Indigenous peoples and their cultures

¶ … European Trade in America

Early European Trade in America

Trade between the Native American tribes has occurred in America for longer than can be recorded, however, the appearance of the Europeans changed the delicate balance that existed. In their attempt to obtain European goods, the Native Americans began to alter the way they lived and traded, and many conflicts arose. But as more and more Europeans colonized the New World, relations between Europeans and the Native Americans change from trade and cooperation into conflict; especially with the British settlements. As long as the Europeans only wanted to trade and not colonize, like the French in Canada, there were good relations, but in the end the expansion of the British, and later the independent Americans that all but destroyed a system that had existed for centuries.

Historians have discovered that long distance trade networks spanned the North American continent long before the arrival of Europeans. (Smith) For example, trade goods from Mexico have been found all over the Untied States and Canada; but the arrival of European traders upset this network. It was the abundant furs of North America that the Europeans sought and the Indians "traded furs for such goods as tools and weapons." ("The Fur Trade") In eastern Canada, Samuel Champlain established a trading post in 1608 on a site which would later become Quebec. Several decades later the British began to establish similar trading posts along the coast of modern day America. While the French respected and attempted to assimilate into the native culture, the British remained aloof and maintained their own culture.

The Indians were happy to trade furs to the British and French for European goods and as long as there were only a few traders relations remained on good terms. The British traded and allied with some tribes while the French with others. Allied tribes, like the Hurons who were allies of the French, were highly influenced by European culture. In fact, "French missionaries converted the Hurons to Catholicism," but the French insistence on replacing the Huron's traditional culture and beliefs with European ones became the cause of many misunderstandings and conflicts. ("Canada's First Peoples") But it was conflicts between the various Europeans that spilled over into North America and their Native American allies; who began warring upon each other. The occupation of Canada by the British after the Seven Years War, along with the increase in colonists, left relations between the British and Native Americans tenuous.