British and Native American relations from early settlement to conflict

Native Americans Earned Respect From the British

Were early Native Americans truly as one people with the British? Idealistically, that might be pleasant to believe. However, there is at least some truth to the notion that the British admired the Native Americans in many ways, and indeed, shared "one heart" with the settlers, at least early in the relationship.

When the British first came to America, they found much to admire in the Native Americans. One historian notes, "The noble savage image was born in the first encounter with the white man and dwindled proportionately as the colonists' desire and ability to dominate the land escalated."

One of the main goals of many British colonials was to befriend the Native and Christianize them, as Eliot notes in his piece on Piumbukhou. Piumbukhou is thankful for his Christianization, and attempts to bring his relatives into the fold, to share his "special" relationship with God and the English.

By the late 1700s, the relationship was beginning to change, however. Colonists continually sought new land and moved westward, pushing back the Native Americans from their tribal lands. Many visitors still saw them as noble people who were becoming trouble by British influence, such as alcohol and firearms. Another writer notes, "Yet while she [a British visitor] is critical of European influence in America, especially concerning the corruption of the Native Americans with alcohol, and she notes, in true Raynalian fashion, that the Native Americans' 'virtues are their own; their vices often copied from their enlightened allies'."