HTY/SSC 110HM Module 2 Lecture Notes
Native American Contact with Europeans
In the 1760s, a missionary named John Heckwelder encountered Delaware and Mohican
Natives. They related to him the story that had been passed down through the generations of
when their ancestors first saw white men. The story went something like this.
“Many years ago when men with a white skin had never yet been seen in this land,
some Indians who were out fishing at a place where the sea widens espied at a great
distance something remarkably large floating on the water. Some believed it to be an
uncommonly large fish or animal, while others though it was a very big house floating
on the sea.”
The news of the ship’s arrival was spread to all of the neighboring villages by runners. The
people gathered together, prepared food, brought out the spiritual masks, held a great dance,
and asked the powwaws for guidance.
The ship’s flags and the leader’s clothes
were so colorful that the Natives were
delighted and wanted the brightly colored
items very badly. They thought the leader
in the bright red clothes must be a manito
of great power.
The ship drew closer and runners brought
News of what they saw; a floating house of
bright colors and crowded with people.
Half Moon in Hudson. N.d. Wikimedia Commons. Web.
14 May 2013.
They thought the leader must be a manito
because he was dressed in red pants and a red coat covered with glittering gold lace. The
brilliant colors of the flags and the clothing very much delighted the Natives. So attracted were
they to these vibrant colors that their desire for richly colored cloth, beads, and blankets
became insatiable.
The leader, dressed in red, and his men came ashore and accepted the greetings of the
sachems and elders. The red-suited man poured a glass of an unknown substance, drank it,
refilled the glass, and passed it to the nearest sachem.
The sachem smelled it and passed it to the next elder. All
of the sachems and elders accepted the glass, smelled it,
and passed it on. They handed it back to the man in the
red suit still full. Then a great warrior stated that they
may have insulted the red-suited man by not drinking –
so he drank the whole glass down. He fell down to the
ground in a stupor for a while. Then he jumped up
shouting that he was happy and wanted more. Soon the
Faden, William. Fur Traders in Canada 1777.
Library and Archives Canada. Wikimedia
Commons. Web. 14 May 2013.
whole group of sachems and elders were drunk. After they recovered from the effects of the
alcohol, the man in the red suit gave them gifts: axes, hoes, and stockings. He promised to
return in a year. Before he left, he said he and his men would need a small plot of land for
growing crops when they returned.
The next year, the Europeans came back and asked about the planting ground. They spread an
oxhide on the ground and asked for the land covered by the skin. The natives agreed to this
small amount of land. Then the white men proceeded to cut the oxhide into very thin strips and
tied them end to end creating a long rope. They laid the rope out in a large circle which
encompassed a much larger plot of land than before.
This story shows how these tribes used an oral tradition to pass information from one
generation to the next. People with oral traditions do not write down their history, but
memorize it and tell it to their children orally. In this instance, the Mohawks and Delawares
used the oral tradition to tell the history of when they first encountered white people. The
story is not concerned with telling the history exactly as it occurred, but with using the story to
provide a warning and an object lesson.
The story explains how the tribes’ initial relationships with Europeans were based on unequal
trade; how the Natives’ agreement to the unequal trade deals were facilitated by getting the
Natives drunk, and how this led to the taking of their lands. The story served as a warning to
their descendants about how not to be tricked by Europeans when trading with them in the
future.
Dependence on Trade Goods: It did not take long for Native Americans to become dependent
on trade with Europeans. The trade goods provided by Europeans made their lives easier. For
example, metal arrow tips made hunting easier, metal tools made work easier, metal pots
made cooking easier, guns were used for hunting and for protection, and brightly colored cloth,
blankets, and beads were soon perceived by Natives as necessities rather than extravagances.
There were many consequences that came as a result of Native American dependence on trade
goods.
