Did Europe Destroy Native American Culture?|5-Minute Videos
It is indisputable that Native Americans suffered awfully after the arrival of European inhabitants, but was this the result of malice or awful inevitability? Jeff Fynn-Paul, teacher of social and financial history at Leiden University and author of Not Stolen: The Truth About European Colonialism in the New World, explores what took place when the Old World fulfilled the New.
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Script:
Let’s say Columbus and his flotilla of three little ships never made it to the Western hemisphere. Do we envision he would have been the last explorer to head west from Europe looking for a new trade route to India?
Of course not.
As Soon As the New World was found, the maritime European powers– England, the Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal had a strong inspiration to establish colonies. If they didn’t, they ‘d be at a competitive disadvantage to their competitors.
It’s human nature to move toward new opportunities. No one stated and assembled a conference, “How can we best extract gold from the American River without interrupting the natural beauty of the land?”
No, masses of people rushed into the area at the very first opportunity.
So it was with the discovery of the New World. As quickly word got out that the world didn’t end in a void someplace in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, traders and fishermen sailed throughout the sea by themselves, in hopes of scoring a fortune.
Yes, their exceptional technology in firearms provided an edge over Native Americans in a battle. Who desired a battle? Most of these early adventurers did whatever they could to prevent a conflict.
Obviously, no one prepared for that the locals would have practically no defense against the microorganisms that these adventurers brought with them. It wasn’t prepared and it couldn’t have actually been prevented.
It just took place.
By the time Jamestown was founded in 1607, illness had currently reaped its dreadful toll.
Even before the Europeans showed up, the population of North America was sparse. Farming without draft animals and hunter-gathering can only support a tiny population at the best of times. On the other hand, the wheat, barley, and rye culture of the Old World can support far greater numbers.
Add this to the fact that the population of Europe was quickly expanding while arable land on the continent was declining and the motion west throughout the Atlantic was inevitable.
Absolutely nothing might have stopped it.
This brings us to the question of cultural adaptation and how it works. It is now typically believed that Europeans destroyed Native Culture. The issue with that story is this: whenever a good concept occurs, one which plainly increases living standards, individuals tend to adopt it.
Even as they found America, Europeans were in the process of adopting dozens of remarkable Chinese innovations and ideas: paper currency, gunpowder, pasta, and great porcelain are just the most famous.
Should we implicate China of ‘cultural imperialism’ when they ruined ‘native’ Italian food by introducing Marco Polo to spaghetti?
Likewise, Native Americans were quick to adopt the many helpful Old World ideas which Europeans occurred to bring with them.
Again, the majority of these had actually not even been developed by Europeans but had actually been embraced by Europeans from other cultures.
Why grind corn laboriously by hand for several hours a day, when you can utilize millstones rather?
Why hunt with weapon, when you can use a rifle?
Why run when you can ride a horse?
Why not domesticate livestock when they provide big increases in calorie intake for your household?
Why decline to embrace the wheel, for goodness sake?
By the time Columbus set cruise the Old World had dozens of clear technological and institutional advantages, which for the many part, New World populations aspired to embrace as soon as they saw them.
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Did Europe Destroy Native American Culture? It is undeniable that Native Americans suffered terribly after the arrival of European inhabitants, however was this the outcome of malice or terrible inevitability? Jeff Fynn-Paul, professor of social and financial history at Leiden University and author of Not Stolen: The Truth About European Colonialism in the New World, explores what took place when the Old World fulfilled the New.
Yes, their remarkable technology in guns provided them an edge over Native Americans in a fight. It is now frequently believed that Europeans destroyed Native Culture.
