Two subject areas and conceptual frameworks

Isuues Pertaining to Colonization

Colonization

Issues Pertaining to the Colonization of America

Identify the three cultural regions of North America directly preceding colonization. Note one group for each area and describe its culture and the distinctive traits that defined the communities it created.

Three cultural regions of North America in place before the colonization of Europeans were established by the Iroquois, the Algonquian, and the Narragansett nations. The Iroquois were mainly settled in what is now upstate New York between the Adirondack Mountains and Niagara Falls. They lived in pole villages and the men hunted deer while the woman raised corn, squash, tobacco, and beans. Women held high status in Iroquois society and decent was matrilineal. Families lived in bark covered rectangular structures called long houses (Dill, 1996).

The Algonquian tribes inhabited what is now Quebec and Ontario Canada. They were patriarchal and semi-nomadic. They mainly relied on hunting for sustenance and moved about frequently within the territories of northeastern Canada. Due to the quality of the soil and their tendency to move the tribe relied heavily on trading. They hunted for food and traded furs and skins with other Native American tribes ("Canadian Algonquin: First Nations," NDI).

The Narragansett inhabited the territory of what is now known as the state of Rhode Island. The tribe was considered militant and customarily offered protection to smaller tribes in the area, collecting tribute. They both hunted and practiced agriculture to sustain themselves. The tribal member had two homes, one for winter and the other for summer. The winter homes, called long houses, held over 20 families during the long winter months, while summers were spent at the shore in temporary structures made of bark on the outside and woven mats on the inside ("Historical Perspectives of the Narragansett Indian Tribe," 2009).

The Spanish, French, and English all explored America and left a lasting mark on the New World's development. Compare and contrast the colonization methods used by each. Be sure to discuss the goals, characteristics, and lasting effects of each power's methods.

Ostensibly all of these countries wishes to "civilize" peoples that they considered poor, backwards and inferior, however colonization was really about extracting resources and building wealth. Each of these nations had a system and theory of colonial rule.

Spain focused on converting people to Christianity. Queen Isabella was committed to the Catholic Church and was concerned with saving native souls. As a result missions were established in all of Spain's territories. The church brought culture to the new world including music, literature and academics in the form of Universities such as the University of Cordoba, established more than a century before Harvard. However, the Spanish system of rule was inflexible and all major decisions were made in Spain, half a world away, this limited their ability to rule effectively ("English, French, and Spanish Colonies," NDI).

The French wishes to assimilate the native peoples, exporting their culture, food and language. They perceived their outposts as extensions of France, educating their subjects and encouraging them to think of themselves as French. Traces of this can still be seen in Quebec and New Orleans ("English, French, and Spanish Colonies," NDI).