Cultural and Economic Responses of the British and Spanish on the Indians of North America

Europeans were drawn to North America for economic and political reasons. Closely followed by Columbus’ “discovery” of the New World in 1492 were the establishments of European colonies as well as the French. The responses European settlers had to Native American tribes reflected their own cultural and economic viewpoints. The British tended to oppress Native Americans economically and culturally and denied their potential contributions to helping growing settlements in the New World. The Spanish responded harshly in terms of economy, although culturally responded peacefully their search for gold and quest to convert Native Americans to Catholicism. Consequently, the lives of the Indians of North America transformed significantly.
The British were driven to North America to escape religious persecution and over crowdedness. During their exploration the new colonists met the Indians of North America when moving westward in search of more land to cut down and to clear for grazing animals. When met with Native Americans, it ignited the Anglo-Indian Wars. This series of wars included the southern colonies constantly engaging Indians on frontier and the Pequot War in 1634–1638, an armed conflict between the Pequot tribe, Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth colonies. Also Metacom’s War, or King William’s War, that took place in 1675–1678, another armed conflict. This time it was between Native American inhabitants of present-day New England and English colonists. Land-hungry colonist raided Indians for the benefit for their own economy. Most colonists took advantage of Indians and established and unfair trade system. Native Americans faced unfair prices offered by British traders. The British oppressed the Indians of North America economically.
Not only did the British oppress the Indians of North America economically, but culturally as well. The arrival of the British spread diseases like smallpox, mumps, influenza, yellow fever, and measles. The Indians were defenseless and had no medicine for the new diseases. Thousands of Native Americans died. Native Americans were in the way of the Southern colonies’ push westwards. The Carolina colonies teamed up and raided Native American villages and sold many to slavery. Most tribes were destroyed by 1720. The Pequot War between the Native Americans and the Carolinas, which also affected the Indians economically, began. The Puritans regarded Native Americans with contempt because Indians lived in the “wilderness” which was the Devil’s Lair. The British Received cultural accommodation from Squanto and the Wampanoag. However soon settlers arrived and pushed inland, braking into Pequot War. The already shaky “peace” was soon completely destroyed. Eventually diseases and land-hungry colonists soon started the Second Anglo-Powhatan War.
The Spanish, like the British, responded harshly when it came to the Indians’ of North America economy. After the Spanish settled in North America they would rob the Indians of their natural resources. Spanish settlements in North American were primarily established for the search of silver and gold. Spanish settlers would force slavery on Indians. Indian slaves were used as a labor for the gold and silver mines. Hernando Cortez, a Spanish conquistador, conquered the Aztecs. He besieged their capital and stole their gold and other resources.
In contrast to how the Spanish and British responded to the Indians economically, culturally the response of the Spanish was peaceful. At least the response did not devastate Indians’ culture. In fact, intermarriages between Native Americans and the Spanish were very common and acceptable. These intermarriages formed a new ethnicity. This new ethnicity was called Mestizos. Soon, a new cultural peace was established between the Spanish and the Natives.
The cultural and economic responses of the British and the Spanish to the Indians of North America before 1750 both affected the lives of Indians greatly. The British tended to oppress the Indians in both aspects of economics and culture. The Spanish were peaceful with the culture of Indians and established a cultural peace between Spaniards and Natives. While culturally peace was achieved, economically the response of the Spanish was brutal. The responses European settlers had to Native American tribes replicated their own cultural and economic perspectives.