In the article “Native Reactions to the Invasion of America,” James Axtell observes a stark contrast in perceptions of Colombian customs between 1892 and 1992. The distinction was that in 1892, Columbus was regarded as the “Admiral of the Ocean Sea,” with virtually non-existent Native Americans. However, in 1992, Columbus is no longer in the spotlight, and Native Americans are far more visible and unhappy about what has been depicted as a glorious period in history. Perhaps a golden age in European history, but it was the initiation of the end for indigenous Americans. He asserts that the “Columbian contact” was far from mutual. The Europeans “met” the Native People, but the Indigenous Americans responded.
According to Axtell, the clashes between Europeans and Indians were not as basic as Europe vs. Indians. Every colony engaged the Indigenous Americans differently. The Native Americans were divided into several tribes, each dealing with the European incursion on their territory differently. Most Indian tribes tried various tactics to preserve the status quo rather than defeating the Europeans. Axtell then outlines Europeans’ perceptions of Indigenous People as “savages” who sometimes and unintentionally acted civilized.
Additionally, he depicts the Indians’ perceptions of Europeans premised on their livelihoods and what they anticipated when encountering outsiders. According to Axtell, the Native Americans treated the Europeans as though they were gods or equals, at the very least. He describes their awe at European armament and fabric, which drove them to welcome Europeans into their communities and overwhelm them with presents, including Native American women.
Axtell describes how the communication barriers quickly became an issue and how the Europeans developed a language comparable to that used in coaching indigenous American children so that the Europeans could eventually interact with the Indian people more effectively. However, the Spanish invasion was different. Some Europeans were too arrogant to learn a foreign language and resorted to abducting a few Indians who were taken back to Spain and taught Spanish. Through this, the Europeans acquired interpreters. During their training period, the properly treated Indians were frequently eager to assist and learn a new language. However, those who were mishandled would often coach their tribes on the means of acquiring cheap goods.
Axtell defines the “second contact” as establishing colonies on the east coast. At that point, the Indians were quite aware of the positive things Whites would offer and some of the horrible things they would commit. When the British first met the Indians, some were hostile, but the British merely believed it was attributed to their “savage” customs. The Indians had no clue about the terrible illnesses like measles and smallpox that the British would bring upon arrival. Axtell discusses why Indigenous Americans were particularly susceptible to these illnesses. He asserts that most of the Indian treatment methods would exacerbate the diseases and enhance their spread. These illnesses killed a significant number of Indians until the whites taught them how to manage them.
Due to population declines in some tribes, they adopted various methods of population replenishment by taking captives from rival tribes. The conquering tribe would seize a sufficient number of people from a rival group and take them to their community for assimilation. Often, the convicts would take up the employment of a recently departed community member whose place they would fill. Another method of population replenishment was marrying foreigners and assimilating them into the tribe for cohabitation. Some tribes’ last recourse was leaving their native land and embracing another community, sometimes enemy tribes.
Axtell also discusses why certain tribes preferred to relocate to be close to the Europeans. An example is when numerous Native American tribes migrated closer to the town to trade and provide services following the foundation of Quebec in 1608. A similar incident also occurred in Mississippi and Louisiana. Furthermore, as the French discovered the Mississippi River’s utility, numerous Native Tribes relocated near the river to do business with the French.
According to Axtell, the Indians eventually grew reliant on European commerce and coped with the new trading behemoths in various ways. Making the Europeans compete was one of the ways Native Americans adopted to control the Europeans. They would trade with two competing European cities, forcing them to compete against one another while the Indians profit from the reduced pricing. Another method they utilized to cope with the need for European products was to offer their property to Europeans to either pay off their debts or get reduced pricing at European stores. Unfortunately, there would be numerous disagreements among tribes over who held the land while selling property, like in the Creeks and the Cherokees.
On the other hand, Delawares sold their property over a prolonged period, safeguarding their native land for far longer than was initially anticipated. Eventually, the Indians hit a tipping point and embraced the Europeans. They picked up their language, traditions, and even religion. Other households would take their youngsters to European schools to study math, so the tribal groups would not be deceived on agreements and exchanges. Additionally, the wives of the Native Americans accompanied their spouses to Europe and contributed to earning whatever amount of money they could by trading baskets and whisky.
Axtell reiterates that by embracing the Europeans, the Natives were facing cultural annihilation and explains why. One reason was that their tribes were continuously plagued by illnesses and relocated to keep up with European commerce. As a result, it only presented them with two alternatives: joining the local enemy tribes or the Europeans. Hence, joining the Westerners was the lesser evil for the Indians. Furthermore, through assimilating with the Europeans, they gained religion and knowledge and subsequently acquired authority. All of their understanding of arithmetic and foreign languages enabled them to develop better methods of trade and profit-making.
The tribal groups that stayed on their native land and practised their ancient traditions were disorganized as each group adopted its own norms and beliefs. As a result, it was quite challenging for the tribal groups to band together to form a credible resistance against the Europeans. The tougher tribes ultimately battled the Europeans to defend their territory with significant power to keep the Westerners off for a while. Still, the expanding European conquests would eventually seize the native’s land. Most Indians struggled to accept their impending defeat and turned to alcohol to release their frustrations. Another option was proposed by Native prophets who believed that the natives should shun all European products and commerce. Unfortunately, the lure of alcohol was more significant than the prophet’s appeal, and alcoholism became the demise of the surviving tribes.
