Transcript Why were Native Americans Dominated by Europeans?

Why were Native Americans
Dominated by Europeans?
How many Native American
Tribes can you name?
How many Native American friends
do you have?
Where are they now?
What happened to them?
*Why were Native Americans
Taken Over by Europeans?
One answer:
Geography
(I’ll get back to this later)
A more specific answer is that Europeans had:
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Meaner diseases
Better technology
Better political
organization
A literate society
Have you ever had any of the
following diseases?
a. smallpox
b. chicken pox
c. Influenza (a really bad case)
d. measles
e. Bubonic plague
Meaner Diseases
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Smallpox: think chicken
pox on steroids.
Influenza: Different types
of the flu.
Measles: Like a powerful
flu and cold combined.
Bubonic plague: high
fever, swollen lymph
nodes and it can spread
to your lungs.
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Most of us survive a
case of the flu fairly
easily nowadays, but
all these diseases
have the potential to
kill a lot of people,
very quickly.
Smallpox was especially
devastating to Native Americans.
In many cases, 65% to 90% of
those infected, died!
http://nmhm.washingtondc.museum/collections/archives/agalleries/smallpox/smallpox.html
Smallpox: Obviously not something you want.
Sometimes these diseases
were given to the Native
Americans on purpose.
http://gold.aecom.yu.edu/id/management/smallpox-index.html
Why did Europeans have meaner diseases?
Many nasty diseases have been transferred to humans
by animals. Think of all the talk in the news about
“Bird Flu.”
Europeans had closer
contact with more
animals, especially farm
animals (chickens, pigs,
cows, oxen, horses,
donkeys, etc…).
Why?
Europe, Asia and Africa had
been trading their animals
for many centuries before
the exploration of the
Americas. The largest
DOMESTICATED animal in
the America’s was the llama,
and it was only used in
South America.
1.
Many diseases come from animals
2.
Europeans had closer
contact with more animals.
3. Many large
domesticated animals in
Eurasia—only one in the
Americas.
4.
Also, Native Americans were spread
out, making widespread disease and
exposure to them less likely.
Europeans Had Better Technology
VS.
Steel Weapons
Wooden and
Bronze
Weapons
Steel Armor
vs.
Quilted Armor
European’s brought horses to the Americas
•Outran enemy
•Gave a higher
platform for fighting
•Intimidating size
Political Organization
In just about
any sport, the
more organized
team is going to
win. This
means better
communication,
better training
and preparation,
better use of
resources, etc…
Europeans had
well established
political
organization.
Literate Society
As much as you may hate
writing, it serves a great
purpose. It ensures more
ACCURATE communication.
Try communicating an idea
orally through ten different
people.
Now try it in writing.
Better results?
While their spelling was terrible, most European conquerors were
literate (at least the leaders, anyway). This allowed for better
military strategy.
Better writing and
communication
Better military
strategy
The Native Americans
that lasted the longest
were those that
learned to use the
European’s weapons
and strategies.
So, to recap, Europeans
dominated Native Americans with:
•meaner diseases
•better technology
•better political
organization
•literate society
Lastly, one question you may
have is why did the Europeans
have these things and not the
Native Americans?
One possibility:
Geography
Diseases, technology and information seemed to have
moved more easily along the same parallels of latitude
(east to west). Crossing the world from north to south,
requires going through many more climates, which could
explain sub-Saharan Africa’s similar fate. The Americas
were completely isolated making the gradual exposure to
these forces even less likely.
QUIZ
1. Which of the following is NOT
one of the reasons given why the
Europeans dominated the Native
Americans:
a. meaner diseases
b. hotter temperatures
c. literate society
d. better political organization
2. Which of the following was the
most devastating of the European
diseases?
a. influenza
b. smallpox
c. AIDS
d. measles
3. One animal the Europeans
brought to the Americas which
was very effective in war was the:
a. llama
b. horse
c. elephant
d. camel
4. This advantage allowed
Europeans to learn from each other
and improve their military strategy
against Native Americans:
a. disease
b. literacy
c. husbandry
d. guns
5. The whole reason why the
Europeans had major advantages
over the Native Americans may be
due to:
a. geography
b. technology
c. shipbuilding
d. intelligence