The Impact of European Colonization on Native American Civilization

This article discusses the main reasons behind the collapse of native civilization in America, focusing on the impact of European colonization. It explores the effects of diseases, agriculture, inter-tribal tensions, and slavery on the native population. The article also examines the role of religious indoctrination in shaping America's culture and society. Additionally, it highlights the significant influence of British colonizers on present-day America. The content includes multiple-choice questions, explanations, historical connections, and geographic connections.

PART I – MCQ’S AND THEIR EXPLANATIONS
1. What was the main reason behind the collapse of the native civilization?
a. Increase in diseases
b. Agriculture
c. Internal inter-tribal tensions
d. European colonization
The backbone to every land is its native population, and America’s indigenous tribe lost its
battle to time. Though factors like the rampant increase in disease due to exploitation of
resources, physical weakening due to agriculture, and inter-tribal civil tensions and war, the
main reason was colonization, as this lead to complete cultural change, and slavery of the
natives, leading to their collapse (Stanford University Press, 2019).
2. Why was slavery inevitable?
a. Increase in indigenous population
b. Increase in Agriculture and Trade
c. Religious indoctrination
d. Migration of the native population
The practice of slavery was a gradual progression in America, from its colonial days to even
after its independence. The increase in population and migration of native population was a
result of increasing prosperity of the land and did not have anything to do with slavery. Even
though religious indoctrination played a role, the major reason why the practice of slavery
was started was the increasing demand for workforce due to flourishing agriculture and trade
(Stanford University Press, 2019).
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3. How did the religious indoctrination impact America’s culture?
a. Rise of slavery
b. Political influences
c. Social regression
d. Rise of internal dissent
The Native American beliefs and customs were mostly lifestyle and society oriented. With
the advent of the European colonizers, religion and its various forms was brought to the land.
Attempts to indoctrinate people to subsects of religious beliefs, though did cause influences
of religious beliefs in politics, an internal dissent, and played a large role in justification of
slavery, its major role was in the development of a social regressive behavior and ideology
(Corrigan, Johnson, & McAlister, 2017).
4. Which country’s colonizers created the maximal impact to present day America?
a. Spain
b. Portugal
c. France
d. England
European colonization was indeed a face-changing experience for the United States. Though
Spain was the first nation to colonize the American land; France and Portugal to establish and
expand trade, it was the British colonizing powers that surpassed the other colonies in
economic might, leading to America’s war of Independence (Calloway, 1994).
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PART II – KEY ID’S, THEIR SAMPLE ANSWERS, AND EXPLANATIONS
ID 1 – EUROPEAN COLONIZATION OF AMERICA
Sample Answer - America was first explored by the Spanish settlers in 1492 and was a
colony of Europe for three centuries until its independence in 1763.
Explanation - The American land was discovered by Europeans, and immediately, the native
Americans were subdued, and the colonial settlements begin. This changed the course of
America’s lifestyle, snowballing many social changes such as agriculture, trade, warfare, and
slavery (Hunt, 2016).
ID 2 – SLAVERY
Sample answer - Slavery, the practice of using fellow humans as property to perform unpaid
labor, was practiced in America during the colonial days. This was a by-product of the
flourishing agricultural trade, and the practice continued till its abolishment in the 19th
Century.
Explanation - Slavery in America was an inevitable outcome of the colonial rule, wherein
both the indigenous natives and the racial castes of African origin were subject to inhuman
treatment (Angeles & Elizalde, 2017).
ID 3 – RELIGIOUS INDOCTRINATION
Sample Answer - The Colonization of the United States brought about varied religious
orders to establish their foot in the natives. This led to major cultural, social, and political
changes within the people and enabled indoctrination.
Explanation - The culture of the native Americans was greatly influenced by migration, and
by European colonization. The religious imperatives of Catholicism had justified colonialism,
thus giving rise to the various forms of Christianity (Pleck, 2018).
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PART III – HISTORICAL CONNECTIONS
Connection 1
Fact 1 - Native American society was mostly matrilineal and had a wide cultural
freedom
Fact 2 - Interracial marriages started gaining prominence in Colonial America
The wide berth of freedom that was enjoyed by the native tribes of America, encouraged
people to interact with other cultures and customs, and marry into various tribes. Post
colonization, this practice, though was not appreciated in European cultures, slowly gained
prominence, and created a lot of interracial marriages (Stanford University Press, 2019).
