In the beginning, cultural diffrences between the natives and Pilgrims created tension between the two groups. To the Pilgrims, this issue was known as the "Indian problem." The Pilgrims viewed the natives a savages. "Here, on the rugged shorelines and in the wodded interiours, two cultures and two ways of using land collided" (Floyd).
However, unlike the colonists, the natives understood that in order to grow food during the winter months they had to move around. To the colonists, this "nomadic" lifestyle was a sign of laziness because all the native men seemed to do was fish and hunt.
The colonists thought that it was their religious duty to "civilize" the natives, and convert them to Christianity and the European lifestyle. As the Native American population dwindled they became subject to the influence of Christian missionaries. This interaction caused cultural exchanges between the groups. The natives taught the colonists many techniques that would help them develop their new homes. The natives taught the colonists what to grow and how to hunt. Without this interaction, Plimouth may not have survived the winter and would not have been the establishment we know it as today.
Over time the colonists were able to expand their area and develop a thriving community. Land that was once abundant of trees and open space was now occupied by the colonist's farms and fences. Forests that were once teeming with wildlife was now sparse due to overhunting. Also, coastlines were now spotted with trading posts and seaports. This also shaped Plimoth Plantation into a more developed community, rather than a community like the natives in which they lived as one with nature. A Narrangansett chief, Miantonomo desribes the destruction in 1642: "Our fathers had plenty of deer and skins, our plains were full of deer, as also our woods, and of trukeys, and our coves full of fish and fowl. But these English having gitten our land, they with scythes cut down the grasss, amd with axes fell the trees; their cows and horses eat the grass, and their hogs spoil our clam banks, and we shall all be starved" (Miantonomo in A Great and Godly Adventure, Hodgson)
However, unlike the colonists, the natives understood that in order to grow food during the winter months they had to move around. To the colonists, this "nomadic" lifestyle was a sign of laziness because all the native men seemed to do was fish and hunt.
The colonists thought that it was their religious duty to "civilize" the natives, and convert them to Christianity and the European lifestyle. As the Native American population dwindled they became subject to the influence of Christian missionaries. This interaction caused cultural exchanges between the groups. The natives taught the colonists many techniques that would help them develop their new homes. The natives taught the colonists what to grow and how to hunt. Without this interaction, Plimouth may not have survived the winter and would not have been the establishment we know it as today.
Over time the colonists were able to expand their area and develop a thriving community. Land that was once abundant of trees and open space was now occupied by the colonist's farms and fences. Forests that were once teeming with wildlife was now sparse due to overhunting. Also, coastlines were now spotted with trading posts and seaports. This also shaped Plimoth Plantation into a more developed community, rather than a community like the natives in which they lived as one with nature. A Narrangansett chief, Miantonomo desribes the destruction in 1642: "Our fathers had plenty of deer and skins, our plains were full of deer, as also our woods, and of trukeys, and our coves full of fish and fowl. But these English having gitten our land, they with scythes cut down the grasss, amd with axes fell the trees; their cows and horses eat the grass, and their hogs spoil our clam banks, and we shall all be starved" (Miantonomo in A Great and Godly Adventure, Hodgson)