become accustomed to their ways of life, this led to many wars and rebellions. So even though many colonies and Native Americans worked together at first, their unfamiliarity with one another eventually …show more content…
How did the Anglo-Powhatan War end?
This war ended in a peace treaty, but when the last Anglo-Powhatan war happened in 1646 it ended with the Chesapeake Indians being banished from their ancestral lands. This led to 40 years of peace between the Indians and Europeans, but it would eventually end due to Bacons Rebellion. By the late 1600s there were many poor and landless men ...
Why were the Indians and Europeans so tense?
These very tense relationships were created because each group (Indians and Europeans) tried to force their traditions on to one another. The Indians initially tried to help the Americans but the colonists couldn’t become accustomed to their ways of life, this led to many wars and rebellions.
What did the New Englanders do when they first settled in Massachusetts?
For example when the New Englanders first settled in Massachusetts they took all the Indians land and cut down their trees which they used for ship building. The New Englanders also took advantage of their proximity of the water and kicked out any Indians that lived close to the ports or that lived on the coastline.
How many lives did Powhatan lose?
This caused conflicts over the next ten years or so costing the colonist up to 400 lives leaving the colonist with the decision that coexistence is not possible and they must exterminate the Native Indians.
Why did most immigrants come to the colonies?
Regardless of when they came or where they cam from, almost all immigrants arrived in the colonies in an effort to leave something behind and a hope to better their circumstances in the new American Colonies.
How did the colonists solve the problem of lack of labor?
In the colonies, there was plenty of land for the wealthy landowner, but always a lack of labor. One answer to this problem was to import indentured servants. A landowner would pay the price of passage for an indentured servant and that passenger would work to pay off the cost of his voyage, usually for seven years. Often, the landowner would be given 50 acres for each person he paid to transport. Most of these indentured servants were young, unmarried men, who often had been in service in England. Both the poor and the middle class immigrated as indentured servants. These indentured servants were the primary migrant to the British settlements of Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas, Jamaica and Barbados. However, the death rate was very high in these colonies as many servants died before they were “acclimatized” to the region. This kept the demand for labor high.
What was the largest non-English group to immigrate to the American colonies before the Revolution?
The largest non-English ethnic group to immigrate to the American Colonies before the Revolution was the Scotch-Irish. These were neither Scots nor Irish, but Ulstermen from Northern Ireland.
How many Scots immigrated to the colonies?
It is estimated that about 25,000 Scots immigrated to the colonies in the twelve years before the Revolution. Unlike the Scotch-Irish, the Scottish immigrants rarely ever settled in the frontier regions and were considered to be passive people. There were several other minority groups settled in the colonies.
What type of migrations were most likely to occur during the depressions?
Family migrations usually occurred among dissenters of the crown (Puritans, Quakers) and during depressions that hit the British economy. These dissenters were usually awarded land in the northern colonies (which were seen as being less profitable to the crown). This type of migration fostered the growth of towns and cities since the newly arrived families were looked after by local merchants, not by a landowner holding an indenture, thus boosting the town economy.
Where did indentured servants come from?
Both the poor and the middle class immigrated as indentured servants. These indentured servants were the primary migrant to the British settlements of Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas, Jamaica and Barbados.
How many slaves were there in 1761?
In 1761, about 284,000 Negroes lived in the southern colonies (Maryland to Georgia) and about 41,000 lived in the northern colonies (Delaware to New Hampshire). Nearly 60 percent of all slaves were found in Virginia and Maryland, with another 30 percent in North Carolina, South Caroline and Georgia.
What happened to the Native Americans as British traders moved westward over the mountains?
As British traders moved westward over the mountains, disputes erupted between them and the Native Americans (previously allied with French) who inhabited the region. Overpriced goods did not appeal to the Native Americans, and almost immediately tensions arose.
What were the consequences of the French and Indian War?
The consequences of the French and Indian War would do more to drive a wedge in between Britain and her colonists more so than any other event up to that point in history. During the Seven Years’ War, Britain’s national debt nearly doubled, and the colonies would shoulder a good portion of the burden of paying it off.
What were the British people afraid of?
For nearly a century they had lived in fear of the French colonists and their Native American allies to the north and west.
How far away were the colonists from Britain?
As the years following the French and Indian War drug on, the colonists—already 3,000 miles away from Britain—grew further and further apart from the mother country.
What islands did the British take over in the Caribbean?
In the Caribbean, the islands of Saint Vincent, Dominica, Tobago, Grenada, and the Grenadines would remain in British hands. Another bug acquisition for His Majesty’s North American empire came from Spain in the form of Florida. In return, Havana was given back to the Spanish.
What was the significance of the surrender of Montreal?
The surrender of Montreal on September 8, 1760 signaled an end to all major military operations between Britain in France in North America during the French and Indian War. Although the guns had fallen silent in Canada and the British colonies, it was still yet to be determined just how or when the Seven Years’ War, ...
When did the French take over the French stronghold of Aix-la-Chappelle?
A colonial provincial expeditionary force had captured the stronghold in 1745 during King George’s War, and much to their chagrin, it was returned to the French as a provision of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chappelle (1748). That would not be the case this time around.
