Who REALLY Discovered America?

Should any of these folks get the credit?

Or Maybe These Guys (and Gals!)

Some Important (Serious!) Points

• Indians were not one people

• Tribes were not united into ‘nations’

• Indians had great variety in physical appearance, language, and culture

Indians V. Europeans

• Indian cultures were very different from European ways; it was perhaps inevitable that they would not get along. They had different ideas about religion, family life, and government.

The Major Issue: Land

Native Americans did not have the same concepts of private land ownership that Europeans did.

This would be the major problem from the start.

Conflict Begins

• Some factors favored the Indians:

• *Superior numbers• *Home turf• *Knew how to survive• *Defending homes

and families

In The Conquers’ Favor

• *Tribes did not work together

• *Europeans had superior technology

• *Indians were broken with booze

• *KEY FACTOR---DISEASE! Especially smallpox!