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Arrival in the New World
An analysis of the British arriving in the New World and the encounter with the Native Indians

Painter and source: Benjamin West, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia


English project
English AAU
May 2013

Morten Sgaard
20103600
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Table of Contents
Introduction and thesis statement .................................................................................................................... 3
Jamestown and the Southern Settlements (1607-1644) .............................................................................. 3
Method section ................................................................................................................................................. 6
Research report ................................................................................................................................................. 9
Historians ....................................................................................................................................................... 9
Analysis ............................................................................................................................................................ 11
Arrival in the New World ............................................................................................................................. 11
The British meeting the Native Indians ....................................................................................................... 12
Trading with the local Indians ..................................................................................................................... 13
The outcome of meeting the Native Indians ............................................................................................... 15
Discussion ........................................................................................................................................................ 18
Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................................... 22
Bibliography ..................................................................................................................................................... 23


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Introduction and thesis statement
Jamestown and the Southern Settlements (1607-1644)
This project will be about the encounter between the British that arrived in North America and the
Native Indians, more generally about how the encounter between these two cultures evolved over
the years to better or worse. The paper will also work with how the British looked upon this new
culture they have met on this new continent, as in how they reacted to the local Indians' religion
and conduct. The exploration of the world had been going on for centuries at this point, but one of
the more remarkable exploration feats in history are arguably, the arrival and settling of the British
in North America in the 16th century. This settlement would later become The United States of
America through the War of Independence. Unlike the Spanish, who came to the New World with
military force as conquers and with the backing of powerful sovereigns, the English came as
traders, settlers and religious dissidents in search of safe haven escaping tyranny and persecution
(Axelrod, 1993, p. 10). The arrival in North America of the British as traders, settlers and religious
dissidents, does not necessarily mean that they treated the Indians with more compassion than
the Spanish, but only that the English lacked the military might, and turn of mind, that animated
the conquistadors (Spanish soldiers, explores). Some of the first arrivals in Jamestown, Virginia, in
1607 had come seeking gold, furs, sassafras (thought to cure syphilis), and a passage to India
which as this point had not been discovered yet. Around 900 settlers arrived during the first three
years of the colony, and by 1610, sickness and starvation had killed all but 150, which had been
recorded by some of the surviving settlers (Axelrod, 1993, p. 10). This early period has also been
marked as being a time of violent conflicts occurring between the settlers and some of the Native
Indians.
The Indians believed the newcomers would quickly perish over time and, therefore, were not
worth fighting and the English, burdened by disease and starvation, were hardly in a position to
take the offensive. The Indians living in the vicinity of the Jamestown settlement were members of
a confederacy of 32 Algonquian tribes of about 10.000 people distributed among approximately
200 villages and held together by a distinguished chief named Wahunsonacock later dubbed
Powhatan by the English (Axelrod, 1993, p. 10). Captain John Smith, an English soldier of fortune,
got captured during while scouting out provisions by some of Powhatan's men, he was to be
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executed but saved by the 13 year old chief's daughter Pocahontas, as the saying goes, and she
later facilitated Smith's initiation into the tribe, a position used to obtain corn from the Indians
which also kept the Jamestown settlers from starvation during the winter. Despite the
contribution to the colony's survival, the colonists and the Indians did not form a close bond, they
never really trusted each other, and there was always an atmosphere of mutual distrust (Axelrod,
1993, p. 10). At one occasion Smith was bartering with the half-brother of Powhatan named
Opechancanough, where he discovered his small party was being surrounded by Indians, and
without thinking he grabbed the half-brother in his scalp lock and put the gun to his rips and
declared:
"Here I stand, shoot he that dare. You promised to freight my ship ere I departed, and so you shall;
or I mean to load her with dead carcasses. Yet if as friends you will come and trade, I once more
promise not to trouble you, except you give me the first occasion. And your King shall be free and
be my friend, for I am not come to hurt him or any of you." (Axelrod, 1993, p. 10)
The purpose of this little story is simply to give a view of how unstable the relation between the
British and the Indians actually were. Things escalated quickly after the English needed more land
for cultivation of tobacco, and commandeered Indians fields, which have already been cleared,
finding that easier than actually clearing it themselves, which made the relationship between the
two groups worse. In 1618 Powhatan dies and his half-brother takes over, however, he was not as
committed to peace as his former chieftain was, and in 1622 he ordered all along James River that
people no matter sex or age be killed, and by that Francis Wyatt, governor in the colony,
proclaimed the English colony's new policy; "It is infinitely better to have no heathen among us,
who were but as thornes in our sides, than to be at peace and league with them" (Axelrod, 1993, p.
