essay-zt 6 pages

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Yunwen Feng

HIST 101

Professor Michael Alarid

June 22, 2020

Midterm Essay

1) Compare and contrast how Native Americans were treated by two of the three major European

colonies from their inceptions to the 1790s (you must choose two from the Spanish, French, and

English to compare and contrast). How would Native Americans describe each of the two colonies

you have chosen? What important historical events would they mention to categorize their

relationships with each European power? In the end, who might Native Americans say treated

those best? Cover as many historical events as you can to answer this question. However, please

do not write as though you were an individual Native American.

1492 to 1700 is the period when the major objective of powerful nations of the world

became the discovery, exploration, and settlement. At that time, the most powerful nations were

England and Spain. Amerigo Vespucci was the explorer from Spain who discovered America

which started the interaction between the Native Americans and the Spanish Empire which

included the exchange of livestock and gold. In 1493 through the Treaty of Tordesillas, Spain was

given full control over America. On the other hand, in 1497 English Empire first time claimed

their right over the new world when John Cabot started his voyages under the rule of Henry VII.

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The major causes behind both colonizers were access to more natural resources and money,

expansion of their empire, power, and territory, and achievement of noble status. Spanish

colonizers treated Native Americans as heathens and subjected them to convert to Christianity

forcefully but on the other hand, early English colonizers developed a healthy and trustful

relationship with Natives at first until greed took over their intentions.

Both English and Spanish colonizers started their plantation in the new world and they also

ravaged the Native people including their population and culture. In the start, Spain was considered

more successful but soon English beat the Spanish Armada and initiated their exploration. The

formation of Joint-stock companies was the economic opportunity for the middle class of England.

Both colonizers English and Spanish ravaged the Native Americans but the Spanish empire forced

them to convert to Catholicism, which generated a more hostile relationship between Spanish

explorers and Native Americans (Schaller 32). They also decapitated Native Americans in their

early expeditions especially in Florida (Schaller 33). Spanish colonizers forced them to speak the

Spanish language and use the Spanish tools in their plantations and technique (Schaller 50).

Spanish colonizers were mainly Catholics who never allowed Protestants to settle there.

On the other hand, English colonizers were non-Catholics and also showed tolerance towards the

other religious practitioners. English colonizers also believed in God but they never condoned the

non-converts and rather they welcomed the non-converts in their Quaker community under the

William Penn who is considered the founder of the Proprietary colony of Pennsylvania. It was a

relaxed and rather liberal colony. In the start, English traders heavily dependent on the Native

Americans for the trade and their survival which helped them to develop good relationships with

them. They welcomed and gained the trust of Natives to strengthen their colonies.

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Spanish took the help of African slaves and also hired Native Americans as slaves to run

their plantations especially the sugar plantations which led to the formation of the new social order

in the country, which was also seen under the colonization of England. The inability of Spanish

invaders to blend into Native lifestyle is considered one of the major causes behind their

unsuccessful expeditions (Schaller 135) and the Tuscarora War showed the Indian power and

wrath against them (Schaller 138). The Jamestown colony was formed by the English Empire in

1607 which helped them in making profits but their motivation and morale increased when John

Rolfe arrived and married a Native American woman Pochahontas who helped him in developing

successful Tobacco plantation at large scale. It increased the economic benefits for Britain and it

was one of the major steps towards developing an Agricultural economy of the Southern states. It

shows that they treated Native Americans like equals in the start. It also helped them to grow fast

as compared to the Spanish colonizers because Spanish could not establish permanent settlements

for several years until when Huguenot strategically built the for in Florida in the middle of the 16th

century (Schaller 37).

Spanish colonizers majorly depended on the intimidation tactics to control the Native

Americans. They also forced them to follow their world view and lifestyle. On the other hand,

English colonizers majorly focused on developing healthy relationships with the Indians first. They

mainly focused on reestablishing their lands by strategies alliance. Spain and England started to

become enemies in their home nations as well on the religious grounds which also led them to

fight and complete their control and colonization in the new world as well (Schaller 36). English

colonizers became the major rivals of the early successful Spanish colonizers and Native

Americans helped English colonizers in their claims against Spanish colonizers. Native Americans

would consider English colonizers better as they included them in daily activities and trades, as

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compared to Spanish colonizers but later English colonizers ended up ravaging them of their lands

and culture as well.

