The European powers that entered the Americas as self-proclaimed rulers of the "New World" brought disease that negatively affected Native American society, forced the Christian religion upon the Natives, while continually practicing poor treatment of the Native peoples; however, they did participate in some mutually beneficial trade. The diseases that the Europeans transferred to North America killed many vulnerable Native Americans. Christian Missionaries thought it was their duty to convert the Animistic peoples to Christianity, and this had unfavorable effects on the Native culture. However, some of the trade that the Europeans brought to the New World affected the natives in a positive way. Throughout all of the communication between Europeans and Native Americans, the Europeans treated the Native Americans poorly.
An important change occurred when the Europeans unknowingly transferred diseases to the New World that proved deadly to the Native Americans lacking immunization. "Whatever it was, in any case, the imported pathogen moved among the native people with a relentlessness that nothing ever had in all their history" (Stannard 10).
"Ball players" painted by George Catlin, illustrat...
Yamacraw Creek Native Americans meet with the Trus...
English: A collage of Native Americans dressed in ...The diseases, mostly Smallpox, Measles, and Influenza, had a devastating effect on the native people (web). These diseases greatly reduced population of the Taino tribe, therefore it was a simple task for the Spaniards to take control of Central America, Mexico, and Carribean Islands (PP).
The Europeans viewed the polytheistic and animistic religions of the Natives as primitive, and sought to convert them to Christianity (PP). The Indians' religion teaches them to teach every spirit and "person" with equal respect, so they were welcoming and celebrating of the Europeans' arrival, and the Europeans took advantage of them (Axtell 9). "Indian people were wrenched from their homes and concentrated into mission villages, where they died of new diseases or had their traditional beliefs beaten out of them" (Calloway...