11) This project will focus on the British side of the story, with the foundation of the Jamestown in
1607 and also how the British reacted to this cultural meeting with the natives, with the British
being the highest civilized society at the time and then facing a people that was barely above the
bow and arrow. Of course the British had met civilizations that has been beneath them before, but
again, when you face a new culture certain events might occur and this leads to the thesis
statement of this project.

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Thesis statement:
How did the encounter between the British and the Indians evolve from being a meeting
between traders to a hostile meeting from 1607-1644? And how did the British look upon the
Native Indians' religion and conduct?
With this problem formulation the intention is to find out how the encounter but also the relation
between the newly arrived and the natives change over time, was it hostile or friendly? Or was it
simply all just a matter of trading for the British? These are the research question this project will
focus on.


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Method section
The second part of the formulation is basically to look through diaries, first hand papers and other
works to find out how the British actually looked upon the natives, did it change? Did it change to
better or worse over the years? In order to get to an answer of the questions posed in the
problem formulation, an analysis using diaries and other relevant literature will be carried out.
These diaries gives us a view on how the British looked upon the Indians' religion, shamanism and
more extraordinary religious rituals, which will help to answer the problem formulation of this
project. These diaries of course have to be treated with care and not to take every word for the
truth duo to superstition and what was considered the norm back then. That it is something that
could have been written to put the Native Indians in a bad light intentionally. How to achieve all
this will happen through an analysis of various carefully handpicked books that have been placed
in a very short research report, explaining some of the main books and why they are relevant to
answer the problem formulation. Before explaining further what the analysis will contain the
paper will have a research report paragraph explaining the choice of books and researchers. With
the research report the reason is to clarify for the reader why these books have been chosen for
the paper and how they might help answering the problem formulation that needs answering. The
analysis will contain four paragraphs each having a function of trying to answer the problem
formulation, as for achieving this, each paragraph will be given a historian researcher to help
clarify these specific topics. The first paragraph will be "Arrival in the New World" simply giving a
review of the arrival of the British in North America and the foundations of settlements. The
second paragraph will be "The British meeting the local Indians", the purpose of this paragraph is
to give an analysis of how the British looked upon this new civilization they have met and how
they handled it. The third paragraph will be "Trading with the Native Indians", the reason for this
paragraph is to see how the British and Native Indians traded between each other, what were the
reasons behind this trading. The fourth and last paragraph of the analysis will be "The outcome of
the meeting with local Indians", this paragraph will analyze how the outcome of meeting the
Indians turned out, did it turn out positive or negative, and what were the reasons behind it. With
the setup of the analysis paragraph clarified, the setup of the discussion will now be explained.
The purpose of this paragraph is simply to discuss the different opinions or researches toward this
thesis statement, if there are contradictions at some point, or if some historians agree or disagree
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on the subsections being analyzed in the analyze section, the discussion paragraph will contain all
fours parts just as the analysis have been, though it will be one big paragraph containing all the
four above mentioned paragraphs "Arrival in the New World", "The British meeting the local
Indians", "Trading with the local Indians" and "The outcome of the meeting with local Indians". To
finish up the paper there will be a conclusion containing the results of the analysis as it relates to
the thesis statement.
Now that the method of the paper has been explained, a short limitation of the project will be
explained. The time span is as we know it is from 1607 to 1644, the reason for this is that in 1607
the settlement of Jamestown was founded which is a good place to start and up to 1644 where
Virginia is secure from the natives through fighting. The reason for this is that the project will not
analyze the voyage towards North America or the reasons behind it, but it will focus on the time
when the British arrived and founded Jamestown. As for 1644 I see this as an ending of the strives
between the British and the Native Indians with the British securing Virginia from future attacks.
The reason for this time span is simply because it would otherwise be to large-scale to
comprehend and not give a throughout analysis of the thesis statement.
The project has other limitations beside the time span, this is more an analysis limitation than a
period limitation, the project will not focus as much on the Indian side of the story but mostly the
British side, as it is their views that the projects thesis statement will be analyzing and not the
Native Indians. The reason for this simply to give a concise analysis of the British side of the story,
giving the reader a full understanding of how the meeting between the British and the Native
Indians evolved over time, and also how they looked upon their religion and conduct.
In the project there will be worked on how the trade, view on religion and conducts (which will be
the three pillars in the project), and how the encounter evolved over time from 1607-1644, but it
will not focus upon romanticism or local politics happening in that period of time, it will only be
included if deemed necessary for background knowledge, to help out the analysis or discussion.
The reason for this is to minimize the amount of unwanted text that will not have any influence on
answering the thesis statement.
