British effects on native americans essays

British effects on native americans essays As the discovery of the New World progressed, large numbers of white men and women migrated to the North American continent, and profoundly altered Native Americans lives culturally and economically. Wherever they lived Indians discovered that conquest strained traditional ways of life. Mostly all Native American groups were forced to devise new ways to survive in physical and social atmospheres that eventually eroded tradition One of the leading pioneers for exploration of the New World was the British. As they migrated onto the North American continent, the British brought along with them an ethnocentric attitude. Which meant from the beginning they thought of the Native Americans as lesser people and that their culture, and way of conducting their economy was wrong. With this attitude, the British tried to civilize the Indians by making them dress like colonists, and force them to ac-cept Christianity. These forced changes were a stepping stone to the diminishing of Native American culture. In addition to that, the British also brought with them disease. Since Native Americans had little natural immunity to common European diseases, when they were exposed to influenza, typhus, measles, and especially small pox they died in the millions. This rapid spread of disease caused a huge blow to the Native American population, sometimes wiping out entire tribes and along with them their entire culture wo uld be erased. The fur trade, more than any other activity, contributed to the white exploration and opening of the wilderness and it led to extensive contacts between whites and Indians. All the colonial powers, especially the British, were involved in the mass commercial exploitation of animal skin. Competition among the European nations and among the Indian tribes for the fur trade was a major factor in many of the intertribal conflicts and colonial war. ...