With the colonization of certain regions in America came conflicts with the Native Americans and the earliest traces of slavery in America. Originally using African-Americans only as indentured servants, the growers and farmers eventually began to rely on African-Americans and Native Americans as a free source of labor.
Iroquois Confederacy: The joining of six sects of the Iroquoian family and of the Eastern Woodlands area. By the 1700s, the tribes in the confederacy were the Onondaga, Cayuga, Oneida, Mohawk, Seneca, and Tuscarors. By combining they were a stronger force against the colonists.
Native American Relations in the first settlements: Relations characterized by resistance to the expansion of English settlement, submission into "praying towns," and devastation through war and disease. Many of the Massachusetts Indians sought protection from Winthrop by selling their land and surrendering their independence.
Pequot War: So-called war consisting of clumsy plundering by Massachusetts troops and raids by Pequots in 1637. The colonists eventually won the alliance of rival tribes and waged a ruthless campaign. The war tipped the balance of military power to the English, opening the way to New England’s settlement.
King Phillips War: War between the Native American tribes of New England and British colonists that took place from 1675-1676. The war was the result of tension caused by encroaching white settlers. The chief of the Wampanoags, King Philip lead the natives. The war ended Indian resistance in New England and left a hatred of whites.
Tuscaroras and Yamasees: Two opposing Indians tribes whose disunity lead both to destruction. The Tuscaroran people were defeated by the colonists with the help of the Yamasees in 1713, and the Yamasees were themselves defeated around 1715. Both tribes were scattered and soon disappeared.
praying towns: Towns set up by puritan missionaries for Indian converts to spread