Native Americans And The New World - 1497 Words

The European colonists and the Native Americans of the New World were divergent from one another than similar. Native Americans had a more primitive lifestyle than the Europeans modern way of life. Europeans referred to themselves as â€Å"civilized† and looked at Native Americans as â€Å"savages.† In spite of that, Benjamin Franklin corresponded in, Remarks concerning the savages of North America, â€Å"Savages we call them, because their manners differ from ours, which we think the perfection of civility; they think the same of theirs† (476). Their interaction caused by multiple differences led to misunderstanding and sometimes conflict. These two cultures, having been cut off from one another, presented a vast variety in their ideals. Both kept at†¦show more content†¦Indians considered the exact opposite of individual land ownership. They recognized boundaries, like the Europeans, but believed that land was communal. Communal land ownership helped l imit social stratification in Native American communities, much unlike the social order established by the Europeans. Europeans were accustomed to a greater scale of inequality. Indians emphasized the group rather than the individual. Perhaps the way the Native Americans and Europeans difference in the way they viewed land was the most serious. Since this difference generated problems that would not be solved during the many years to come. Owning land was very important to the European colonists. In many countries, including England, land meant wealth. Owning an extensive amount of land meant that a person had political power and great wealth. Many of the colonists who came to North America could never have owned land back home in Europe. They were too poor, it was stated, â€Å"The demand for and price of colonial goods increased in England, and vast fortunes were to be made in New England with any business connected with shipbuilding: especially timber, tar, and pitch †¦ com pared with the crowded cities of Europe, the colonies were healthier and cheaper, and promotional literature as well as personal testimony painted British North America as a region in which one could take charge of and transform one s life. Thus those