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Effects of the American Indians on European Colonization

Effects of the American Indians on European Colonization

When examining the effects of American Indians on European exploration and early colonialism, it is difficult to overstate its importance. It is believed that the first human in the Americas can be dated to 30,000 – 15,000 B.C. In the thousands of years that elapsed between the native settlement of North America and the arrival of the Europeans in the fifteenth century, the Indian people developed and adapted a life-style that allowed them to thrive as a people. Although quite different from its Anglo-Saxon counterpart, cultural, economic, political, and spiritual components of the native Americans were well-established. The influences of this society on the “New World” would have far reaching effects that would extend through the colonial era and beyond.

Before examining the effects of American Indians on European settlement, its important to acknowledge the influence it played on exploration itself. Since Columbus was looking for the Far East, he may have viewed an uninhabited America as nothing more than a roadblock that he’d like to have avoided. However, with the help of the Indians and Aztecs, he (and others) soon realized that the newly discovered territory was a land of riches waiting to be exploited. Precious metals, a lucrative fur trade, and an abundance of natural resources made the occupation of the Americas a priority of Spain. Without this potential for enormous wealth, “… likely that the Spanish would not have colonized New Spain at all except to establish a few supply bases…” (Axtell, p.19). Other European countries were soon racing to establish new world colonies of their own. In essence, the natives did the work and the Europeans moved in to claim the spoils.

One can only imagine the affect a ‘barren wasteland’ view of the Americas would have had on future exploration and the timeline of American colonization.

The eventual success and expansion of the colonization of America would be dependent upon the ability of the new inhabitants to feed large numbers of people. Thus, farming was crucial to the success of the new colonies. Although the Indians had by this time cleared plenty of land for crops, it was their techniques and adaptations over the centuries that enhanced productivity. Not only had native crops adapted to the American climate, the skilled Indian farmers...

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