CULTRUAL AND BIOLOGICAL EXCHANGES

Cultrual and Biological Exchanges

Cultrual and Biological Exchanges

Native Americans had many religious beliefs, and most groups believed in a world of spirits. These spirits occupied plants and animals, mountains and rivers, and tribes, clans, and individuals. The spirits might require prayer, sacrifices, dances and songs, or thanks. Every major event i.e. killing game, planting corn, or acquiring an adult name, required contact with the world of spirit. The concept of benevolent and protective spirits, as well as trickster spirits who caused sickness and misfortune was being followed. Old residents did not believe that people were superior to the natural world, but held that people had to protect and maintain the spirits in their environment. Certain men and women were given the task of memorizing the religious heritage of the group. From a European point of view, these religions were merely superstitions and had to be eliminated. By the end of the 19th century, most Native Americans belonged to one of the Christian sects. The left over tribal groups are now concerned with preserving and reinvigorating their spiritual traditions. The Columbian exchange was reflecting its effects.

One of the declared purposes of European colonization was to spread Christianity. The charter of the London Company, formed in 1606 to establish colonies in the New World, called for English settlers to convert native peoples to the Anglican faith. The aim was to strengthen the Church of England and to counter the influence of Catholic Spain and France. Catholic missionaries were actively trying to convert Native Americans in the southwest and far west of the territory that is now the United States, as well as in neighboring Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

European Diseases To America

The most catastrophic result of the isolation of the Americas was biological. Asians, Africans, and Europeans had been exposed ...