What caused the major conflicts and wars that broke out between settlers and Native Americans in the 13 colonies?
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The first of these conflicts was King William’s War (1689-1697) or the War of the League of Augsburg in Europe; Queen Anne’s War (1702-1711) or the War of the Spanish Succession; King George’s War (1744-1748) or the War of the Austrian Succession. The French and Indian War was the last of the “world wars” to involve the American colonies. One conflict in the 1730's, called the War of Jenkin’s Ear, was almost entirely fought at sea between Britain and Spain. The French and Indian War was the last great war for empire in between Britain and France. Unlike previous colonial wars, this one was fought with North American as the primary theater of operations and was France’s last-ditch effort to save her dwindling New World possessions from the English and her Native American allies. Beginning in 1754, a full two years before hostilities broke out in Europe (and there called the Seven Year’s War), this war proved to be among the most brutal and was decided ultimately as a result of Britain’s Iroquois allies and Prime Minister William Pitt’s decision to make North American the center of fighting. Had it not been for the Iroquois Confederacy, the outcome of this war could very well have ended differently. Back to Louisiana Purchase If you're seeing this message, it means we're having trouble loading external resources on our website. If you're behind a web filter, please make sure that the domains *.kastatic.org and *.kasandbox.org are unblocked.
During the colonial period, Native Americans had a complicated relationship with European settlers. They resisted the efforts of the Europeans to gain more of their land and control through both warfare and diplomacy. But problems arose for the Native Americans, which held them back from their goal, including new diseases, the slave trade, and the ever-growing European population in North America. In the 17th century, as European nations scrambled to claim the already occupied land in the “New World,” some leaders formed alliances with Native American nations to fight foreign powers. Some famous alliances were formed during the French and Indian War of 1754–1763. The English allied with the Iroquois Confederacy, while the Algonquian-speaking tribes joined forces with the French and the Spanish. The English won the war, and claimed all of the land east of the Mississippi River. The English-allied Native Americans were given part of that land, which they hoped would end European expansion—but unfortunately only delayed it. Europeans continued to enter the country following the French and Indian War, and they continued their aggression against Native Americans. Another consequence of allying with Europeans was that Native Americans were often fighting neighboring tribes. This caused rifts that kept some Native American tribes from working together to stop European takeover. Native Americans were also vulnerable during the colonial era because they had never been exposed to European diseases, like smallpox, so they didn’t have any immunity to the disease, as some Europeans did. European settlers brought these new diseases with them when they settled, and the illnesses decimated the Native Americans—by some estimates killing as much as 90 percent of their population. Though many epidemics happened prior to the colonial era in the 1500s, several large epidemics occurred in the 17th and 18th centuries among various Native American populations. With the population sick and decreasing, it became more and more difficult to mount an opposition to European expansion. Another aspect of the colonial era that made the Native Americans vulnerable was the slave trade. As a result of the wars between the European nations, Native Americans allied with the losing side were often indentured or enslaved. There were even Native Americans shipped out of colonies like South Carolina into slavery in other places, like Canada. These problems that arose for the Native Americans would only get worse in the 19th century, leading to greater confinement and the extermination of native people. Unfortunately, the colonial era was neither the start nor the end of the long, dark history of treatment of Native Americans by Europeans and their decedent’s throughout in the United States. What conflicts occurred between settlers and Native Americans?The Indian Wars were a protracted series of conflicts between Native American Indians and white settlers over land and natural resources in the West.
What was the major source of conflict between Native Americans and white settlers?The biggest source of conflict between Native Americans and European settlers was the issue of land ownership and land use. Europeans felt land should be privately owned, while Native Americans believed land should by owned and used by everyone.
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