Question

What was the relationship between the English and Native Americans like?

Answer 1

Their relationships are varied...

I’m going to use Jamestown (1607) as a scenario.

Jamestown was the first colony founded by the English. During its first years, the colony didn’t go well as unhealthy conditions killed more of the colonists than any other cause.

Native Americans around the colony saw the colonists were trespassing. And relationships between Jamestown and all of the people of local Indians were tense. During its first weeks, the colony was attacked, and only after the settlers built a stockade.

Another scenario, the second colony, Plymouth, Massachusetts 1620 (populated by Pilgrims)

After a severe winter resulting in the deaths of many families in the late 1620s, the colony’s luck has changed. A native American named Samoset welcomed the colonists wholeheartedly. He boldly walked and said, “Welcome, Englishmen!”. Soon after Samoset’s visit, Massasoit (the leader of the tribe) and Squanto (a translator) arrived with many warriors.

The colonists has their best meal in months that evening. The Natives also taught them to catch herring in the town brook and use them as fertilizer for planting corn. It proved to be the salvation of the colony. The Pilgrims also concluded an agreement with Massasoit that led to 54 years of peace, an amazing development in the Americas.

Again, these early relationships varied. However, Native Americans were getting suppressed gradually...