Relations between Indians and English settlers essays

Relations between Indians and English settlers essays Ever since the development of the Roanoke colony in 1585, the relationship between the English settlers and the Native Americans has always been unstable and dangerous. Native Americans would originally consider becoming allies with the new intruders, yet as time went on; a war would emerge between Native Americans and the English settlers as to control the land. This course of action -initially trying to be friends, and eventually ending up being archenemies- gives the impression of being the basic prototype that existed in the New World. One of the best examples to demonstrate the tensions that existed among the English settlers and the Indians is the settlers clash with the Powhatan tribe. When the English landed in Jamestown in 1607, the dominant tribe of the area was the Powhatan, which was named so after the tribes leader, Chief Powhatan. At first, the Powhatan thought that these new intruders might be able to aid them in their struggle for land and power over the other tribes in the area. However, such optimism in hopes of becoming allies vanished as English settlers ran out of food and started to steal and take food from the Native Americans. In 1610, any notion of alliance between the Powhatan and the Virginia settlers was instantaneously revoked when Lord De La Warr arrived with a declaration of war against all Indians in the Jamestown area. Lord De La Warr used his "Irish Tactics" of burning houses and crops and taking prisoners to destroy the Native Americans in what was known as the First Anglo-Powhatan war. A peace treaty was signed, but it only lasted eight years. The Powhatan killed 347 settlers, which lead to the Virginia Company giving orders for "a perpetual war without peace or truce." Although the Powhatan made one more attempt at destroying the Virginians, they were defeated again in the Second Anglo-Powhatan war. The peace treaty of 1646 eliminated all chance of the Powha...