Native American Indian

Throughout the colonization of North America, both the new arrivals and the current inhabitants went through an extensive transformation of life. At the beginning of the colonization of the new world, after traveling thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean, the colonists had to start a new life from scratch, with largely no assistance from the outside world. However, as was demonstrated by the Powhatan Tribe, relationships between the English settlers and the Natives would form in the future, for better or for worse. In addition to these relationships, the English also sought a constant and reliable stream of labor to assist in the mass production and development of cash crops. The answer to the multi-million dollar question was realized in the slave trade originating in Africa. A further side-effect of the transformation of the new world would be the incorporation of Africans into the new American culture. In analyzing these relationships and the effects on the individuals in the new world, it is most important to take into account how the northern colonists treated the Native Americans and African Americans, secondly, how the southern settlers treated the natives and Africans and finally, the similarity in the treatment of these two cultures.

In order to create a distinct image of the treatment towards the other races in the new world, it is imperative to first establish how the Native Americans and African Americans relationship was with the northern colonists. In the north, colonists were more focused on religion and family rather than the monetary plantation focus of the south. As a result, colonists forged a more partnership likes relationship with Native Americans than the southern colonists. William Bradford detailed in his History of Plymouth Plantation, Squanto, a native tribesman, taught the Plymouth colonists how to survive in their new alien environment. (Doc B) Squanto taught the pilgrims invaluable skills that without, probably would have led to their demise. This type of mutually beneficial relationship is evident as well in other instances. Native Americans benefited from the trade items the colonists brought to the new world, such as horses, guns, and clothes. However, the relationship was not 100 percent beneficial. John Winthrop, the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, stated in his letter to Sir Nathaniel Rich, how the colonists were very aware of the detrimental effects that their foreign diseases had on the native populous' bodies. (Doc D) Instead of seeking to mitigate this large and apparent lack of immunity, the colonists took full advantage of the Native Americans natural weakness, claiming their land and seeing their death as the Lord's proclamation of their right to the land. Unfortunately, the poor treatment of a foreign race did not end with the Native Americans, but continued to an extreme in the treatment of African American slaves. Though not to the momentous scale that was