Interracial Gender Issues

European relations with Native Americans and Slaves

Societal Contributions and Roles of Native American Women

· The matrilineal foundation for the Native American family created an environment heavily dependent upon the responsibilities of women. The responsibilities of these women extended outside the realm of domestic servitude. Specifically, Native American women contributed to the agricultural output of their respective communities. The authoritative role of women in Native American communities differed vastly from the European status quo on the behavior of women. European women were viewed as domestic servants and subservient to the needs of men. Moreover, the patriarchic system of the European family helped to deemphasize the contributions and importance of women.

· The practice of marriage in Native American society was concurrently based on commercial interests. The unity of a man and a woman in Native American tribes encouraged a relationship that would foster better trading opportunities. Therefore, the ideals associated with marriage permeated into the tangible benefits created through trade. This focus of commercial opportunities extending form trade was a leading influence when determining marriage.

European interactions with Native Americans

· Indo-Anglo interactions with Europeans were subsistent to the premise of trade sustainability. This relationship required a communal attitude, recognizing the trading opportunities afforded by the technological advancement of the Europeans and the agricultural/hunting techniques of the Native Americans. In the decades that followed any initial relationship between the Native Americans and the Europeans, the balance of power shifted to benefit the Europeans. This healthy relationship was not always achieved. The northern colonies of New York and Massachusetts for example, resorted to war. However, in Pennsylvania and the colonies south of the Mason-Dixon Line, a communal relationship was achieved through diplomatic means.

Iroquois

· The Iroquois forged an alliance with Dutch traders along the Hudson River. This relationship emphasized trade for deerskins and furs in this region. The trading network was known as the trading triangle, representing New Amsterdam, New England, and the Iroquois. Wampum was the currency that facilitated the exchange of trade. However foreign policy measures imposed by the British during the late seventeenth century curtailed involvement. The Navigation Acts drafted by the British disrupted the viability of the triangle trade, later leading to further conflict with the Iroquois Native Americans.

The Narragansetts and the Wampanoage

· The Narragansetts and the Wampanoage tribes initiated aggressive policies towards the colonies of Plymouth, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. The land purchases of these colonies infringed upon the land of the Narragansetts and the Wampanoage. Consequently the fight for land became the primary conflict throughout the Northeast.

The Creek and the Shawnee

· In Virginia and the Maryland, the relationship of the colonists with the Indians proved to be successful as was the case in the Carolinas. The Shawnees and Creek tribes of the Mid-Atlantic region forged alliances in Maryland and Virginia for the advancement of trading opportunities. This alliance provided the colonies with access to the interior. The interior provided colonists with the natural resources later utilized in the exchanges of trade.

The Delaware

· Pennsylvania’s relationship with the Indians differed from the oppressive policies of the New England colonies. William Penn forged a relationship with the Delaware River tribes of the region. Penn’s relations with the Delaware created a trading alliance favorable to the distribution of furs. The conflict on the frontiers of the Massachusetts, Connecticut, Plymouth, and New England were nonexistent fractions in Pennsylvania. The formidable products available for trade and the generous land prices offered by William Penn fostered a communal relationship with the Delaware and the Quakers.

Colonial Attitudes of Slaves

· The early relationship among Africans and the English in the Carolinas was quite different from the oppressive policies of slaver in the south during the eighteenth century. Initially slaves and masters worked corroboratively with activities such as clearing fields, hunting, and protecting their settlements. Moreover slaves received significant latitude with participation in the economic ventures of the plantation. This involvement provided motivation and incentive for productive work.

· In the Eighteenth century, colonial evaluation of African custom and moral code was viewed as backward in nature. The code of conduct of with the colonial treatment of slaves exemplified attitudes of white superiority. The manual labor intensive work of the slaves innately created racial attitudes which promoted not the enhancement of blacks, but perpetuated servitude to the white race. Slaves symbolized the prestige of their masters. Moreover, slaves were identified through economic terms. Slaves were viewed as a commodity, rather than recognized a human counterpart to the colonists. The value of slaves was identified through their contributions to the economic advancement of the plantation. Colonial laws in Virginia and North Carolina demanded that whites utilize violent means for punishment, and perpetuated the suppression of the black race. Legislation in the South criminalized interracial interactions. The ritual of marriage and the behavior of sex became illegal in Virginia in 1691 and in North Carolina in 1715. The authoritative measures of the governments in Virginia and North Carolina sought to preserve a homogeneous white race in colonial America.

Return to ‘Gender in Colonial America’