The last limitation will be about the area that the problem formulation will be focusing around, as
we know that the project takes place in North America, it is still necessary to point out what place
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exactly that the project will circle approximately. We know that the first surviving settlement in
North America by the British is Jamestown, and therefore the project will only be focusing in the
state of Virginia and what occurred in the land. These limitations will help to pinpoint the time;
place and what exactly will be analyzed and discussed in this project and give a concise and clear
answer to the thesis statement.


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Research report
This section of the project will explain the use of specific historians and what paragraph they will
be assigned too; also it will explain why these books have been chosen to answer the thesis
statement.
Historians
Neal Salisbury is the first historian that will be introduced in this paper and the book chosen is
"Colonial America and the Early Republic", which has a small fraction of Neil Salisbury's texts
regarding the area that this project is about. Neal Salisbury specializes in colonial-revolutionary
North American history and Native American history. His research and writing interests center on
indigenous Americans, particularly in the Northeast between 1500 and 1800. The reason Neal
Salisbury has been picked for the analyze is solely because of his views towards the arrival in the
New World, how the British looked upon the Native Indians and more of why these views were
the norm back then. He writes that the view towards the Native Indians was an invention from the
time of Columbus, that his views were what the British had when they arrived (Mulder, 2007,
Chapter 1, p. 437). As no criticism of this book could be found, this book should be treated with
care and not be taken for granted while being used.
Amy S. Greenberg is the second that will be used in this paper and the book chosen is "Manifest
Destiny and American Territorial Expansion". She is a historian of antebellum America (1800-1860)
with a particular interest in the politics, culture, and social history of the decades before the Civil
War. The reason she has been picked for this is because of the diaries document being presented
in the book being of a high value to give a view upon how the British looked upon the local
Indians. The diaries show that the British saw the Native Indians as barbarians and not willing to
help out the British even though they knew the winter would be harsh (Greenberg, 2012, p. 43,).
Though no review of the quality of the book could be found, it is still a book that will be used to
give us a view of how the British actually looked upon the Native Indians as they are indeed first
hand sources.
Robert Olwell is the third historian that will be used in this paper and the book chosen is "Cultures
and Identities in Colonial British America". His research and teaching interests are focused on the
eighteenth-century British-Atlantic World and the early American South. The reason he have been
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picked for this is because of his research regarding trade between the British and the local Indians.
His study shows that cultural and commercial interests clashed around 1630 between the British
and the Native Indians, which intervened the trade (Olwell, 2006, chaper 5, p 121). Linda Sturtz
explains that all the essays in the book work together as a whole that is much larger than the sum
of the individual parts. She states that Olwell embrace the concept of creolization as a device for
explaining "an important process at work within the colonies" (Sturtz, 2007, p. 675-677).
Steven Sarson is the fourth and last historian of the paper and the book chosen is "The American
Colonies and the British Empire, 1607-1783". His study circulates around Concepts of liberty and
the constitutionalization of liberty in the British and American Atlantic Worlds in the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries. His study may look like it is about the British Empire, however, he
believes that religion is the main cause for the exploration of North America and also how the
British looked upon the Native Indians (Sarson, 2010, p. 1). Reviews of this book are limited and as
Neil Salisbury should be treated with care and not taken for granted, nonetheless this book will be
used for religious purposes and also for the views towards the Native Indians conduct.

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Analysis
Arrival in the New World
The colonial era traditionally extends from the founding of Jamestown, England's first successful
colony May 1607, to the end of the Seven Years' War, or French and Indian War as it is know in the
United States in 1763. The unsuccessful settlement at Roanoke Island in the 1580's can be
considered as the first serious attempt at founding an English plantation in North America, but
Jamestown is considered being the one that made further colonization possible in North America
and served as capital of the colony for 83 years, from 1616 until 1699 (Geiter, 2007, p. 17). The
expansion of Europe into North America you can say took place at a time when a new way of
seeing the world was evolving in Europe, which is broadly encapsulated by the term capitalism
1
,
which has been one of the causes for the travel and colonization of North America in the 16th
century (Nicholls, 2009, p. 6). What led the British to North American some would ask, reasons are
many, some say they came as conquers to expand British territory, others as traders to make
financial profit, and some as settlers and religious dissidents to start a new life from British tyranny
and prosecution in search of safe haven, but one of the main reasons were because of the Virginia
Company of London giving the settlers charter to settle in North America (Axelrod, 1993, p. 10).
