Lesson 4: Cooperation and Conflict

Key Idea

Initial interactions between English colonists and Native Americans were often marked by cooperation. Facing a difficult and unfamiliar environment, colonists relied on Native Americans for food, survival skills, and trade. In return, many Native American groups sought European goods, such as metal tools and firearms, and sometimes formed alliances with the newcomers against rival tribes.

This early period of mutual benefit did not last. The primary source of tension was the fundamental disagreement over land ownership. English colonists believed in private property that could be bought, sold, and permanently fenced off. In contrast, most Native American societies viewed land as a communal resource to be used, not owned, by the tribe. As the colonial population grew, their demand for more land led to increasing pressure on Native territories.

Key Idea

European colonists believed a person could own land as private property. They thought that once they bought a piece of land, it belonged only to them.

Most American Indians believed land was a shared resource for the whole community to use. They did not believe that land could be bought or sold forever.

Key Idea

Disagreements over land soon turned into fighting. As colonists expanded their settlements, they pushed onto lands where American Indians lived. This led to violent clashes across the colonies.

In Virginia, colonists fought in the Powhatan Wars. In New England, Puritans fought the Pequot War. A later conflict, King Philip's War, involved many American Indian groups fighting to protect their homelands from colonial expansion. These wars were devastating and resulted in colonists taking control of more land.