Response 1
The conflict between Native Americans and Europeans was inevitable according to Cynthia J. Van Zandt based on the grounds that Europeans at that time conquered numerous people to gain access to the newly discovered land. Europeans thirst for power more so had to conflict with cultural interests there by wars erupting between the two groups. Furthermore, since the Europeans wanted land, but the natives did not want to let it go, a fight had to erupt in a bid to retain their resources and drive Europeans away. According to Kenny, what started as a friendly gesture by Europeans getting land after giving the natives some gifts, eventually turned sore when they arranged for the massacre of a whole tribe in a bid to acquire the land forcefully that they desired to control. Europeans hence by opting to take land by force hence also forced the natives to retaliate by violence in a bid to stop them from possessing their land.
Response 2
The conflict between Europeans and Native Americans was inevitable due to the fact that the Europeans viewed the natives as backward. In addition, coupled with the great knowledge in tools and machinery which the Europeans had, the Natives had little they could do. The Europeans viewed the need to conquer that land since they were aware of the backwardness possessed by the natives, hence they took advantage of the situation since they were not technologically equipped and prepared for their land to be taken by the Europeans. The little attempts to have a peaceful co -existence with the natives always ended up badly hence wars thriving amongst the two groups. According to Kenny, power struggles are what might have instigated the conflicts more than cultural differences.
Works Cited
Foner, Eric. Give me Liberty! An American History. New York: Norton
& Company, Inc., 2008. Print.
Kenny, K. Peaceable kingdom Lost. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print.
Madaras, Larry, and James M. SoRelle. Taking Sides: Clashing Views in United States History,
The Colonial Period to Reconstruction. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013. Print.
Van Zandt, Cynthia J. Brothers among Nations: The Pursuit of Intercultural Alliances in Early
America, 1580-1660. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print.