When the British settlers arrived in 1607 to then establish the settlement Jamestown it was with
the intention of seeking gold, furs and sassafras but also to find a passage to India which as this
time had not been found yet. Some 900 settlers arrived during the first few years of the
settlement Jamestown, but were reduced to fewer than 200 settlers because of famine, diseases
and hostile encounters with the Native Indians (Axelrod, 1993, p. 10). Some of the settlers
considered that 'traveling is almost the same as conversing with people from other centuries', this
quote underlines the extent to which an enterprise of discovery of new lands is a historical
endeavor as much as it is a geographical one, but also the views towards different cultures. This
causes them to expect an encounter with a more primitive culture by the standards of their own
or allot a new location to myths and legends of difference pertaining to their own culture (Regard,

1
According to environmentalist Jonathon Porritt with his book "Capitalism as if the World Matters", this philosophy of
continual economic growth, a need for ever-increasing prosperity is a relatively new phenomenon. Yet, its roots must
run deep into prehistory, since, by definition, capitalism depends on the ability to accumulate capital and that only
became possible when agriculture allowed humans to accumulate the most basic form of capital, surplus food, which
could be traded for some form of currency.
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2009, p. 29). Nonetheless the British had arrived May 1607 with the foundation of the settlement
Jamestown, and now the encounter between the British and the Native Indians would take place.
The British meeting the Native Indians
The British had now settled themselves in the successful settlement of Jamestown, but the
meeting or encounter with Native Indians proved to be of a somewhat different matter. Firstly the
British already had a point of view towards new or different cultures or mindset rather, being it
either positive or negative, that they expected to meet a different culture considered to be below
them, they came to North America with not innocent eyes, but with selective ones, looking out for
confirmation of the beliefs and expectations with which they had set out on their journey (Regard,
2009, p. 29). William Bradford was a leader of English Puritans, known as the Pilgrims, his views
towards the Native Indians was of somewhat a hostile matter, he did not see them as people of
equal rights, but rather as barbarians: "...but these savage barbarians, when they mette with them
(as after will appeare) were readier to fill their sids full of arrows then otherwise" (Greenberg,
2012, p. 43, directly from page). This tells us that even though the Native Indians did not attack
them, Bradford considered them as barbarians which you could not trust at any point, and this
shows us that the British that arrived already had a mindset telling them how they would confront
a new culture or people that they have not met before. Another encounter is of John Nicholl from
his book "An Houre Glasse of Indians Newes", of who little is known, but he was one of the few
survivors of an expedition to the Guianas and was published in 1607: "...inhabited onely with a
companie of most cruell Caniballs, and men-eaters, where we had no sooner anchored..." (Regard,
2009, p. 33, directly from page) In Nicholl's account, as well as in most accounts of early American
discovery in the 16h century, we do not find the natives' point of view, only whatever point of
view is attributed to them by the European mediator reporting the encounter and ventriloquizing
the natives' discourse, which is also something that will be discussed further (Regard, 2009, p. 33).
Another diarie written by Nicholl gives us an even bigger impression of the British what the views
towards the natives was like: "...who thirsted for nothing but to eate our flesh, and drinke our
blood, as they done with many other of our fellowes..." (Regard, 2009, p. 34, directly from page)
Again we get a picture of the encounter between the British and the natives, that the point of view
towards the natives had already been decided even before they took off. The British besides
having a hostile approach to the Native Indians, was somehow fascinated by the natives' religion.
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Among the Huron and Iroquois, there was a great similarity, although the deities' names might
vary according to dialect. Good and evil were personified in the sun and moon, and man was
viewed as being surrounded by good, evil or indifferent spirits (Moore, 1982, p. 78). It is a bit
paradoxical that the Puritans would be enthralled with the Native American religion, but it should
be considered that they probably wanted to confirm their prejudice against the Native Americans.
The sources shows us that they were in a way scared of the Native Americans, which could have
been because of the culture where they came from, making everything that is foreign look bad or
evil, making this a matter of culture and not just about prejudice.
A change of attitude occured in the early 1630's among some missionaries. At first they had laid all
manifestations of a shaman's (Indian healer) power to trickery and optical illusion, but gradually
they reached the conclusion that at times certain shamans were in direct contact with Satan
(Moore, 1982, p. 80). In 1639 a Jesuit wrote after having met an Indian shaman:
"I am inclined to think that there are, really, some among them who have communication with the
Demons; but the majority of them are only imposters, practicing their enchantments to obtain
presents from the poor and sick, to render themselves popular, or to make themselves feared"
(Moore, 1982, p. 81).
