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A Collision of Cultures
Europeans lived a more modern way of life, which was completely different from the
lifestyle of the Native Americans. They referred to themselves as civilized human beings, and
thought of the Native Americans as a harsh and barbaric society. The Natives Americans and the
Europeans had been separated by miles of land until the Europeans set off to find the “New
World”. The Native Americans lifestyle and culture differed from that of the Europeans, but
were nothing like the Europeans had thought them to be. They were a peaceful and organized
kind of people; they were non-violent and liked to keep their land clean, meaning “ Native
Americans never wanted to start fighting with other races” (Brophy, 1966, p. 24-25). Until the
Europeans had discovered the U.S. , where the Natives lived, they realized that the Native
Americans were not as they were predicted to be, which were a barbaric ,and primitive society.
The Europeans believing that they themselves were civilized,and thought that the Native
American culture should be changed to be almost similar to their own.
The way that the Europeans wanted to change the Native Americans lifestyle and culture
to match their own was a bit extreme, because their beliefs were so different from each other.
The Europeans being “territory hungry” wanted the Natives land; they believed that only the rich
should own their own land, and that the land you owned determined your wealth and power. The
Natives however believed that land or the earth is for everyone and should be shared equally
among everyone. Their beliefs collided with each other and caused many conflicts, but soon
the Europeans began to settle in the West where the Natives lived and the Native Americans
became imprisoned and their right to their own land was taken away.
The Native Americans and the Europeans; two completely different cultures that both
fear and appreciate one another. Although not all encounters...
