ipl-logo

Cultural Clash Of Native Americans

1520 Words7 Pages

Since their initial encounter with the Europeans in the late fifteenth century, Native Americans have lost a tremendous amount of their beliefs, values, and tribal practices. This loss in social cohesion has been the outcome of the cultural clash, or conflict between cultures, with the colonization of the Americas by the Europeans. The social distinction between the members of indigenous populations and the Spaniards resulted in the formation of new races and religion, which is accounted to be part of the reason for the diversity of culture in the Americas today. Articles such as: “Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico,” “Body and Soul Among the Maya,” “Indigenous Eroticism and Colonial Morality in Mexico,” and “Art and Society in Highland …show more content…

One of the most prominent factors of the cultural clash that led to the successful conquest on behalf the Europeans was the different perspectives from which each group viewed one another. At first the Indians did not see any kind of peril; due to the fact that Europeans never attempted to hurt the members of the Pre-Columbian era, the indigenous people viewed them as harmless individuals. The Indians believed they had little to fear from these odd-looking people with their strange ways. Additionally, Indians were very tolerant to foreign cultures and their practices; for example, they were very flexible and accepted the introduction of European cultural elements. They saw no reason why they couldn't worship both their gods and those of the Spaniards at the same time. In contrast, Europeans only believed in one god and the worship of any other was a sin. Although Indians welcomed change, English people were opposed to integration, and those who were caught doing it were sanctioned. As a case in point, consider how Hernan Cortes took over Mexica. “The Aztecs thought the strangers were [gods] returning from over the sea, while Spaniards –despite their amazement at the splendors of Tenochtitlan- considered the Aztecs barbarians and thought only of seizing their riches and of forcing them to become …show more content…

In exchange for their religious teachings on Catholicism and new technology to produce, the Europeans were given riches from the Native Americans to trade with other parts of the world. The different manners with which each group viewed one another, the distinction between their perspectives regarding the importance of property, and the contrasting ideas of life procreation and its religious symbolism were part of the many factors that caused this regional clash. The cultural collision of the Europeans and the Natives also resulted in the formation of new races and religion that are followed by today’s society. The extermination of tribal rituals and eradication of anyone who followed them caused a massive destruction of the elements of the ancient Pre-Columbian era, giving researchers the right and justification to claim that the Conquest almost resulted in a catastrophic

Show More
Related

  • Negotiations Of Working Among Native Americans In Spain, And France

    694 Words  | 3 Pages

    The first encounters with Native American were quite different between the European countries, such as Spain, England, and France. While Spain tried to spread Catholicism using violence, England colonized with any intention of working among Native Americans, and France was just interested in negotiating. In this essay I will first cover some context about Spain and Native Americans. Secondly, I will describe what Cristopher Columbus observed in Native Americans according to the document Major Problems in American History Volume I. Finally, I will explain how Spanish tortured Native Americans based on Bartolome de las Casas essay in the same document mentioned before.

    Read More

  • How Did Native Americans Contribute To The Rise Of Industrialization

    537 Words  | 3 Pages

    This topic was one of the many topics that I found quite interesting. When Europeans first arrived at the shores of the Americas, their main motivation was to find new land filled with riches, golden cities, and opportunities, and establish ideal communities based on the lives of early Christian saints. Many European settlers each had their own motivation to explore but they ultimately wanted one thing, access to more money. They treated people who were already living on that land as mere means to get what they wanted. The Columbian exchange was the stepping stone for the rise of industrialization in the new

    Read More

  • The Moral Effects Of The Columbian Exchange

    830 Words  | 4 Pages

    Historians differ on what they think about the net result of the European arrival in the New World. Considering that the Columbian Exchange, which refers to “exchange of plants, animals, people, disease, and culture between Afro-Eurasia and the Americas after Columbus sailed to the Americas in 1492,” led to possibly tens of millions of deaths on the side of the American Indians, but also enabled agricultural and technological trade (Henretta et al. 42), I cannot help but reflect on whether the effects should be addressed as a historical or a moral question. The impact that European contact had on the indigenous populations of North America should be understood as a moral question because first, treating it as a historical question is difficult due to lack of reliable historical evidence; second, the meaning of compelling historical claims is contestable as the academic historian perspective tends to view the American Indian oral history as invalid; and finally, what happened to the native Indians is morally repulsive and must be discussed as such. The consequences of European contact should be answered as a moral question because historically, it is hard to be historically objective in the absence of valid and dependable historical evidence.

    Read More

  • Cultural Differences: Similarities Between Spanish And Native Americans

    1187 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the 16th Century, Spain became one of the European forces to reckon with. To expand even further globally, Spanish conquistadors were sent abroad to discover lands, riches, and North America and its civilizations. When the Spanish and Native American groups met one another, they judged each other, as they were both unfamiliar with the people that stood before them. The Native American and Spanish views and opinions of one another are more similar than different because when meeting and getting to know each other, neither the Spaniards nor the Native Americans saw the other group of people as human. Both groups of people thought of one another as barbaric monsters and were confused and amazed by each other’s cultures.

    Read More

  • The Indian New World James Merrell Analysis

    696 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Europeans came mostly in peace; however, the Native Americans saw the newcomers as a threat to their livelihood. Amoroleck, an Indian captured by the Europeans after a clash between the two, explained that the Native Americans attacked the settlers because they believed the settlers “were a people come from under the world, to take their world from them.” (Merrell 45) With early conflicts, neither party was coming out victorious with their losses out numbering their winnings between the Indians and Europeans. Eventually, the Native Americans would accept the Europeans and even live jointly, aiding one another whether it was determining the best hunting grounds, planting the right crops in the right area, or incorporating lifestyles by helping round up escaped slaves. The two parties learned to make the most out and how to benefit from each other.