This statement tells us that they did not believe in what the Indian shamans were doing, that they
saw them as servants of Satan, and were considered frauds and not real healers/doctors as the
ones they were accustomed too from Europe. When the British arrived in Virginia and founded the
settlement of Jamestown, seven months later in december 1607, a scouting group from
Jamestown was captured while scouting out provisions along the Chickahominy River, to avoid the
famine from continuing, worsening the already unstable relationship between the British and the
local Indians (Axelrod, 1993, p. 10). Even though the meeting between the British and the local
Indians were a rather extraordinary encounter because of the superstition that the British brought
with them towards America, they nonetheless kept trading between each other, but there were
always the atmosphere of mutual distrust which could easily be ruined by one wrong move.
Trading with the local Indians
We know that the British settlers were given charter by the Virginia Company of London to create
the settlement Jamestown in Virginia, and it is also where some of the first trading agreements
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occurred in America between the settlers and the local Indians. The first settlers that arrived in
Jamestown had come as traders seeking gold, furs and sassafras in general trading or selling
material to make money whereas later it turned into exploration of the continent (Axelrod, 1993,
p. 10). Europeans were anything but uniformly successful in realizing their goals, but the
combination of demographic and ecological advantages and imperial intentions, which were to
expand territory and begin production of anything with profit, along with the Anglo-Iroquois
Covenant Chain, enabled land-hungry colonists from most colonies in North America to break
entirely free of ties of dependence on Indians, given them more elbow room to do as they pleased
(Mulder, 2007, chapter 1, p. 24). Before they achieved the independence of not having to trade
with the local Indians, they were dependent on trading with them to even stay alive during the
first years of the settlement Jamestown. They were pestered by famine and diseases, and the
seasons on the new continent were not helping either to make the lives of the settlers easier, in
fact, the chance of survival was fairly low, forcing them to trade with the local Indians to keep the
settlement alive through the winter (Axelrod, 1993, p. 10). The British needed food and the
Indians wanted their trinkets, copper pots and axe heads in exchange for this; they placed special
value on these kinds of items and considered them supernaturally powerful. The reason for this is
basically because they saw the newcomers with their facial hair and strange clothes and traveling
in their strange boats, and gave them a supernatural status, and therefore the items they carried
must have been the same, supernatural and divine (Mulder, 2007, chapter 1, p. 18).
Mulder, Phillip N. writes that regarding motives for Indians trading with the British indicates they
regarded such items and objects as the equivalents of the quartz, mica, shell and other sacred
substances, which was clearly to the benefit of the British that had arrived in Virginia. While
northeastern Indians recognized Europeans as different from themselves, they interacted with
them and their materials in ways that were consistent with their own customs and beliefs (Mulder,
2007, chapter 1, p. 18-19). Another reason for the Indians to go out and trade with the British for
their beaver skins and other kind of skins for glass beads, mirrors, copper kettles and other goods,
was mostly to maintain and extend their social, cultural and spiritual horizons as well as acquired
items were considered supernaturally powerful, making them being seen as extraordinary in the
tribe. They believed that by acquiring these items from the British would improve their status in
the tribe, expanding their social situation, their cultural influence against other tribes, and also to
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give them a spiritual experience since the items were considered supernaturally powerful (Mulder,
2007, chapter 1, p. 18-19). Nonetheless an excellent opportunity for the British traders to make
money, as was their intentions to begin with after the situation of famine and diseases were under
control and food was no longer the main priority (Mulder, 2007, chapter 1, p. 18).
Samuel Vetch once wrote in one of his letters as an economic argument for the southern colonies,
that Britain's mainland North American colonies produced wealth for the mother county and the
empire, not merely by providing products for the home market and for resale in Europe but, more
importantly, by supplying the island colonies in the Caribbean with resources such as wood and
food. Any action that served the interest of the mainland colonies, Vetch claimed facilitated the
production of sugar in the British West Indies. Sugar was one of the most profitable crops in the
world at the time and increasing production would benefit the empire as a whole (Plank, 2000, p.
47). Vetch also claimed that the French presence in North America restricted the British colonists'
ability to exploit their lands and supply the sugar islands, because the French hemmed in the
colonists and forced them to divide their resources to defense, which were considered an
economical loss and also made it harder to trade with the Indians as their resources to trade with
were stretched thin (Plank, 2000, p. 47). Trading with the local Indians were not always a friendly
encounter in the area around the settlement Jamestown in Virginia, on one occasion some British
settlers were trading with a local tribe, but soon found out that they were being surrounded by
some force in the woods, whereas they had to fight their way out for survival and not completing
the trade exchange, which of course was not something they wanted as they were plagued by
famine and diseases and were desperately in need of food to keep going through the winter
(Axelrod, 1993, s. 10). Even though we do see that trading exchanges had happened between the
British and the Native Indians, it was still a rather special way of trading, the Native Indians wanted
copper pots and axe heads, and the trading from the British side was mostly about survival during
the first years of the settlement Jamestown, so their intention was to get food.