• Settlement near European traders
• Tribal alliances based on access to European traders
• Breakdown of stable traditional kinship-based alliances
• Violent conflict between tribes
First, coastal groups began to disrupt traditional settlement patterns by concentrating near the
ports where European traders set up camp. Sometimes this meant they were encroaching on
areas traditionally settled by other tribes and this led to conflict. Second, sachems began to
seek alliances with other tribes for the purpose of gaining regional monopolies over European
trade goods. Before this, alliances had been based upon traditional kinship and clan systems.
Third, once alliances began to be based on access to European trade rather than traditional ties,
the bases for stable relations between tribes eroded and resulted in violent conflicts between
tribes. The end result was violent conflict between tribes related to dependence upon trade
with Europeans.
Seventeenth-Century Beaver Pelt Trade: If the Native Americans were dependent on goods
from Europe, what did the Europeans want from the Natives? In addition to land, Europeans
wanted furs from the Natives, particularly beaver pelts. The fur
from the beavers was quite fashionable in Europe due to its ability
to repel water, and was used for hats and other forms of apparel. In
order to meet the increasing demand for fur, the Dutch established
a trading center on the southern tip of Manhattan in 1613. The
Native American group in this Manhattan, Long Island, Southern
Connecticut area were the Algonquians who provided the Dutch
with beaver pelts in exchange for European trade goods.
Value of Beaver Pelts: How valuable were these beaver pelts? In 1635 the Dutch in America
shipped to Europe pelts worth 135,000 guilders or six million 1990 U.S. dollars. This was a highly
lucrative business so the Dutch encouraged local Algonquian villages to change their hunting
priorities and focus on beaver pelts in order that the Natives would be able to provide enough
pelts to ship to Europe. This had the effect of increasing conflict between Algonquian villages as
they struggled to gain access to European trade goods and it also depleted the beaver
population which was eventually hunted to near extinction.
Wampum: Once the beaver was gone, wampum replaced beaver pelts in importance to trade
in this area. Wampum was made from shells found along the Long Island coast and was
plentiful. The Natives sewed the beads together to make elaborate wampum belts and these
belts were valued by Native Americans as much as the Europeans valued currency. Eventually,
the Europeans also began to use the wampum as currency and used it to buy skins and tobacco
from Native Americans. So important were beaver and wampum to the economy of Dutch New
Amsterdam, that these two trade items were included in the New Amsterdam Province seal.
Henry Hudson: If the Mohawk and Delaware tribe’s story of their first encounter with
Europeans is more instructive than accurate, what was the real story? One account was written
by Robert Juet, who recorded what occurred when Henry Hudson first encountered the
Algonguians. Henry Hudson was an English explorer who, in 1609, came to the New York
Harbor area and explored Manhattan, New Jersey, and Long Island. He was sailing for the
Dutch on a ship called the Half Moon. When he approached the shore line, a group of Navasink
came to the ship to trade tobacco for knives, clothing, and glass beads. The Europeans came
ashore the next day and were greeted in a friendly manner and given more tobacco. The
Navasink took the sailors on a tour of the woods, but did not show the Europeans their village.
We will never know the Native American side of this story, but according to Juet, the next day,
a crew of sailors were exploring the nearby waters and were attacked by 26 Natives in two
large canoes. One Dutch sailor was killed. Although the attackers were not Navasink, Europeans
assumed they were. So when the Navasink returned the next day with more goods to trade,
they were surprised to learn of the attack, but the Dutch had decided that the tribes were
working together to conspire against the Dutch. The next day, two canoes full of Navasink men
came back to the ship to trade. Hudson took two of them captive as a guarantee that the ship
would not be attacked again and he sailed away with them as prisoners.
Hudson sailed throughout the New York Harbor area and
encountered friendly tribes but did not trust them and
gave them alcohol in hopes they would reveal a plot
against the Europeans. No such plot was revealed but one
Native stole a few items. The Europeans shot and killed
him.
