Introduction
The history of the United States is that of constant competition, both among various groups of immigrants and between them and the indigenous peoples. It is not quite reasonable, however, to regard all of those conflicts through the identical lens, as the nature of the opposition could differ from one case to another; the consequences, therefore, also are dissimilar. Thus, the ways British colonists regarded Native Americans and the black apparently were not identical, which determined the unequal positions of those in the newly created society.
Main body
Although the Europeans were different from the indigenous in racial as well as religious terms, the former hardly considered the latter inferior. Rather, these two groups were direct and generally equal competitors for the territory (Healey and Stepnick 111). This aspect actually remains the cornerstone of the misunderstandings between Native and white Americans, while the cultural contexts do not mingle, and the threat of assimilation is minimal.
It is noteworthy that at the early stages of the colonisation, the prevalence of power frequently belonged to the locals, which was another reason why hardly any prejudice-based dominance over them was possible. Notably, the first colonists were not numerous, poorly familiar with the land, and often lacked military experience (Healey and Stepnick 111). The first decades, therefore, naturally were unsuccessful; later, a sufficient amount of new human as well as material resources was accumulated, and the balance shifted. In fact, the conflict between the native peoples and the immigrants was an ordinary war between the equal with the use of traditional force methods.
Africans, on the contrary, were not recognized and originally quite difficult opponents, but labor force, whose function lied in enabling a stable supply of the necessary goods in the forming communities. In other words, the relationship between them and Europeans rested on supposed superiority from the beginning, which continues to cause integration and equality issues even in the modern United States (Healey and Stepnick 110). In the epoch under review, meanwhile, the imperious attitude towards the given group of population resulted in enslaving its representatives.
As essential nuance is that not all servants were black; furthermore, many colonists gave their preference to the white, presumably, due to the stronger cultural similarity and, subsequently, trust. The more adequate perception allowed for closer interaction with the masters, in which position it was easier to demand the appropriate working conditions (Healey and Stepnick 111). In addition, the considerable quantitative prevalence of white laborers enabled them to leave their masters with a minimum of human resources in case of any violations, and that was another reason for considering their needs. The black fellows, who did not have such advantages, were experiencing the ever-worse deprivation of rights that eventually grew into slavery.
Summary
To summarize, although the British colonists of North America were in a confrontation with both the indigenous population and the servants of African origin, the cases are incomparable. The former were regarded as enemies, with whom the conflict was direct and acute; actually, it is quite relevant to label it a war. On the contrary, labor force were initially considered inferior to the masters, especially the black representatives, who were more different ethnically and religiously. In the context of the poor presence of civil rights and permanent competition in the state under formation, the oppression developed into enslaving the black.
Work Cited
Healey, Joseph F., and Andi Stepnick. Diversity and Society: Race, Ethnicity, and Gender. 6th Ed., SAGE Publications, Inc., 2019.