The European Colonization of the New World in Virginia

In Virginia, the Americans were an extremely unusual place before the appearance of the European settlers. The Native Americans in their time were less cultured while the Europeans had more of a fashionable lifestyle. The Indians back then spoke their own language from other Americans. The Iroquois Indians spoke Iroquois, and the Sioux Indians spoke Siouan. There were so many languages that they spoke, there was not a written language that the Indians did not have. The Indians that lived in Virginia were also known as Algonquians. The Indians not having a written language was what made them very unique and delayed their interaction with each of the tribes. Dissimilar in American society today, the women and men in the Indian tribe were farmers. The Indian women were skilled to farm an excessive amount of food, whereas the European colonist were not as brilliant as they were. The colonists had very little amount of food or sometimes they had just enough to get them through the day. The Indian women produced specific types of crops. There most popular crop was corn, as well as squash, gourds, tobacco, beans, passionflower, and pumpkins. The men and women operated together in the Indian tribe to provide their villages. It did not matter what their gender was, they both worked hard and shared their part in the village. Men and women of the Indian tribes gathered their food through fishing and hunting for meat. Altogether, the women and men in both of the tribes enjoyed using a bow and arrow to slaughter the animals, while the European colonists chose to use guns. So many people described them as tipi dwellers that ran everywhere yelling at each other like several individuals labeled them to be. In Virginia the Indians built sweat cabins, storeroom facilities, and court houses. They lived in stable houses named longhouses. Longhouses were built from wood and bark. Longhouses were built in a shape of a long rectangle, with holes in the roof to let the smoke from the fires exit from the longhouses. The ministers of the Indian tribes all dwelled in their own temple. The differentiations amongst both the Europeans and the Indian colonist of Virginia hindered their lives in early North America. They helped to form the country that we live in currently.

In Virginia the Indians had their own philosophy that was extremely distinctive from the European colonists. One of their differences in the Indian culture compared to the European colonists’ culture is that the Indians decided their baby's names. As they became older, they could gain new names depending on if the tribe could envision the child’s actual personality traits. However, the European colonists would name their children the same day they gave birth or sometimes a couple of days later. The Europeans did not wait for their children to mature to see their true personality. The Indians indicated how much they cherished their names by waiting until they matured to see their true personality and what they are known for. In America today, males usually become a man at the age of 18. However, in the Indian tribes, the progression of a male or a group of males to develop into a man was a development that did not happen momentarily. In the Indian culture beads, pottery and baskets played a substantial role in how Indians back then communicated. These pieces appeared so insignificant and ridiculous to other individuals, but to them these pieces were genuinely essential to them. With these items they were able to express themselves as well as display their standing in the tribe. The Indian tribes near the east coast discovered great deal in swapping these pieces between all of the tribes. In Virginia the Algonquian Indians placed a great deal on copper. They exchanged their beads from seashells. They also had tubular beads which the European colonists suggested to as wampum peak. The beads that had more of a darker color had a better trade deal on them related to the round formed beads as well as the lighter beads. The ceramic ware that the Indian tribes created was combined with a mixture of clay, quartz, and compressed seashells. The baskets that the Algonquin Indians made were high valued. In the Algonquian tribe the women made these baskets out of Indian hemp and yucca structure. They also made mat out of the inner bark of trees, yucca structure, and reeds. The clothes that the Indians wore were completely different from what Americans wear in modern society. The girls in the Indian tribes wore an apron that looked similar to a skirt. The garment that fell over their shoulders, leaving the chest area exposed. When it became hot the men in the Indian tribes wore moccasins and loincloth. The men and women in both tribes showed individuals a lot about who they were and what they wore. The way they dressed was determined daily activities in addition to they had a special tradition. Another image of a woman or a man’s social statue in a tribe was determined the different types of tattoos that they had. Both the men and women had tattoos on their wrists, face, and legs. The tattoos that were on their legs normally covered around the calf and they were normally images of flowers or sometimes geometrical. Finally, varying on their sex or age, determined what type of hairstyle the person had in the tribe. In Virginia, the men of the Algonquian Indian tribe generally cut the right side of their heads to avoid their hair from being matted and tangled. Women that were married in the tribe would cut their hair beneath their ears. Additionally, the girls in the tribe would shave the sides and the front of their heads, leaving the remaining parts of their hair in long plaits. The majority of the English settlers who prepared the extensive journey to Virginia were fleeing Europe in quest of ‘beginning a fresh life’. To leave behind their debts and possibly even their enemies. They also wanted to chase a spiritual freedom. A man named John Smith is most memorized and accredited for his work with the settlers. The colonists were so excited about starting their new lives when they entered Virginia. They were so excited about the new adventures, animals, plants, and the property that they had not yet revealed at the time. The European colonist dealt with so many difficulties on the journey to Virginia. They went through sickness, death, diseases, and starvation.

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One of the first interactions between the Indians and the European colonists in Virginia were very similar to almost like being invaded by aliens. The Indian and the colonist tribes dressed differently from one another. Also, Indians did not have a created language; but the Europeans already knew how to write and read. They all spoke differently to each other. When they gathered their food, they used different weapons depending on what they hunted for that day. The main difference concerning the Europeans and the Indians nevertheless was mainly that the colonist already knew how to write and read, and the Indians did not have their personal created language.

There was a man by the name of Cabeza de Vaca who documented the first meet amongst the Indians and the Europeans settlers. Their first-time meeting was not a good sign at all. The European settlers and the Indians did not know how to correspond with each other. Since the Indians did not have a created language that they spoke, both of the groups had a difficult time trying to communicate with one another. Between their arrival to Virginia the European colonists were either deceased or very close to their death upon their entrance into the New World. There were only a few colonists who had the strength to even stand on their own two feet. The Indians did not know anything about what was going on with these weird colonists when they arrived on their land. They eventually came as a whole and assisted each other out. The Indians had a place to live, eat, and also took care of the European colonists. I was almost like they had been a part of their Indian tribe. It was great that they all got along with one another.

The difference among the Indians had both good and bad things about them. Some of these things are like what individuals are facing now in the modern world. After the first couple of months had flown by there were villages that were close to being demolished by their diseases. Some of their diseases were different bacteria like, measles, influenza, chicken pox’s, many more diseases. The Indians were given these diseases from being in contact with the Europeans colonists. These diseases increased rapidly amongst each other. One of the best things of the European settlers approaching into the connection with the Indians was both of their groups cultivating in several areas. Their knowledge of weaponing, farming, language, sophistication, and so much more. Surely the interaction amongst the Indians and the Europeans settlers dealt with some of their pros and cons, nevertheless I can imagine that everything worked out suitable. I believe that the Europeans and the Indians thrived to be very remarkable.