Overveiw of Diplomacy
In the Wampanoag culture, there was very little hierarchy and thus the diplomatic and war systems all had to work on convincing everyone of a course of action*. In this way, the government (or lack thereof; there was not even money until the settlers came) stresses both individuality and community – everyone has a say, but the consensus on an opinion must be unanimous before it is carried out. In this way the chiefs are more group leaders and mediators that rulers. Though all of this sounds dandy there is a flip side namely mob rule; that is that all justice systems are based on opinion and raising posses, not on law **. To put this into perspective, here follows the plan for a diplomatic and/or internal conference or powwow:
The powwow starts off with a pipe being shared (this is most likely to be origin of the image of the pipe-smoking Indian). Then each person sums up the previous people’s ideas and then tells their own in relation to it. It continues in this fashion indefinitely until a unanimous agreement is reached.
There are up- and downsides to this. The upsides are that the decisions reflect the opinions of the people or groups involved and that most everyone comes off thinking that the correct decision has been reached. The downsides are that decisions can take a very long time to come to and that unethical decisions such as horrible torture can be reached ***. For example, after Captain Beers and his men were sought out after their being ambushed, most were found dead but one was found with “a chain hooked into his under jaw, and thus he was suspended on the bough of a tree, where he had been left to struggle and die in mortal agony”. Does it not make one wonder whether or not rule of the people is as good as it is made out to be?
* This was the primary way Metacomet gained so much leadership – by turning the pilgrims and the natives against each other by persuasion and feud.
** The worst crime was witchcraft, punished by death in the Iroquois laws, next was murder.
*** When tortured, it was custom to try and not cry out, this is where the idea of the stoic Indian comes from.
Relations Between Settlers and Natives
Interactions between Native Americans and Europeans have changed drastically overtime. When Europeans first arrived, they were curious, grateful, and enthusiastic. They were eager to trade, and to be friends, and they had a great relationship with each other. But then the Europeans started to look around.. The Native Americans had it all. The land, the weapons, everything! The Europeans felt threatened and they realized something. There was so much land, and so much land equals so much money. So the Europeans started to take advantage of the Native Americans. They abused them, and stole their things. Soon the Europeans were pushing the Native Americans out of their land, leaving them to live in cramped places, where the Europeans later came and burned them to the ground. After 10 or so years of fighting, the war stopped. And the Europeans had won. Now Native Americans no longer are abused, but they aren't treated right. The only image we see of them is on tobacco labels, casinos, and mascots. American Indians are disrespected and looked down upon, but they still have some dignity left, and they still carry on their religious beliefs, and culture.
Trade Between Settlers and Natives
Although the Native Americans fought with the Europeans, that did not stop them from trading goods with each other. The Native Americans knew how to get beaver fur the Europeans wanted that fur because the Europeans could make fine felt and beaver hats which the Europeans loved. Since the Native Americans had something that the Europeans wanted then the Europeans must have had something that the Native Americans wanted. In fact, the Native Americans wanted guns, kettles, needles, fishhooks, other metallic objects, and beads. Then the Europeans found out that the Native Americans wanted beads that were called wampum because they were made out of shellsand the Native Americans would use them for gifts or to mark a momentous occasion. For that reason, the wampum became very popular tradingwise. Though all these goods were exchanged by two fighting armies, the Europeans brought something that the Native Americans didn't want and that was diseases. The diseases made the Europeans come back after the epidemic was over to be on the safe side.
Now, that the Europeans and the Native Americans were approachable with each other. The Native Americans began to adopt European ways to get through life which included practicing Christianity. Which made King Philip unhappy. As for the Native Americans and Europeans their encounters still involved fighting, but also trading.
Overview of Interactions
Interactions between Native Americans and Europeans changed greatly over time. When the Europeans first arrived at Jamestown and were building camp the Native Americans could have destroyed there camp and most likely could have killed the Europeans. At first the Native Americans and Europeans would trade with one another. The Native Americans would help the Europeans survive, what they should eat, how to stay warm, ect., but over time the Europeans wanted control so they would have battles with the Native Americans. The Native Americans had better battle formations; they would sneak from behind trees and rocks closing in on the enemy. Even though the Native Americans had war techniques better adapted to the landscape they usually lost against the European troops. There were many battles between Native Americans and Europeans but the Native Americans generally lost.
Primary Sources
- "American Indians, Eastern Woodlands Indians."Britannica. 15th ed. 1991. ("American Indians, Eastern Woodlands Indians" 344-346)
- Williams, John A. "Native American Clashes with European Settlers" 1993 21 Oct 2008 http://www.wvculture.org/hiStory/indland.html
- Abbot, John S.. "Full text of "History of King Philip, sovereign chief of the Wampanoags : including the early history of the settlers of New England"." www.archive.org. 21 Oct 2008 http://www.archive.org/stream/historyofkingphi00abbouoft/historyofkingphi00abbouoft_djvu.txt
Image Sources
- http://www.bluecorncomics.com/archive/2007_11_01_narchive.html
- http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/wwww/us/plymouthdef.htm
- http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Landing-Bacon.PNG
- http://people.ucls.uchicago.edu/~cjacobs2/Products8-9/WAMPUM2.jpg