    Read More

  • How The Rabbit Got Its Long Ears Analysis

    193 Words  | 1 Pages

    The indigenous peoples of the Americas portray themselves as noble savages, guileless, and easy to dominate over. As for their cultures, their environment shapes what type of things they are best at. For example, if they were great swimmers, that meant that they were capable of fishing and bringing back food. In the readings Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca and Bartolome de la casas, it shows contrasting characterization of culture, personal lifestyles, and literature than from the other readings Otters Bare Tail and How the Rabbit got Its Long Ears. From a variety of different views, these stories analysis how the native americans transformed after the contact of the Europeans.

    Read More

  • Spanish Relationship With Native Americans

    368 Words  | 2 Pages

    Europe, such as Spain, France, and England, have had different language, culture, political system, religion and more, which they developed by themselves in their civilization. In the late 1400s to 1500s, Europeans started the colonization and economic competitions each other between countries to get more assets since their resources and lands were limited and not enough. At that time, Spaniards and French had the same purpose for exploring the New World such as pursuing wealth, winning the economic competition, but they approached to Native Americans in different ways. The difference between these two countries when they encounter with Indians was the relationship with Native Americans. Spanish and Christopher Columbus were too absorbed on finding golds and slaves to make a thriving trade when Spain discovered the new land and met Native Americans.

    Read More

  • Culture Shock In Native American Culture

    568 Words  | 3 Pages

    Culture shock is a feeling insecurity, confusion, and anxiety that a person experience when they are unfamiliarity with a different culture customs, belief, values, language, and norms. When experience culture stock the person we feel culture shock because the new culture has different norms from our own; which these new norms we don’t know how to act appropriately in our new environment and the people in our new environment act differently than what we are used to. Also for people who have fantasy about a country will feel unhappy and confused if those fantasy didn’t turn out as they had thought it would. When cultural shock happening same people might becoming homesick, starting to withdrawal or spending time with people who are the same

    Read More

  • Que Vivan Los Tamales Analysis

    560 Words  | 3 Pages

    Que Vivan Los Tamales analyses the history of Mexico's evolving national identity via food. Mexican cuisine has changed dramatically from the the era of the aztecs, to the period of Spanish colonialism through to the Porfiriato dictatorship. Through these periods we we see food being used in a manner to unify the nation and create a national united identity. Below I will argue how the country attempted to unify its people though cuisine. When the Spanish conquered Mexico, they tried to impose old world techniques and spices onto the Mexicans.

    Read More

  • Cultural Differences Between Europeans And Native Americans

    891 Words  | 4 Pages

    Upon the first colonial establishments, the Europeans viewed Native Americans as uncultured, unintelligent, and uncivilized. The first colonizers found themselves ultimately superior to the perceived rudimentary cultural and societal customs that were observed. Native Americans viewed Europeans as a strictly one sided cultural mass enforcement foreign establishment, stopping at nothing to enforce their perceived superiority in all forms of cultural and societal aspects. Differences in land use, gender roles, and societal history added to the wedging and hostility between the Native Americans and European people. Upon the European's first impression of Native American culture, the first notable aspect of their "species" and society was their promising outlook as potential slave laborers.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Native American Culture

    1132 Words  | 5 Pages

    Compare and Contrast the Native American Culture Introduction The Native Americans were the original owners of the United States of America. However, due to the population increase in Europe, the European migrated to America in seek of land for farming, settlement, and spread their religion (Desai, n.p). The two communities lived together and interacted with each other.

    Read More

  • How Did The Europeans Affect Native Americans

    1079 Words  | 5 Pages

    In contrast, the Spanish were able to conquer the Aztecs and Incas much quicker. Some of this was due to help they received from other groups of Natives and the situations that were present in these societies when the Spanish arrived. Most of this was due to the debilitating effects European diseases had on Native Americans. Another difference between the two groups’ interactions is the different ways the Africans and Native Americans reacted to the Europeans’ presence. Since the Americas had been isolated from the rest of the world before 1492, they did not know how to react to the arrival of the Europeans and were frightened by how different they were.

    Read More

  • Native Americans In 1492 Essay

    883 Words  | 4 Pages

    Before the Spanish ship that changed it all, which arrived in the “New World” in 1492, thriving organized communities of native people had centuries of history on the land. That ship, skippered by Christopher Columbus, altered the course of both Native American and European history. 1492 sparked the fire of cultural diffusion in the New World which profoundly impacted the Native American peoples and the European settlers. Prior to European contact, Native Americans lived as hunter-gatherers, living and traveling in groups of typically less than 300 people. These Native Americans spoke over 400 languages and practiced a myriad of different religions (The American Pageant).

    Read More

  • Native American Culture And Its Effects On Modern Society

    1098 Words  | 5 Pages

    When people think of the United States they often think of it as the land of opportunity. The Place America comes to mind and it signifies a hope of opportunities they can’t find in their own country. Almost every person who lives or immigrated to the USA desires to be in the US to live a better life. Even white people wanted this so they have stolen someone's home we stomp on their culture before there was anything left as a significant part of American society. From the 16th century all the way up to the 19th century.

    Read More

  • Positive And Negative Effects Of American Colonization

    117 Words  | 1 Pages

    While the colonization of the America’s was negative for many reasons such as the spread of illnesses, and the forcing of religion upon natives, it was also beneficial to the Native’s because it allowed them to have better weapons and to have different foods and goods in their lives. The Europeans exposed the Natives to many new diseases once they colonized the new areas they discovered. The Europeans greatly impacted the family life and religion of the inhabitants of the areas they found. There was also a lot of exchange going on during the conquest of the Americas because the Natives were excited by the new gadgets they had never seen before that the Europeans brought over.

    Read More

More about Cultural Clash Of Native Americans

Open Document