He entered New York Harbor and was greeted my more
Natives who wanted to trade but the Dutch no longer
trusted the Natives and sailed north to what is now West
Point. Here, the Navasink captives escaped and the Dutch
sailed north to what is now Albany. This is where the story of the red coated man, the alcohol,
and the oxhide is believed to have taken place. The Mohicans here greeted the Dutch in a
friendly manner and tried to trade with them, but Hudson was still suspicious. He took several
sachems into his cabin and gave them brandy to get them to reveal any plots against the Dutch
and to get advantageous trade conditions for furs. Despite the alcohol, no plot was revealed
and Hudson left and sailed south. He anchored north of Manhattan and saw what the Dutch
described as a group of mountain Indians who wanted to trade.
Montgomery, D. H. Captain Hudson on
the Great River. 2006. The Beginner’s
American History [eBook]. Project
Gutenberg. Web. 14 May 2013.
While the Dutch were distracted, one of the Natives climbed aboard and stole a few items and
was seen by the crew who shot and killed him, and chopped off the hand of another who tried
to help him.
The next day, over 100 Native men, including the two kidnapped Navasink who had recently
escaped, attacked Hudson’s ship, killing three Dutch sailors. Hudson fired a cannon at them,
killing two Natives and scaring off the others. Hudson then left for the Netherlands.
Hudson’s Legacy: Hudson left behind a legacy of suspicion and hate. Both the Dutch and the
Natives mistrusted each other, yet both wanted to continue to trade. They were continuing in
an already long-established tradition of trade in North America that dated all the way back to
the fifteenth century. During this time Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, English, and other
Europeans explored the area, traded with Natives, and also kidnapped and enslaved them.
Due to this early contact, the Native Americans learned that, although Europeans were to be
feared, it was worth the risk to gain access to the trade goods the Natives so desired. These
trade goods spread from one tribe to another throughout North America due to extensive
inter-tribal trade networks that had been established over the centuries.
William Penn: Some Europeans did not come simply to trade and explore; they came seeking
religious freedom. One such person was a Quaker named William Penn who came to what is
now Pennsylvania in the 1670s to escape religious persecution. The Quakers, also called the
Society of Friends, believed in non-violence and the
equality of all peoples. William Penn planned to make
Pennsylvania a refuge where any persecuted people
could live in peace. Like other Europeans, the Quakers
did need land to farm, but they went about getting it
from the Natives in a respectful manner. The main tribe
in this area was the Delaware and Penn ruled that
everyone must get Delaware permission before settling
on any land. He made several promises to local chiefs.
First, he would sell land to colonists only after he had
West, Benjamin. Treaty of Penn with Indians.
purchased it from the chiefs. Second, there would be no 1771. Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts,
Philadelphia. Wikimedia Commons. Web. 15
more of the injustices suffered by Natives at the hands
May 2013.
of Europeans such as stealing land, tricking them out of
land, or selling Natives into slavery. Third, trade would be strictly regulated to ensure that the
Natives were getting fair terms, and fourth, Penn banned the sale of alcohol to Native
Americans. Rather than cheating the Delaware out of their lands, he offered lavish trade goods
in exchange. Penn also gained their trust by learning their language and their culture. In short,
he respected them as people in a way that no previous Europeans had done. As long as Penn
remained in control, peaceful relations existed between the Pennsylvania colony and the Native
Americans in the area.
When William Penn’s health began to decline after 1712, he lost control of the colony and was
unable to enforce his respectful policy toward Native Americans. During this time, non-Quakers
began to move into the area who did not share the Quaker values of peace and equality, and
this created conflict. The new settlers wanted cheap land and did not want to pay the Native
Americans the fair prices Penn had required and refused to respect Native American rights.
They built dams which blocked Native access to fish; they squatted on Native lands without
purchasing it from them; and they gave alcohol to Natives to get better bargains when buying
land.
In 1737, together with William Penn’s sons, a land speculator produced a document that he
claimed was a copy of an old deed that ceded land from the Delaware to William Penn.
The Delaware were not convinced that this deed was authentic, but after being threatened,
they agreed to give to Penn’s heirs all of the land that could be walked in a day and a half. In
what became known as the Walking Purchase, the speculator pre-cut the trails and hired
professional walkers so that many miles were covered in that time period, much more land
than the Delaware chiefs had intended to concede. This failure to deal in good faith made it
clear to the Delaware that there would not be a return to the William Penn era of good will in
Pennsylvania.
