During the Middle Ages and the Ancien Régime, the form of political organization in Europe was the hereditary monarchy, sustained by the feudal mode of production. Inside these monarchies, political power were scattered through several political centers, with their own laws and relative administrative autonomy. Society was hierarchically organized, with almost none social mobility. This kind of political organization was radically changed by the Enlightenment idea of “social contract”, which stated that political power were transferred from the people to the monarch, who, since then, ruled definitively as the unique source of rights and obligations, therefore, centralizing the political and legislative power in the king himself. Although, the king should guarantee a certain level of individual freedom, being the social contract limited by this goal.
The interactions between English settlers and native Virginians is a difficult one to summarize, as it experienced many changes over the years.
The two peoples originally came into contact in 1607, when English settlers first established the town of Jamestown in Virginian territory. The original settlement was a small one, and the settlers required the help of the natives in order to learn how to work the land and face the weather. This led to close cooperation between the two groups.
However, as the influence of the English settlers grew, their power also increased. The settlers became interested in dominating the native people, and they attempted to do this in various ways, including through warfare, forced removal and christianization. As hostilities grew, the indigenous people began to lose most of the things that were valuable to them, such as their land, their religious rites, their cultural expressions and their large numbers.
In times of peace, the two groups were able to learn from each other, and cultural and social exchanges were common. However, when hostilities arose, the native people were particularly affected. The damage increased when forced removal became a more extensive government practice. Such discriminatory actions led to the downfall of the native Virginians.
I believe it is the last and second one.
