The two English colonies of New England and Virginia were both created based off of the English homeland but they turned out to be two very different places. They both had very distinctive differences in their religious views, society, and with their economies. They were similar in many ways too, but their differences are what formed them as the first English societies in North America. The New England and Virginia colonies had very different reasons to come to America as well. The colonists that came to Virginia were initially coming as single males to find gold and treasure.
They showed us how to farm, showed how to hunt effectively, introduced medicine, showed the Invaders where gold was, amongst other incredibly influential tasks. Zelinsky goes on to discredit the Indians as if they are non-factors. In the text we read, “…Had the European colonists found an utterly unpopulated continent, contemporary American life would not have differed in any major respect from its actual pattern.” In my opinion I do not understand how Zelinsky can just discredit the existence of the Indians. I find it impossible to think that early North America would be the same without the contact with Indians. I share the shame viewpoint that DeVoto expresses.
Their main purpose was to dig gold, wash gold, refine gold, load gold, and they would treat the other colonials as slaves to get it (document F). This way of life was quite the opposite of the New England colonies. The geography of the New England colonies was not incredibly forgiving. The soil was heavily glaciated and rocky,
The Aztec people mistook Cortes and his soldiers for Quetzalcoatl. Stein says, “The similarities between Quetzalcoatl and Cortes were coincidences, but to Montezuma they were the fulfillment of prophecy. The mighty Aztec empire was doomed” (8). The Aztec emperor, Montezuma welcomed Cortes warmly and presented him with gifts of gold and emeralds. This was a costly mistake.
In addition to that, the Spanish colonies tended to be controlling. They were based around digging up gold and silver and exporting it back to the Old World, especially in South America. They did not have an aspiration for mass emigration, nor the change of a successful colonial elite. They were satisfied with a small team of Spaniards to exploit the wealth of their newly conquered territories, and export it back to Europe. In some ways like the British in India, except for the fact the Spanish didn't really have manufactured goods to sell to South America like the British in India.
Salt was a necessity of life and the British knew this, so they placed high taxes on salt to bring them revenue. It was illegal to pan for salt, but Ghandi led thousands of men and women to the sea where they panned for salt despite the British law. Ghandi's love for his people and country later led to the transformation of the once, highly educated, male dominated Congress into a movement that included the peasants. The transformation of the Congress dominated the Indian elections and led to India's independence of 1947. Hitler was shaped into a man of hate in his early life as well.
In the 1500s, the Spanish arrived in the New World with the intent to convert natives to Catholicism, trade, and discover riches. Juan de Onate, one of these explorers, killed thousands of natives in order to gain fame and wealth. The Spanish and Indians also developed the Columbian Exchange; a trade of goods, livestock, and crops, which was beneficial to both sides as it brought new items to both groups. Most of the products that the Spanish gave to the natives brought diseases that the Indians had no immunity to. Cortez even intentionally gave out
The studying of the relationship between whites and blacks during their exploitation by wealthy planter elites can explain the evolution of racism in American society. The Seventeenth century was an era were race played little significance, were the pursuit of economic wealth by colonial elites was valued above everything else, and a colour blind policy was adopted towards exploitation. The most convenient place to study the evolution of racism is the plantation society in early Virginia. The English presence on American soil was first seen with the Jamestown settlement of 16072. The high hopes of land filled with gold were soon dashed by the confrontation of hostile indigenous Indians and constant experiences of starvation by the settlers.
In colonial times, the earliest interactions between the Native Americans and the European settlers lead to different relationships between the two groups. But more often than not, the relationship wound up being negative, especially for the Native Americans. Two areas with negative relationships were the American southwest, controlled by the Spanish, and the Chesapeake Bay area, controlled by the English. In the southwest, as the settlers came into contact with the Native Americans, they became convinced that their every aspect was superior to the Native Americans. The main reason the Spaniards even bothered to interact with the Native Americans was to achieve their main goal in America, to find gold and other valuables.
There were many legends that were told to us about some of their land being taken over by the Spanish people. They were coming over to look for riches in order to support themselves and to claim lands. In the process they took destroyed their temples and even unburied their Mayan people in order to find gold and other riches to benefit themselves. After all of their searching and exploration their limited discovery was finding turquoise. This was not what they wanted to find but valuable to the Mayan people.