June 13/14: Commerce and Consequence
Well, I guess it's better late than never huh? I am behind in my posts so I'm starting here with an observation about what happened to Native Americans during the early 1600's.
According to the text there were several conflicting challenges that truly assisted in the demise of many of these native people. While there was a significant opportunity to participate in the growing economy of trade and desirable good, such as furs and pelts of beaver, rabbits, etc., the spread of disease and fighting between Indians Nations kept Native Americans from playing a more prominent role in our history. These factors played a part in the ultimate demise of the Native American community but nothing has sustained its impact on the Native American people like the legacy of the introduction of alcohol and the scourge of alcoholism within the Indian community.
The quote by Miantonomo, the Chief of the Narragansett people, truly impacted me. He said, "...Their cows and horses eat up the grass, and their hogs spoil our bed of clams; and finally we shall all starve to death. The prophetic words of a leader helps me to see some of the obstacles that they simply had no chance of overcoming. As I read it was clear that Indians were participating in the economy of trade. Given how these furs were being valued, not only in North America but also around the world, Indians had access to and could provide products that may have provided riches, sustenance and prestige to these communities. What they could not anticipate was the effect that disease and warfare would eventually have on their communities.
As we learned when we discussed the Classical Era, people began to specialize and live in Empires filled with diverse populations. Trade flourished but along with trade came competition followed by War. Native American communities weren't exempt from this phenomena. According to text, Native American communities experienced more war than previously. This was due to the competition between communities to trade with European settlers.
The second and maybe the most impactful events during that time was the spread of disease. According to the text, Native American communities were devastated by it. "In the 1630s and 1640s,...about half of the Hurons perished from influenza, smallpox and other European-borne diseases." This is incredibly heart-wrenching. I can only imagine what it must have been like living within one of these communities; to have person after person taken ill with no idea how to heal them, make them comfortable, or stop the sickness. As these communities were devastated by death, we can understand why there was something called, "mourning wars". This happened as a result of the deaths of Native Americans and were "designed to capture people who could be assimilated into much diminished societies." The author goes on to account that this resulted in Native Americans having to fight in wars between the French and the British. These Americans were fighting for a war that they didn't even start nor had a true interest in. To add insult to injury, they used firearms, which allowed for the killing of many of them.
Finally and probably the longest lasting legacy of the conquering of Native Americans was the impact of alcohol. According to the text, these drinks "hit Indian societies with explosive force". The sad thing is that according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Native Americans have one of the highest rates of fetal alcohol syndrome recorded. From 1981 to 1991, the prevalence of FAS in the overall US population per 10,000 births was 2.1. Among American Indians, that number was 31.0. In addition, the National Institute of Health published a study called, American Indians and Alcohol, (2002) and concluded that American Indian and Alaska Native communities experience high rates of alcohol-related problems and have responded by implementing prevention and treatment programs, including both grassroots and externally sponsored programs. The good news is that in an article published by the Washington Post in 2016 called Your assumptions about Native Americans and alcohol are wrong, the researchers assert that Native Americans are more likely than white counterparts to abstain from alcohol altogether, and the two groups had comparable rates of heavy and binge drinking.
I can only hope that is because of the deliberate work being done to address the legacy of alcoholism that started in the 1600s.
According to the text there were several conflicting challenges that truly assisted in the demise of many of these native people. While there was a significant opportunity to participate in the growing economy of trade and desirable good, such as furs and pelts of beaver, rabbits, etc., the spread of disease and fighting between Indians Nations kept Native Americans from playing a more prominent role in our history. These factors played a part in the ultimate demise of the Native American community but nothing has sustained its impact on the Native American people like the legacy of the introduction of alcohol and the scourge of alcoholism within the Indian community.
The quote by Miantonomo, the Chief of the Narragansett people, truly impacted me. He said, "...Their cows and horses eat up the grass, and their hogs spoil our bed of clams; and finally we shall all starve to death. The prophetic words of a leader helps me to see some of the obstacles that they simply had no chance of overcoming. As I read it was clear that Indians were participating in the economy of trade. Given how these furs were being valued, not only in North America but also around the world, Indians had access to and could provide products that may have provided riches, sustenance and prestige to these communities. What they could not anticipate was the effect that disease and warfare would eventually have on their communities.
As we learned when we discussed the Classical Era, people began to specialize and live in Empires filled with diverse populations. Trade flourished but along with trade came competition followed by War. Native American communities weren't exempt from this phenomena. According to text, Native American communities experienced more war than previously. This was due to the competition between communities to trade with European settlers.
The second and maybe the most impactful events during that time was the spread of disease. According to the text, Native American communities were devastated by it. "In the 1630s and 1640s,...about half of the Hurons perished from influenza, smallpox and other European-borne diseases." This is incredibly heart-wrenching. I can only imagine what it must have been like living within one of these communities; to have person after person taken ill with no idea how to heal them, make them comfortable, or stop the sickness. As these communities were devastated by death, we can understand why there was something called, "mourning wars". This happened as a result of the deaths of Native Americans and were "designed to capture people who could be assimilated into much diminished societies." The author goes on to account that this resulted in Native Americans having to fight in wars between the French and the British. These Americans were fighting for a war that they didn't even start nor had a true interest in. To add insult to injury, they used firearms, which allowed for the killing of many of them.
Finally and probably the longest lasting legacy of the conquering of Native Americans was the impact of alcohol. According to the text, these drinks "hit Indian societies with explosive force". The sad thing is that according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Native Americans have one of the highest rates of fetal alcohol syndrome recorded. From 1981 to 1991, the prevalence of FAS in the overall US population per 10,000 births was 2.1. Among American Indians, that number was 31.0. In addition, the National Institute of Health published a study called, American Indians and Alcohol, (2002) and concluded that American Indian and Alaska Native communities experience high rates of alcohol-related problems and have responded by implementing prevention and treatment programs, including both grassroots and externally sponsored programs. The good news is that in an article published by the Washington Post in 2016 called Your assumptions about Native Americans and alcohol are wrong, the researchers assert that Native Americans are more likely than white counterparts to abstain from alcohol altogether, and the two groups had comparable rates of heavy and binge drinking.
I can only hope that is because of the deliberate work being done to address the legacy of alcoholism that started in the 1600s.
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