The outcome of meeting the Native Indians
The meeting with the Native Indians had been of some extent a rather educational encounter for
the British, how they learned about new religions and also the Native Indians' conduct (Mulder,
2007, chapter 1, p. 18-19) and (Moore, 1982, p. 81), but how the encounter turned out over the
years is a different matter. The British had a rather disapproving view toward the Native Indians'
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religion and conduct, they did not see them as equals but they still had to interact with them, and
most of their views towards the natives of North America were already decided even before they
set sail towards the continent. Columbus arrived nearly two centuries before the British, and his
views towards the Native Indians have followed up through the history, and imprinted themselves
in the mind of the British settlers, giving them a prejudice idea that was hard to break. When the
settlement Jamestown was settled in 1607 in Virginia, only 900 people arrived during the first
three years, even though they were weighed down with famine and diseases, they were regularly
attacked or betrayed by the local Indians, reducing the number to about 150 settlers in Jamestown
(Axelrod, 1993, p. 10). On March 22, 1622, on Good Friday, in English settlements all along the
James River, the Indians; "As at other times... came unarmed into our houses with Deere, Turkies,
Fish, Fruits, and other provisions to sell us, yea in some places sat downe at breakfast with our
people, whom immediately with their owne tooles slew most barbarously, not sparing either age or
sex, man woman or childe, so sudden in their execution, that few or none discerned the weapon or
blow that brought them to destruction." (Axelrod, 1993, directly from page, p. 11) We see here
that there were a conflict between the British and the Native Indians, also that the Indians used a
disliked method among the British to perish them from the colonies, but of course any method
would have been disliked or been disapproved as long it was not by the standard of the British.
After this episode the British responded by; "...like the violent lightening they are gone as soon as
perceived, and not to be destroyed but by surprise or famine." (Axelrod, 1993, directly from page,
p. 11) We see here that the encounter between the British and the Native Indians turned out to be
a violent conflict, with the saying "them or us", that no part could exist along side the other, one of
them had to removed or weakned enough so they could not make any resistance.
Even though the conflicts escalated over the years, the views towards the Indians' religion and
conduct, changed from seeing their practices of a shaman being a ritual for Satan; "I am inclined to
think that there are, really, some among them who have communication with the Demons..." as
something with no real Satanic connection, but was just throughout annoying with all the noises
and rituals, but was accepted from these kind of shamans over the years (Moore, 1982, p. 81).
Even though "Shamans" were accepted among the Jesuits, other classes of "Doctors" were still
seen as being connected to Satan such as "Sorcerers" and "Magicians", duo to their rituals being of
seeking demonic powers to kill or curse others (Moore, 1982, p. 81-82). Most of the time the
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shamans were considered frauds among the Jesuits, but the sorcerer or magicians they came to
believe were actually capable of killing other people, just as the Indians believed. The Indians
looked upon the shamans as "Doctors", but the missionaries denied that the shamans could heal.
These doctors were not the neighborhood jugglers whose routine the fathers might tolerate, but
were "true Sorcerers, who have access to the Devil", and these the Jesuits believed had at times
brought about the death of selected individuals, usually of another village or tribe (Moore, 1982,
p. 82). We do see a development in the point of view towards the Native Indians' religion, those
shamans before were not accepted and considered in league with Satan, but now being tolerated
and seen of not being able to heal others by the British Jesuits.
The outcome of meeting the Native Indians with a view toward trading exchanges, there has been
a slight change, that the British when they arrived and establish the settlement Jamestown, were
burdened by famine the first years, and thereby intervening their true trading intentions, as they
now had to trade their resources for food, instead of trading to what they actually came for, gold,
furs, sugar and sassafras, which became a large export to England over the years (Axelrod, 1993, p.
10). The trade after the British settlement Jamestown got the famine under control and food was
no longer a main priority, changed to what they actually come for in the first place, trading and
territory expansion, and what the Native Indians demanded in exchange was something that the
British could easily give them and then receive something that was considered more valuable in
Europe. The trading exchanges only happened because of the Native Indians seeing the British
arriving in their boats as supernatural figures, giving their items a nearly divine status, which were
used to extend the chief of the tribes' cultural and social status (Mulder, 2007, chapter 1, p. 18).
The outcome of the trading over the years, was for the British a question of survival the first years
of the settlement of Jamestown, but turned out to be a profitable exchange anyway, the trading
was not always of a good heart, but both the British and the Native Indians wanted to trade
between each other as they both could use what the other part had, making the trade happen
even though it was not always with friendly intentions.

