Native Indians
...North America Before the Europeans, 36) In New Spain the Native people became slaves. They were treated with extreme cruelty. The Spanish soldiers would have wars with another race on behalf of Christ, it became a way of life for them. The Indians however were not Moors they did not make war on Christians. According to the Spanish Requiremento "the Indians were obliged to enter the faith and to acknowledge the king's soverginity. If the Indians refused to acknowledge the authority of the king and the pope, the soldiers would kill them..." (A long and terrible shadow, 3) The Indians who were not killed were compelled to leave their homes to become labourers in the mines, field hands and beasts of burden. The Indians lived and died under inhumane conditions. By 1540 Indians of Caribbean had been virtually exterminated. While the Spanish treatment was very cruel and inhumane the treatment of the English was somewhat different. The English had not come to trade, or to fish, or to look for gold, or to find a route to the Indies, but to settle. The initial English contact with Native American peoples was friendly and productive but the discovery of tobacco, corn and interior trails soon strained their relations. Since the "English colonization was predicted on agricultural development encroachment by the English led to conflict..." (Reaction to the English and French to the North American Aboriginal peoples, 1) The concept of private ownership was quite different from the traditional Indian beliefs of ownership they would share their corn fields with the whole community. The English settlers were not interested in sharing the land so conflict started develop between the two. Indians were not allowed into their villages , also it soon became a crime to sell a gun to a Native. The pilgrims kept their distance, and the first missionary work did not even occur until almost fifteen years after their arrival. The English felt that "conversions would follow once the Natives saw how prosperous and beneficial the English way of life was. Their goal then was to civilize the population first making it as 'English' as possible and than conversion would follow." (Reaction to the English and French to the North American Aboriginal peoples, 2) In order to do so "praying towns" were set up where Natives could live away from the bad influences of other Natives. Some Natives who did not live in the "praying towns" the English settlers believed that they were "minions of the devil, and were brutally slaughtered." (North America Before the Europeans, 39) Many males were executed, while the woman and children were sold into slavery in the West Indies. The English showed a complete lack of understanding of aboriginal ways and rights. The French were a lot different when they came in contact with the Natives than the English and Spanish.Since the French were traders their main goal was to have good relations with the Natives. As a result the local Natives became not slaves labourers as in New Spain, but rather commercial partners in a growing industry. This was not a master servant relationship but rather an agreement between to equals in a type of economic partnership. "The French made it a practice to establish ba...