Columbus and his fellow pioneers first landed in America in 1492; then in 1493 the first European colonisation commenced in America, with immigrants coming from countries all over such as France, Britain and Spain. It was unknown to them the immense impact that they would have on America that would lead to the creation of ‘New World’. To reach a conclusion as to whether America was a ‘New World’ this essay will examine through culture, trade and economy and developments in technologies, as these were arguably the most significant areas of influence. Nevertheless, technological developments were far more significant for the Natives, as the Europeans had prior been exposed to these technologies. It is clear to a great extent that America was a ‘New …show more content…
When the European settlers came to America they were thrown by the substantial diversity of the Native tribes. Different tribes had unique behavioural qualities, as ‘each group had its own political system and set of religious beliefs, and North America was home to literally hundreds of mutually unintelligible languages’. Despite this, the tribes frequently communicated with each other for exchange, ‘from casual encounters to widespread alliances and networks that were economic, political and religious’. Additionally, Native American religion was in some ways supernatural, with many rituals being performed; this appeared ludicrous to Europeans who argued that the Natives needed to be converted to Christianity. Gender norms of Native Americans contrasted with those of Europeans, as women in Native culture owned the property and belongings of the family and would be openly allowed to engage in pre-martial sexual relations. Europeans viewed all of these cultural behaviours as absurd and argued that the Natives must adopt the Christian way of life in order to be civil. However, Axtell argues that ‘partly because of their unrealistic goals, the English had little success in converting Indians to