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Discussion
This paragraph will out from the information that has appeared throughout the analysis discuss
the events that occurred from 1607 with the foundation of the settlement Jamestown to the
attack of Jamestown in March 22, 1644, with focus on the four sections that the analysis consist
of. The arrival in the new world was not an easy task for the British that was fleeing from tyranny
and persecution, however, the sources behind the analysis of this particular part should not be
taken for granted. The analysis tells us why the British came to North America to make the
settlement of Jamestown, but does not tell us if they ran into any difficult situations besides the
famine and diseases, leaving a lot of the actual history behind, making it seem none important and
difficult to actually analyze what happened during that period of time upon arrival. We know that
the British came to North America in a time when a new way of seeing the world was evolving in
Europe, which is broadly encapsulated by the term capitalism, telling us that one of the major
reasons behind the arrival in the new world was purely because of money some historians claim
(Nicholls, 2009, p. 6), while others claim it was because of the tyranny and persecution (Axelrod,
1993, p. 10), and others because of the historical endeavor of discovering new land (Regard, 2009,
p. 29). This gives unclear picture of what actually was the reason behind the travel towards North
America, could it have been just one or several reasons that caused it? For some, the reasons are
clear of what actually caused the travel, while others tend to believe it could only have been one
major motive, which is also what many of the books indicates, as they tend only to focus on one
motive behind the travel towards North America and not several. What several of the books agree
is that the British settlers ran into a difficult time during the first year upon arrival, that they were
burdened by famine and diseases and that the winter took a lot of lives. The interesting part of
this is that the books tend to explain how bad the situation was for the British, but does not tell or
combine the motives behind the travelling, they wanted to make the British look weak and
unprepared, and hiding the real intentions as if ashamed of what happened later, that by having a
bad beginning in the New World justified their intentions.
When the British met the Native Indians some historians claim that their mindset was already
settled before they even got on their ship towards North America, that Columbus' words when he
arrived in North America has travelled up through the ages, and was still in effect once the British
set sail (Mulder, 2007, Chapter 1, p. 437). The meeting between the British and the Native Indians
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proved to be of a somewhat different matter. Some historians claim and partly also agree that the
British before they arrived had a negative mindset towards different cultures, that they expected
to meet a different culture considered below them, they came to North America with selective
eyes, looking out for confirmation of the expectations and beliefs that they had set out on their
journey (Regard, 2009, p. 29). Some of the diaries from that time and place confirm these views
even further, which even before the British had met the Native Indians they saw them as
cannibals, barbarians and by no means as friendly and should be considered as hostile (Greenberg,
2012, p. 43) and (Regard, 2009, p. 33). On this point the historians agree that the British did have
an already focused mindset of how their encounter with the Native Indians would turn out, but
why was it like that? The only real motive for this could be what Columbus brought back from his
travel in North American (Mulder, 2007, Chapter 1, p. 437) that his words and prejudice was the
main cause for how the British looked upon different cultures and societies, which caused a very
hostile approach to the Native Indians. Also with this approach towards the Indians, their religion
and conduct was looked upon as being of somewhat in contact with Satan, which is an effect that
could have been caused by Columbus' words when he get back to Europe. Could the encounter
between the British and the Native Indians have gone any different? It is difficult to believe
otherwise, and some historians also claim that it was because of Columbus' words, that the British
arrived in North America with a mindset, telling them that the Native Indians could not be trusted
and should never be trusted, and that the British saw themselves above the Native Indians' culture
(Mulder, 2007, Chapter 1, p. 437). Other historians believe that it was not because of Columbus,
but it was rather just the state of mind in that time, in which the Europeans were considered as
the elite and should remain that way, causing the meeting between the British and the Native
Indians to turn out negative (Greenberg, 2012, p. 43). I tend to believe that the human nature
always approach new things very cautiously whether or not that one's mind have been influenced
by others, one tend always to be careful when experiencing new things, But I believe that the
British approach was influenced by both Columbus' words but also by how the British culture was
at this point of time, with the mind of some elitist society.
