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Colonial America's View Toward Native Americans
Summary: The first settlers of America and their view toward Native Americans. Focuses mostly on the writer's views about the Indians, as shown through their writing. Analyzes the view of Michel de Montaigne and the writings of John Smith, Mary Rowlandson, and William Byrd.
The first settlers who migrated from Europe to colonize the New World brought with them prejudices or assumptions about the Native Americans, or Indians, living in the Americas. The settlers viewed the Indians as barbarous, as defined accurately by Michel de Montaigne, in his essay "On Cannibals." He explains that ."..each man calls barbarism whatever is not his own practice..." (De Montaigne 1) and states that the basis for such a viewpoint was the inability of the Europeans to analyze the Indians based on knowledge of the Indians' own culture. Since Indians were a key part of colonial life, they were often discussed in the writings of colonial writers; some of these writers, such as John Smith downgraded the Indians, while Mary Rowlandson and William Byrd started to see the Indians in a new light.
John Smith was a pioneer of the New World who helped set up the...
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This section contains 943 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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