2) Describe and analyze the most important historical moments in the transformation of the

English colonies from a collection of loyal colonists to American Revolutionaries. You need not -

and cannot - cover every transformative moment, but the moments you choose should be formative

in the development from colony to nation. During this development, how were the definitions of

English ideals, such as liberty, freedom, equality, citizenship, and voting, changed and

reinterpreted in the American colonies over time? Cover at least three of those ideals and be sure

to include a short discussion of the ideals you choose to cover in relation to the American

Revolution and the debate over the U.S. Constitution.

The English ideals i.e. freedom, liberty, voting, equality, and citizenship was cherished by

the American colonizers as much as the British citizens. The realization of not having similar

values among the American subjects of the British Empire led them to fight for their rights which

ultimately became the major ideals of the founders of the United States. In this essay, major

historical transformative events towards the American revolution will be discussed and analyzed

through the lens of English ideals i.e. liberty, freedom, and voting which later became the

American ideals recognized by the United States constitution.

British Empire achieved victory in the French and Indian war but it caused them huge

economic loss which led them to enforce tax laws, reform colonial administration and deploys

additional troops in America which gave rise to the conflicts between the loyal colonists and

British Empire. By the mid 18th century, the relationship between the British administration and

American colonists became more acrimonious and strained. Americans realized their lack of

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representation in the Parliament who decides the enactment of acts and laws for their land and

area. Different acts passed by the British government including the Townshend Act 1767, Stamp

Act 1765, and Tea Act 1773 fueled the Americans and resultantly many protests were observed

(Schaller 233). British further applied more laws including the Currency Act, the Sugar Act, and

the Quartering Act. They also objected to their lack of representation in the British Parliament and

they also wanted to gain the same rights as the ones normal British subjects enjoy including their

right to vote, which gave birth to the party of Whigs (Schaller 229).

The lack of freedom in the hands of the British Empire leads to the protests that resulted in

the violence in 1770. An unfortunate event took place which is remembered as a Boston Massacre

in which British soldiers killed five colonists during the protest (Schaller 235). It leads to further

resentment among the Americans towards the British Empire and helped Americans from each

corner of the country to be united against British imperialism. Several events in the next decades

proved to be even more deadly which Americans perceived as an attack on their independence and

freedom. They were stripped of their right and freedom to peacefully protest against the decision

by the imperial government which also increased sense of resentment (Schaller 236).

In order to reinstate will for liberty, in 1773, an event occurred in which several people

from Boston portrayed to be Mohawk Indians and dumped several chests of tea into the sea as a

protest which is known as Boston Tea Party (Schaller 239). It infuriated the British Parliament

even further that caused them to take stricter measured including the Coercive Act and Intolerance

Act. They also reasserted the imperial government in different parts of America. Under the

Intolerance act, they punished several protestors of the Boston Tea Party and also prohibited them

to raise their voice against British policies. In contrast, these acts and laws compelled the

Americans to be united because they all shared the same grievances. They joined their hands

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against the British administration which gave birth to organizations like Sons of Liberty. It also

gave voice to the war hawks who wanted to get freedom and liberty from the imperial power

(Schaller 241). The ideas of enlightenment being were already made their way into the minds of

the population through the enlightenment thinkers in their books, newspapers, and pamphlets,

especially the thinkers and politicians John Locke lead the nation towards recognizing their rights

of liberty, life, and property (Schaller 229).

The major ideals of the British Empire including liberty, freedom, and right to vote were

recognized and interpreted by the American colonizers in their own terms because they wanted the

similar rights which an independent nation enjoys. They wanted equal representation in the

parliament and also protested to gain the right for voting, especially for the acts and laws

concerning them. They wanted to live as an independent nation with freedom and liberty. After

the revolutionary war and winning the independence from British Empire, the founding members

of the United States of America reinstated similar ideals for the constitution of their country

(Schaller 262). They provided the right to vote to all male members along with declaring them

independent of any kind of colonization or imperial power. At the same time, citizens were given

the right of freedom to protest or provide their opinion regarding governmental decisions. They

gave birth to the democratic principles of liberty and independence of every citizen.

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Work Cited

Schaller, Michael, et al. American horizons: US history in a global context. Oxford University

Press, 2018.