Even though many of the British settlers saw the shamans, jugglers, magicians, as heathens and
servants of Satan, nonetheless they had to trade with the Native Indians. We know the first
settlers that the first settlers that arrived in the settlement Jamestown, came as traders seeking
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gold, furs and sassafras in general trading or selling material to make money whereas later it
turned into exploration of the continent (Axelrod, 1993, p. 10) The British were not succesful
during their first years of the British settlement Jamestown, they arrived unprepared and without
the knowledge of how to adapt on this new continent, leaving them dependent on the Native
Indians for the first couple of years. The British saw themselves above the Indian culture and
thereby were not pleased by being forced to trade with them in order to stay alive. But why
should the Native Indians trade with the British and vice versa? there are plenty of motives for
this, most historians claim that the main motive the first couple of years were because of famine
among the British, that they were forced to trade with the Native Indians, even though they did
not want too, that also explain the distrust that existed among the British and the Native Indians
(Axelrod, 1993, p. 10) and (Mulder, 2007, chapter 1, p. 18). It is also important to keep in mind
what caused the trade between the British and the Native Indians, something had triggered the
Native Indians to trade, and that was mostly because they saw the British as supernatural beings
on their weird boats, facial hair and items they carried, which the chiefs' in the tribe used to
improve their own social and political status (Mulder, 2007, chapter 1, p. 18). This shows us that
both sides wanted to trade but with different motives, the British because of famine and needed
to trade for food, the Native Indians to improve their status in the tribe, however other historians
claim that the British traded with the Native Indians to get food and wood, then transport it to
some of the isles close by for sugar production, as it was one of the most profitable crops in the
world and increasing production would benefit the empire as a whole. This statement tells us that
the motive for trading was not only because of famine, but was also because of the food and
wood needed for production of sugar (Plank, 2000, p. 47).
The meeting with the Native Indians proved to be an educational encounter for the British, as
explained in the analysis, but how the encounter turned out over the years proved to be a
different matter. Historians claim that the first couple of years of the settlement of Jamestown
combined with the encounter of the meeting with the Native Indians proved to be harsh on the
British settlers as out of 900 only 150 remained, which was caused by famine and diseases, but
also regularly attacks and betrayals by the Native Indians (Axelrod, 1993, p. 10). This is one of the
few things that historians agree on, that the encounter between the British and the Native Indians
turned out to be a hostile encounter in the end, but why did it turn out so? We know when the
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British first arrived in North America; they did not see the Native Indians as equals, but as
someone below them, giving them a negative approach, causing mistrust between the British and
the Native Indians, which could have been one of the reasons behind the wars that erupted later.
We know that the British looked upon the Native Indians' religion and conduct as of being in
collusion with Satan, which is shown on several occasions throughout the analysis; however we
are also shown that some of the British changed their view just slightly towards their religion and
conduct, after having spend time with one of their shamans because of being ill. Instead of seeing
them in connection with Satan, it was just throughout annoying with all the noises and rituals, but
was accepted over the years (Moore, 1982, p. 81). Why did the British look upon their religion and
conduct is being in collision with Satan? The reasons behind it could be because of the British
seeing them as cannibals and barbarians without actually having met them, a prejudice caused by
Columbus' words when he got back to Europe. The second reason could be that some of the local
Indians attacked them for no particular reason, causing a fraction between the British and the
Native Indians, and through that causing a negative view towards their religion and conduct.

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Conclusion
With the thesis statement, the task for this project was to find out what occurred between the
British and the Native Indians from 1607-1644, with focused view upon how the encounter
evolved from a meeting between traders to a hostile one. Also the project was to find out how the
British looked upon the Native Indians' religion and conduct. The study shows that an encounter
between the British and the Native Indians did occur and evolve from 1607-1644 being forced
trading from the British side in order to stay alive with a distrust towards the Native Indians. The
encounter did evolve over the years to the negative, which is also shown through the analysis;
several reasons caused this, but the two most outstanding is the point of view the British had
towards the Native Indians causing them to be apprehensive from the beginning, and then their
need to increase their sugar production, which required more land taken from the Native Indians,
causing the meeting to progress negatively and in the end to a war. The other reasons are not
what should be considered the main reasons behind the development of the meeting between the
British and the Native Indians, but neither should they be denied of existing, they should only be
measured as minor and not as major reasons. The study shows that the only motive that the
meeting between the British and the Native Indians even occurred, was because of their view
upon the newly arrived settlers, that they were considered supernatural beings, and the items
they possessed were considered supernatural, making the Native Indians interact with them. The
British view upon the Native Indians' religion and conduct show throughout the study without
much deviation, that they did not see the Native Indians as equals; in fact they were considered a
culture far below them and was also treated in that way. Their views were already predetermined
even before they arrived, which made the encounter between them and the Native Indians
prejudiced. Also, duo to their religious conviction they looked upon the Indians' religion as being in
collusion with Satan, harming the relation even more between them. It is important to take into
consideration that their views could have been affected by the words spoken by Columbus when
he arrived back in Europe, but also that the Christian way of life, their point of view, caused the
tension between the British and the Native Indians. Ultimately we can see that there was a
development between the British and the Native Indians that it turned from an encounter of
trading into hostile from 1607-1644, and also we can see how they looked upon the Native
Indians' religion and conduct, being an arrogant point of view.
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