During the first part of eighteenth century many Indian nations were interacting directly with European nations—primarily England, France, and Spain—in three key areas: (1) the demand for land by the European colonists, (2) the fur and hide trade which brought Indians into a world-wide economic system, and (3) the European insistence that Indians convert to Christianity.
European colonists wanted land which they could farm, and they generally overlooked the fact that Indian people had been farming the lands for centuries. Initially, European justification for taking Indian land was that it was terra nullius: unoccupied land. In other words, if the land was unoccupied, then it could be legally taken. However, European concepts of occupancy differed greatly from those of the Indian. The European doctrine of terra nullius meant that if the land was not cultivated—meaning cultivated in a European fashion with fences enclosing it—then it was terra nullius.
Indian nations considered land to be sovereign territory, a fact which Europeans conveniently ignored to justify their theft of the land. The Indians viewed land as communally owned rather than privately owned. While the Europeans thought of land as a form of wealth, the Indians did not.
English
The primary concern of the English in North America was land. In the English view of America, the land was a wilderness which was occupied by wild animals and wild Indians, both of which needed to be exterminated for the land to be civilized. Individual Indians were generally not allowed to testify or be admitted as a witness against any Christian non-Indian.
The English quest for land often result in conflicts—i.e., wars—with the Indians.
Grey Lock, a Woronoco living in the village of Missisquoi, led Abenaki raids against the English settlements in Northfield and Rutland, Massachusetts. Colonial cavalry and scouts were unable to find the raiders.
In Maine, a force of about 230 English militia attacked and burned the Penobscot mission town of Passadumkeag.
In Connecticut, the English overseer for the Pequots reported that 28 lots, each containing 20 acres, had been taken from the Mashantucket Pequot. The General Assembly ordered the overseer to take steps to recover the land.
In Virginia, a brick building – Brafferton College – was built at the College of William and Mary to provide living accommodations for Indians.
French
Historian William Eccles, in his chapter in North American Exploration. Volume 2: A Continent Defined, discusses the French invasion of North America:
“In the eighteenth century the French had four main aims in their thrust into the Far West: to discover new supplies of furs; to find new tribes to proselytize the faith of the Church of Rome, a motive that was considerably diminished as the century wore on; to penetrate and dominate the Spanish commercial empire by land; and to be the first to discover the inland sea that would lead to the Pacific.”
The French established a trading post at Fort Orleans to trade with the Osage. Historian Willard Rollings, in his book The Osage: An Ethnohistorical Study of Hegemony on the Prairie-Plains, writes:
“The French wanted bearskins, beaver pelts, horses, mules, and laborers for their trading posts and plantations. They also wanted loyal Indian allies to prevent British expansion into North America. At the same time, the Osage wanted European-manufactured goods and needed French weapons, so they usually maintained a friendly relationship with the French.”
In Mississippi, a French army with more than 600 soldiers marched against the Natchez. The Natchez sued for peace and the war chief Stung Serpent managed to negotiate a peace settlement. However, historian Daniel Usner, in his book Indians, Settlers, and Slaves in a Frontier Exchange Economy: The Lower Mississippi Valley Before 1783, reports
“But discontent over specific abuses and general influences of French colonization persisted among Natchez villagers.”
As a part of the peace agreement, the French governor asked Tattooed Serpent to bring him the head of the chief of the village of White Apple, Old Hair, a Sun (a member of the ruling class) of great distinction who was highly respected by the Natchez. Ironically, Old Hair was pro-French. In his book Indians, William Brandon reports:
“Being a Sun, he was supposed to be exempt from capital punishment for any reason whatsoever, which made the request rather like asking the Pope to serve up the head of a cardinal.”
Tattooed Serpent submitted to the request and brought Old Hair’s head to the French governor.
In Nebraska, the French reported there was a Pawnee village of 150 lodges on the Platte River below the Elkhorn and that there were eight more Pawnee villages on the Elkhorn.
Spanish
In New Mexico, Jicarilla Apache chief Carlana went to Santa Fe to ask the Spanish governor for aid in their war against the Comanches. In exchange, the Apaches promised to settle down in pueblos and receive religious instruction from the Spanish missionaries. The Spanish saw this as an opportunity to extend their influence onto the Great Plains and to create a barrier between themselves and the Comanches. When the Spanish inspected La Jicarilla, the Apaches met them with pledges of subordination and engravings of the Virgin Mary.
In New Mexico, a Comanche and Ute war party attacks the Jicarilla Apaches. Spanish soldiers pursued the war party and recovered 64 Apache captives.
German
In New York, hundreds of German immigrants invaded Mohawk country. While most of the new settlers lived peacefully, some attempted to defraud the Mohawk out of hundreds of thousands of acres of land.
More eighteenth century American Indian histories
Indians 101: The Tuscarora & the Iroquois League
Indians 101: Cherokee Government and the English
Indians 101: Russians and Native Americans in the 18th century
Indians 101: Little Turtle's War
Indians 201: The Iroquois Peace, 1700-1713
Indians 101: Indians and Europeans 300 years ago, 1722
Indians 101: American Indians 300 years ago, 1721
Indians 101: American Indians 300 years ago, 1720