The natives played a major role in the creation of European colonies. Many of the colonies were created with sole purpose of monopolizing trade. The native people would benefit from the trading in the beginning. The development in the colonial economic system and the Europeans’ fast growing population, trade with the Natives would become obsolete, Europeans used the Natives less often as slaves, and the military balance of power would increase for the Europeans.

When the Europeans first colonized North America, they came into contact with societies already established there. This relationship between the original inhabitants and the new arrival was one the key factors determining the success of these early colonial communities. The French and Dutch established colonies in the northeastern part of North America: the Dutch in present- day New York, and the French in present-day Canada. Both colonies were primarily trading posts for furs. While they failed to attract many colonists from their respective home countries, these outposts nonetheless intensified imperial rivalries in North America. Both the Dutch and the French relied on native peoples to harvest the pelts that proved profitable in Europe. ¹

Early on most colonies could not even survive if it were not for the natives support. The natives saw the benefits of forming alliances for goods as well. As Europeans moved beyond exploration and into colonization of the Americas, they brought changes to virtually every aspect of the land and its people, from trade and hunting to warfare and personal property. European

1. Corbett, U.S. History, Chapter 3, section, 3.2

goods, ideas, and diseases shaped the changing continent.² The steady invasion of Europeans would eventually disrupt the natives’ life. This would eventually cause wars and chaos. Indian wars in the Spanish Empire widespread sporadic warfare battles of military conquest revolts against imposition of imperial rule.³ The massacre at the mystic was the first of many attacks on the natives by Europeans that would change the relationship forever.⁴

The troubles in England escalated in the 1640s when civil war broke out, pitting Royalist supporters of King Charles I and the Church of England against Parliamentarians, the Puritan reformers and their supporters in Parliament.⁵ The turmoil in England made the administration and imperial oversight of the Chesapeake and New England colonies difficult, and the two regions developed divergent cultures.⁶ The interaction between the two were always a concern, so the war and attack was no surprise on the natives.

The Europeans may have had good intentions as they went looking for a new world with religion rooted. The initial encounter was positive with the natives as they are sharing and caring.⁷ As Chief Powhatan stated to John Smith, why should you take by force that from us

2. Corbett, Chapter 3, Section 3.4
3. UTA History Department, Seventeenth Century Competition in North America 4 The History Channel, “Massacre at Mystic”
4. Corbett, Chapter 3, Section 3.3

6. Corbett, Chapter 3, Section 3.3

7. The History Channel, “Massacre at Mystic”