The following discussion post will examine the interactions between indigenous, colonial, religious, and commercial cultures of Early North America. Firstly, it might be reasonable to begin the discussion with an analysis of the relationship between indigenous cultures. The example of Tisquantum, who guided the Pilgrims on diplomatic missions (1620-1622), demonstrates how the indigenous culture of the Patuxet helped establish trading relations, though he achieved the goal by terrifying his people (Bradford 137). The Algonquian also favored the economic exchange with the newcomers and regarded foreigners as autonomous and equal partners.
On the contrary, the Massachuset Indians expressed hostility against the Pilgrims. Massasoit, the leader of the Wampanoag people, promoted peace with the colonists and revealed a conspiracy plot that helped prevent an attack on the Wessagusett colony. Therefore, the indigenous cultures were not homogeneous in terms of their interactions with the settlers, as some were peaceful and complimentary (the Patuxet and the Wampanoag), while others were hostile.
Secondly, the relationships between colonial cultures should be addressed to understand the ways the settlers interacted. On the one hand, the colonial culture of the Puritans was centered around their loyalty to England. The culture of colonial New England can be characterized by the intolerance and cruelty of its early settlers toward dissidents. On the other hand, the Declaration of Independence (1776) shows the conflict between the Puritan views and the colonial culture of the Pilgrims, who were searching for religious freedom. The Pilgrims eventually became the patriots, who wanted to protect their new American identity from the British influence and restore “common sense” in their colonies (Onuf 83). They also rejected their ties with Great Britain due to the “tyranny” of the empire and formed an alliance with France (Jefferson).
The conflict of colonial cultures resulted in the political division during the American Revolutionary War separating the settlers into the Loyalists supporting Great Britain and the Patriots fighting against the British rule over the colonies.
Thirdly, it is worth considering the role of the religious culture of early North America and its interaction with other cultures. John Winthrop, the Puritan leader of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, formulated his model of Christian charity and applied it to a newly settled region of New England. The governor encouraged the colonists to adopt the Christian principles of “wisdom, goodness and truth” to achieve economic prosperity and successfully manage plantations (Winthrop).
The Christian culture complemented the colonial development because it helped establish morality and collective discipline required to build “a city upon a hill” where the church was a center of social and political life (Winthrop). Winthrop discouraged his fellow settlers from approaching other religions, Baptists and Quakers were prosecuted, while James I in the Charter of New England (1620) planned to convert the Native “Savages” into Christians (Miller 663). These strategies reflect the religion’s conflict with indigenous cultures due to the colonists’ economic motives, religious intolerance, and the goal to conquer the native population to seize the land.
Finally, the European and Indian commercial cultures successfully co-existed and complimented each other. The relationship between Algonquian-speaking Natives and the Europeans began in 1600 when the Indians began trading agricultural surpluses and craft products for copper and iron tools (Salisbury 448). The French established exchanges with Indians and monopolized the land in Cape Cod, while the Dutch were commercially active around the Hudson River and the east of Cape Cod.
Thus, the European traders and the Indians supported mutually beneficial economic relationships. However, there was a conflict between the English and the French/the Dutch because of the formerly experienced failures due to their reputation as violent and obsessive invaders among the Indians. The English commercial dominance strengthened after “the sequence of epidemics, the immigration, and war”, and the Indians became dependent on Rhode Island in exchange for protection in 1644 (Salisbury 451). Overall, the Natives adapted to the practices of the colonists and foreign merchants, and the commercial cultures supported mutually profitable relationships.
Works Cited
Bradford, William. Of Plymouth Plantation. Wright and Potter, 1901.
Jefferson, Thomas. Declaration of Independence. Collections of the National Archives, 1776.
Miller, Robert. “Religious Conscience in Colonial New England.” Journal of Church and State, vol. 50, no. 4, 2008, pp. 661–676.
Onuf, Peter. “American Exceptionalism and National Identity.” American Political Thought, vol. 1, no. 1, 2012, pp. 77–100.
Salisbury, Neal. “The Colonizing of Indian New England.” The Massachusetts Review, vo. 26, no. 2/3, 1985, pp. 447–460.
Winthrop, John. A Model of Christian Charity. Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, 1630.