- According to John Wood Sweet, how did the Narragansetts' relationship with the English affect their political arrangements? What was the main drawback to having the English involved in Narragansett politics?
- Other than in the political realm, where else does one see the "anglicization" of the Naragansetts? How did this affect the formation of racial identity?
- What was the experience of Native American converts to Christianity in colonial New England?
- What was the experience of English settlers who chose to live within Indian communities?
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Readings for 5/27
The questions below refer to Sweet, ch. 1 and Vaughan, ch. 10. Please choose one of the questions and answer in at least a paragraph.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
11 comments:
The Native Americans did not experience complete acceptance from the colonists after converting to Christianity. According to Vaughan, the requirements to be a Christian meant for them to change their lifestyles as well as beliefs. Even after meeting the extreme requirements, the colonists still had prejudices against the Indians, especially after 1675.
The Narragansetts' began to have trustees. These trustees were English. The Narragansetts also, during the rule of Thomas Ninigret, formed a Tribe Party.
The drawback to having English involved in Narragansetts' politics is that when a dispute would go to the English courts, they would drag the problem out as long as possible. The Enlgish hoped that this would weaken the Narragansetts tribe. For example when Cheif Charles Ninigret passed away in 1736, there was a debate as to who should be the next chief. Should his infant son, also named Charles become chief or should the former chief's younger brother become cheif? The Narragansetts went to the English with this debate. The English dragged this debate on for as long as possible.
According to Vaughan, it is hard to measure the number of New England settlers who became, as he called it, "Indianized." However, it would seem that the number of English settlers that became Indians voluntarily were small.
These settlers would have appeared to have been welcomed with open arms, as Vaughan states on page 247, "Indian America welcomed outsiders and freely incorporated them." In addition, while full-scale conversion was likely non-existent when the English settlers chose to live in the Indian communities, it is likely that the settlers maintained some of the old English ways.
In an intriguing note, in 1642 the colony of Connecticut passed a law stating that it was illegal to leave the English settlement (this was a Puritan colony) and become Indian or go to live in an Indian community. The penalty if you were caught doing so was "three years in the workhouse."
It would appear overall then, that while a few English settlers chose to leave their world behind and enter the Indian one, the experience of the English settlers would be one of partial conversion as full transculturation was nearly impossible.
According to the reading, there were very few documented cases of New England settlers that chose to exchange their cultural identity to Indianism. Further, it was also difficult to determine if the English that were living within Indian communities were captives or living there voluntarily. Of the few English that were living within Indian communities, some were attracted to Indian culture because it was a freer lifestyle than that of the Puritans. It was noted that when given the opportunity to return to the English life, some captives preferred to stay with the Indians. Most English, however, did not completely shun their English ways while living with the Indians, they just adopted some of the Indian ways. Some of the English settlers did not fit in with English society and felt more comfortable with the Indian culture. While the Indians treated some captives well, it is clear that many others were tortured and killed. According to the reading, there are many conflicting theories concerning the transculturation between the English and the Indians. It does seem though, that the Indians were more willing to accept the English into their culture than the Puritans ever were to the Indians.
As Sweet points out the Narangasetts “anglicization” was not only limited to the political realm it encompassed jobs, housing, farming, and schooling. Many Narrangassetts became skilled carpenters so that by the late 1750s wigwams were replaced with English housing. They also built sawmill and a dam following an English economical pattern. Also, they adopted English style farming so much that Sweet points out Charlestown wanted to tax them. Finally, many began seeking formal schooling for their children. They worked with different schoolmasters until they found best one.
These efforts to become more like the English affect the formation of racial identity in that they proved to be futile because they were not treated as equal. Even though tribe members sought to become like the yeomen and resembled them in jobs, houses and even school they were not recognized as such. For the Narrangassets it was a realization of a ruined society and for many lead to their desire to move further away from the English.
Although there were not very many converts, many of the English settlers that chose to live with Indian communities started off as war prisoners. Instead of being tortured and abused, prisoners were welcomed into the community as a kind of replacement for other lost members if Indians were impressed by them. After experiencing “wilderness life” and the friendliness of their Indian captors, many settlers didn’t want to go back to English life. Because of colonial laws against settlers becoming Indians and the idea of God’s punishment for converters (Puritans believing that “their own capture suggested they were already so heathen as to merit God’s wrath” p. 244), the settlers were scared away from living within Indian communities. Also, settlers already had their own ethnocentric views and customs and thought Indians were savage beasts which made it difficult for them to realize how welcoming Indian communities could be.
Also, I think it is really interesting (humorous?) the Indians didn’t think New Englanders made good prisoners and didn’t like to torture them because it was disgusting to the spirits when prisoners showed pain and agony instead of dieing bravely.
The experiences of New Englanders who became Indians was most certainly mixed and varied. Although there are few recorded cases of Englishman voluntarily becoming Indian, there are many cases of English abductees. Mostly women and children, these English were seized for the purpose of adoption in Indian families when someone in that family had died. Since many captives remained with Indians without rescue, they settled into life as Indians and in some cases forgot their English identity. On the whole they were treated well even if they were put through unusual right-of-passage ceremonies, such as running through a gauntlet.
In relation to the religious experience of the Native American concerts to Christianity, Vaughan points out on page 215 that the " New England colonists were probably more successful in attracting social and religious converts." But to gain full membership in the puritan church did not come easy and Vaughan points out that there were a lot of " rigorous requirements for full church membership." Once they full filed the requirements they were mildly accepted in the Puritan community in addition they also had to live a Puritan life style.
The largest group of Indian converts into Christianity derived from the missionary work of the Mayhews on Martha's Vineyard, the Eliots of Massachusetts and some clergymen in Conneticutt. The first praying town was established in 1651. Many of the converted Native Americans could not become full church members sue to the high demands, but some did meet qualifications. These Native Americans would have been considered highly "transcultured". The converts normally dressed like the colonists and built houses in a colonial fashion. There were some Native Americans that decided to stay in wigwams. Some of the Native Americans attending English schools, but many died from diseases of the colonists. Though these Native Americans tried their best to "civilize" themselves, it was very difficult for them to change their way of life. Some succeeded in this transculturization, many did not.
The experience that Native Americans had after converting to Christianity was the same if not worse, had they chosen to stay within their tribe. Most Native Americans who converted into Christianity seperated themselves from their tribe and formed their own community, not even being apart of the New England Colonies. And because of this they were subject to much discrimination and even violent killings by radical Englishmen. Even though these Native Americans had converted to Christianity and in many ways "civilized" themselves, they would always be seen as Indian savages.
Although there is relatively very little evidence of willing "white Indians", there were instances of the English settlers choosing to live among native Americans. Some of the English whole heartily changed their entire way of living, right down to their outward appearances. The example of a man from the Plymouth Colony shows that he chose to be naked, grew out his hair, and had many wives. Another example was that of a Puritan who fled from some form of punishment in his old community and denounced his faith, country, and family. He would even become an adviser to the Wampanoag King Philip and fought against the English in wartime. Many of those that fled from the English into Indian society had held simple roles in their old community and were not entirely a part of the villages. The freedoms in living the life of an Indian among nature must have seemed like relief in contrast to the demands of a religious and suffocating environment among the English.
Post a Comment