Western Influences On The Indians Of The Americas

The life styles of the Indians of the Americas changed greatly over time, almost completely influenced by Western culture. Each of the different Western civilizations affected the Indian tribes very differently. This is partly due to the reasons why they came to the "New World." The British came primarily for land due to their fast population growth and partially for a new economic venture. The French came for furs and luxuries that only Indians and the untamed land could provide. They created trading posts and shipped these commodities back to the mainland. The Spanish came for conquest. They wanted gold, land, slaves, and glory. Each of these different purposes contributed to how the corresponding civilization interacted with the
They came primarily to conquer. This showed in their relationships with the Indians they met. Their landings were primarily in Central and South America, and on the tip of what we now know as Florida. They became very cruel, very quickly; to the Indians they met on these continents. The Spanish government put a system in place called the "Encomienda System" that rewarded Spanish conquistadors with the land they conquered, and the Indians they conquered as slaves. The only condition was that they convert the Indians to Christianity. They were also searching for gold, and they would do just about anything to get it… including slaughtering countless Indian tribes just to attain what sometimes was imaginary riches. Their relationship with the Indians was definitely the worst out of the three and affected the Indians greatly. They had to become warlike in order to defend their civilizations and their way of life changed because of it. Several created fort cities high in the mountains, and others build secret hidden cities. All of it, though, was to help protect them from the Spanish. All of these Indian tribes were slowly wiped out by the Spanish, unlike the French and British interactions with the Indians. The few Indians that remained were under domain of the Spanish, and had been taught Christianity and did not possess their original
These tribes had relied on following the buffalo for years, and were in constant battles with their neighboring tribes. When the Westerners came though the focus turned quickly towards them, and battles were fierce here. The nomadic tribes relied more on violence than any other. But now, instead of constant tribe battles, they sometimes united together to fight back against Westerners. They used the guns they had attained from early traders and fought back. As they began to lose, their lifestyle had to slowly change as well. They began to become confined to certain areas of land, and were not allowed to roam as they once had before. Their free spirit was taken away and years later this lead to reservations. During this time as well a lot more settlers and tradesmen took Indian women as their wives. The mixing of two cultures which also changed Indian lifestyles and lead to a more diverse group of settlers. These couples often lived in frontier towns and settlements, or on farms of their own away from