Colonial Effect on Native Americans Essay Example

During the colonial era European emigrants had a dramatic influence on the native people living on the North American continent. Previous to the arrival of the colonists the native people had enjoyed their own culture, customs and way of life. Many lived in smaller settlements spread far apart across the American continents. In their culture the men hunted for game while the women played the role of farmers. The men in comparison to the English aristocracy worked harder and the women could own land. Personal possessions were limited to only what could be carried due to a nomadic lifestyle. Throughout the hundreds of years that the native people had been around they had become accustomed to their lifestyle; however that was all about to change. Making the journey across the ocean was not just the Europeans but their own unique culture that was shockingly different from that of the natives. According to European Christian views man was given by god, the right to rule over everything in the world. This right, to the settlers, also included the Indians because the bible says nothing about them. To the settlers the Indians were obviously subpar and therefore could be dealt with however they pleased. Christian and Amerindian views are so unrelated that they are hardly comparable. To the Indian Christians worshipped their deity by eating him instead of making sacrifices to him. While to the Christians the Aztecs seemed to be devil worshippers who engaged in cannibalism, human sacrifice had skull racks and decorated their temples with snake motifs. Because of their “god given dominance” the settlers believed that they could force upon the Indians the Christian religion. The the action of forcing upon the Indians Christianity caused a substantial social and cultural upheaval. In European culture the men would farm, hunt and gather to provide for the family and when the settlers arrived in the Americas they proceeded to force the Indians to change