The dark green area on this map
shows the amount of land obtained.
Walking Purchase De. 2007. Wikimedia Commons. Web. 15 May 2013.
Why was it so hard for the Europeans to deal fairly with the Native Americans, and why did
they believe that they had more right to land than the Native Americans? First, it is important
to understand that Europeans did not view Native Americans as completely human, but as
savage and bestial. In fact, in a 1783 letter, George Washington compared Native Americans to
wolves, calling them both “beasts of prey.”1
Why did Europeans believe that they were more entitled to land than Native Americans?
Also present was the European concept of natural law, the idea that people who aren’t using
land in a productive manner must move aside for those who will. Since Native Americans were
not viewed as agriculturalist, though many were, Europeans did not believe they were making
productive use of the land.
Another concept used to justify taking Native lands was vacuum domicilium which meant that
lands not being occupied could be taken. The problem was that Native Americans and
Europeans had different beliefs about what it meant to occupy land. Native Americans often
moved to different parts of their territories seasonally. For example, they might remain deep in
the forest in the winter, remain near their agricultural fields in the summer, and stay near the
river in the fall. If the Europeans visited the river in the summer and saw no Native Americans,
they would assume that land was unoccupied, not realizing the Natives would return to that
site in the fall. Europeans believed that in order to truly occupy the land people were to remain
in one spot permanently and the land should exhibit the five signs of civilization:
1. A permanent, domestic settlement with permanent structures such as houses,
churches, and markets
2. Agriculture – farms with fields next to the homes
3. Livestock such as cattle or sheep
4. Barns to store livestock and the harvest
5. Fences to mark private property
1
Letter to James Duane (Sept. 7, 1783)
Since the Europeans did not see these in Native settlements, they thought they were entitled to
take the land from the “savage,” “uncivilized” Natives.
Permanent Native Structures: Some Native
Americans did live in permanent settlements
with evidence of agriculture such as the
Algonquin village pictured here. But in many
villages with permanent structures such as
longhouses, the agricultural fields were
communal and were not located directly
next to the houses. Therefore, visiting
Europeans would assume that no agriculture
existed. Also, as described in your textbook,
European diseases had so decimated the
Native American populations that much of
the land appeared to be empty, though it
was still the ancestral land of those who
remained. Regardless, Europeans believed
that they were superior to the bestial Native
Americans and that they were more
deserving of the land than Native Americans.
This image is of an Algonquian village on the
Pamlico River in 1590. It provides evidence
that Native Americans had villages with
permanent structures and agriculture.
White, John. Village of Secotan. C. 1590. Wikimedia Commons.
Web. 15 May 2013.
No matter what the Europeans thought about the Native Americans, the fact that cultural
exchange occurred illustrates that these two groups of people were not unequal, just different.
Both of these groups adopted ideas, practices, and products from the other. The Europeans
brought to Native Americans technological advances such as seafaring ships and the use of iron
to make weapons, tools, and utensils. The Native Americans quickly adopted these items into
their daily lives. Similarly, Native Americans taught Europeans many things such as how to build
and use canoes to navigate rivers. They also introduced them to agricultural products and
showed them how to cultivate important crops such as corn, beans, squash, pumpkins, as well
as tobacco which would become one of the most important cash crops in America. They also
instructed Europeans in the use of medicinal herbs and dyes. This exchange of knowledge and
items represented a component of the cultural syncretism that was taking place as Europeans
and Natives existed together. Cultural syncretism is the adaptation of foreign ideas to local
circumstances. The ideas and items that Europeans acquired from Native Americans were
gradually being incorporated into their culture and lifestyle in America. The same happened to
Native Americans as they adopted ideas and items from Europeans. They learned from each
other. The very existence of this cultural exchange negated Europeans’ claims of superiority.