The encounter between the Europeans and the American Indians - Essay Example

Please see the Order Instructions for the Paper Topic There are different sources that discuss the encounter between the Europeans and the American Indians (Calloway, 1998). This short paper shall compare and contrast two primary sources that discuss the encounter between Europeans and Amerindians and determine the reliability of these accounts. The two primary sources to be considered are: “Literatures of Colonial America: An Anthology” by Castillo, Susan and Ivy Schweitzer and “Germs, Seeds &: Animals: Studies in Ecological History” by Alfred Crosby.

The first source by Susan Castillo and Ivy Schweitzer made readers know that Britain was not only the European nation that was in contact with the Amerindians (Castillo & Schweitzer, 2001), while the second source by Alfred Crosby also laid emphasis on the encounter between Britain and the Amerindians and also the encounter the other European nations had with the Amerindians (Crosby, 1994). The first source talked more about the cultural interaction between the Europeans and the Amerindians (Castillo & Schweitzer, 2001), while the second source talked more about the biological influence of the encounter between the Europeans and the Amerindians (Crosby, 1994).

The first source explained that the Amerindians were quick to react to what they felt would have a devastating impact on the culture of their people through the interaction with the Europeans (Castillo & Schweitzer, 2001), while the second source talked about the infectious diseases that were transmitted to the Europeans as a result of their contact with the Amerindians (Crosby, 1994). The first source is divided into three phases. The first phase talked about the exploration and contact of the Europeans with the Amerindians till 1600, the second phase talked about the cultural identities of the New World and the settlement of the Europeans till 1700 and the third phase talked about the events that took place in Native America in the eighteenth century (Castillo & Schweitzer, 2001).

On the other hand, the second source talks about the Columbian voyages, the Columbian exchange, the biological metamorphosis of the New World due to their interaction with the Europeans and infectious diseases that arise due to this interaction (Crosby, 1994). The first source did a great job in correcting people’s perspective on the cultural diversity of the Amerindians (Castillo & Schweitzer, 2001), while the second source did a great job in showing the biological transformation of the New World (Crosby, 1994).

The two sources showed that it was actually greed that motivated the interaction of the Europeans with the Amerindians as they sought to exploit these people. Though the two primary sources talked about similar and different issues, but the fact remains that, the accounts are reliable as they are coming from renowned historians. They provided ample evidence to support their assertion and this is what adds to the reliability of their accounts. Thus, the accounts of the two primary sources are reliable.

References Calloway, C.G. (1998). New Worlds for All: Indians, Europeans, and the Remaking of Early America. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press Castillo, S., & Schweitzer, I. (2001) The Literatures of Colonial America: An Anthology. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers Crosby, A.W. (1994). Germs, Seeds &: Animals: Studies in Ecological History. Armonk, N.Y: M.E. Sharpe.