Learn about the ideas the first Europeans brought with them to Canada that determined their responses to the Indigenous Peoples they encountered. Show
Last Updated: September 20, 2019
What are the ideas the first Europeans brought with them to Canada to determine how they would respond to the Indigenous Peoples they encountered? European voyagers, clergymen, merchants, and, later, policy makers in the so-called New World projected an array of ideas onto the people they would describe as Indians. Those ideas were formed even before contact, when Europeans responded to the encounters with non-Europeans in other places, such as Asia and Africa. When they met the Indigenous populations in North America, peoples of whom they had little knowledge, Europeans imposed these older ideas and stereotypes. This reading is designed to explore these prejudices and stereotypes. Many of these ideas are still circulating in the media today, and it is important to learn the origins of these problematic notions. A word of caution: the language in the excerpts below is offensive and racist. The offensive words and terms are not presented here as valid; instead, they provide opportunities to study how stereotypes work. When the French and British began to receive news about North America from merchants, explorers, and missionaries, the local people were often described as noble, simple people. Some Europeans imagined the Indigenous communities as an ideal primitive society, living freely in a simpler and more peaceful state than in Europe. Other Europeans also described them as barbaric, a term the Greeks and Romans used to describe people who did not speak their language or share their culture. 1 At other times, Europeans used the term savage to describe people they believed to be uncivilized. In the seventeenth century, Francis Daniel Pastorius, the founder of Germantown, Pennsylvania, wrote about the local people he encountered:
The Europeans, fascinated by the life they discovered in the Americas, quickly placed the people they called Indians inside their own worldview. Many Europeans were devout Christians, and to them the Indian represented humanity in its infancy; they likened these people to Adam and Eve. 3 The Europeans believed that the differences between themselves and the Indians could be overcome in a civilized and religious environment. Thus, the “savages” could become just like them—European. 4 But this view of Indigenous life had a darker side. The Western image of Indigenous people in North America led many to the judgment that noble savage were also uncivilized, animal-like creatures. For example, the French priest Louis Hennepin did not spare the First Peoples he encountered in 1683 from his harsh judgment. His report on this encounter led to a crude assessment of these “uncivilized” people:
Connection Questions
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The resources I’m getting from my colleagues through Facing History have been just invaluable. — Claudia Bautista, Santa Monica, Calif What did the Europeans think of Native Americans?Some Europeans imagined the Indigenous communities as an ideal primitive society, living freely in a simpler and more peaceful state than in Europe. Other Europeans also described them as barbaric, a term the Greeks and Romans used to describe people who did not speak their language or share their culture.
What two factors might account for the differences in these Europeans views about the Native Americans?Europeans also wanted to convert Native Americans to Christianity. Therefore, economic gain and religion were the two factors that most affected the dynamics of European and indigenous American relationships.
What were the major cultural differences between European and Native American societies?One of the main cultural differences in the two communities was their attitude towards the natural habitat and land. Natives believed that Nature was Godly, which was totally alien to Europeans. Europeans though the Natives were wasting a precious commodity that should be used to generate money and wealth.
What was the pattern of Native American and European colonist relations?While Native Americans and English settlers in the New England territories first attempted a mutual relationship based on trade and a shared dedication to spirituality, soon disease and other conflicts led to a deteriorated relationship and, eventually, the First Indian War.
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