The Native Americans of Southern New England

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how the first peoples of Southern New England were the American Indians and how their lives were radically altered during the 17th century as their culture came into conflict with that of the Europeans. It examines the original culture of the area and looks at what made the region attractive to the Europeans who displaced the natives. It explores how the final outcome of European incursions into the area was the result of the traditional native settlement patterns and the ways in which these interacted with the specific goals of the Europeans. It shows how the displacement (and often murder) of Native Americans by European and later white Americans tends to be treated as if it were all a single phenomenon when in fact the displacement of natives by whites varied from place to place and across time depending on the specific cultures that came together with the desire to occupy the same land.

From the Paper:

"Indians of this region, as noted above, certainly supplemented their food collection activities with horticulture. The major crops of the natives of this region were maize, kidney beans, squash, Jerusalem artichokes and tobacco. These were planted in fields from which the smaller plants had been cleared and the trees cut down (the stumps removed when the roots died). Spades were made of hardwood to help in the cultivation and fish were used as fertilizer (although this practice may have been borrowed from the Europeans)."

More papers on The Native Americans of Southern New England:

• Essay # 24256 : "Native Americans of Southern New England"
• Essay # 24428 : "Native Americans of New England"
• Essay # 26929 : "New England Settlers"

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