Connection 2
Fact 1 - Agriculture started flourishing in Colonial America
Fact 2 – Slave trade became more prominent
When the European colonizers discovered that the fertile land of America was suitable to
cultivate Sugar and Tobacco, it changed the face of resource generation. However, this
required a lot of manpower, whom upon regular labor would pinch into the profits. Thus,
there was a huge demand for unpaid labor, which was the reason the practice of slavery
originated (Borucki, Eltis, & Wheat, 2015).
Connection 3
Fact 1 – European colonizers settled in America
Fact 2 - Diseases became rampant in Colonial America
When European colonizers settled into the land, there was an inevitable unrest between the
natives and the settlers. The migration of people from a different geography, combined with
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the competition for the existing resources, led to the rampage of various epidemics, endemics,
and pandemics hitting colonial America at once, causing widespread destruction (Stanford
University Press, 2019).
Connection 4
Fact 1 – Religious indoctrination was started by the European Colonizers
Fact 2 – Patterns of Societal regression was observed in parts of America
The European colonizers started their religious indoctrination to the people of the native land,
thus influencing the existing societal and cultural beliefs. This led to a change from the
general freedom of the societal norms, to a more conservative and religious outlook in the
people. This invariably has changed the present outlook from a once matrilineal to a
patriarchal one (Stanford University Press, 2019).
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PART IV – GEOGRAPHIC CONNECTIONS
Connection 1
Fact 1 – There was a steady increase in the population of native Americans.
Fact 2 - Ecological changes occurred in the land, leading to natural disasters.
The potential of the American land was tapped into agricultural and natural resources, and the
native population began to settle in wherever the land was fertile. This led to changes in the
population density and an imbalance of natural resources. Thus, ecological changes occurred,
causing natural disasters (Stanford University Press, 2019).
Connection 2
Fact 1 - Slave Trade began to increase in Colonial America
Fact 2 - European consumerism for sugar and tobacco showed increase.
With the increase in agricultural profits, the demand for slave trade increased in colonial
America. This led to increased supply-demand of the trading system, causing a high export-
import value of American products. As a result, the European market for American
merchandise showed a great increase, changing the face of the global economy (Stuchtey,
2017).
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PART V – OVERALL TAKEAWAY – HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES
Thesis Statement
The discovery of the American land by the Europeans, establishment of a colonial
stronghold and agricultural trade, and the practice of slave trade play some of the most
inevitable yet undeniably significant parts in the history of the United States.
Supporting Evidence
The history of the United states is as old as the history of mankind. The earliest
documented humans to have inhabited the land are the indigenous Native Americans, known
as the Indians. The culture and the lifestyle of the people flourished on trade. Trade provided
the opportunity of greater explorations, and thus the settlements began to diversify, and
population expansion followed. However, a marked social, political, and cultural change
followed once the European settlement arrived in the United States, and the land became a
European colony (Stanford University Press, 2019).
The English, Italian, Portuguese, French, Spanish and Dutch colonizers began
rampant settlements in the united states, thus causing a maximal damage to the indigenous
native population, by subjecting them to inhuman cruelty. This led to disease, warfare,
religious indoctrination, and rise of calamities caused by natural imbalances (Cameron,
Kelton, & Swedlund, 2015).
Agriculture was largely influenced by the colonizing powers; however, this set the
stage for creating what the United States of America is today. While agricultural yield such as
Sugar and tobacco saw a great yield that led to the flourishing of trade, it needed an
overwhelming dependence on slave trade, thus snowballing the practice that would later take
the 19th century to be abolished. It is indeed evident that geography and history are two
intertwined elements in a nation’s development.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Angeles, L., & Elizalde, A. (2017). Pre-colonial institutions and socioeconomic
development: The case of Latin America. Journal of Development Economics.
Borucki, A., Eltis, D., & Wheat, D. (2015). Atlantic history and the slave trade to Spanish
America. The American Historical Review, 433-461.
Calloway, C. (1994). The world turned upside down - Indian voices from early America.
Bedford.
Cameron, C., Kelton, P., & Swedlund, A. (2015). Beyond Germs: Native Depopulation in
North America. University of Arizona Press.
Corrigan, J., Johnson, S., & McAlister, S. (2017). American Religion and the World.
Religion & American Culture Biennial Conference Proceedings, (pp. 33-40).
Hunt, E. (2016). Colonization: Evaluating the right of groups to settle other lands.
Pleck, E. (2018). Slavery in Puritan New England. 305-313.
Stanford University Press. (2019). Colliding Cultures. In The American YAWP. Stanford
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Stanford University Press. (2019). The New World. In The American YAWP. Stanford
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Stuchtey, B. (2017). Colonialism and imperialism - 1450-1950. Retrieved from European
history online: https://d-nb.info/1031400591/34
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