Resilient Cultures by Kicza, John - Essay Example

Resilient Cultures The lifestyle and cultural practices of Native Americans was affected by early European colonization.The character of indigenous American cultures was also affected by the interaction with the Spanish, Dutch, French, English, and Portuguese. The author talks about the lifestyle of the Indians before European colonization. According to Kicza, the people of central Mexico started growing maize about 7000 years ago (30). However, the natives of east and North America did not adopt maize until after 2000 years.

The people of south west America had also started growing maize long before those in North and East America. This means that those in the east and the north adopted maize farming from the Mexicans or the natives of south west American (30). The Europeans had failed to change the farming system of the Northerners for several years. My thought was, the natives of the east and the north had resisted the European farming system for several years. There are several religious systems in America such as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism.

The native Indians in America had their religious believes before the coming of the Europeans. Slave trade had existed in several European countries before they colonized America. Some of the slaves were taken to work on plantations in America (60). These slaves were captured from different regions in Africa and some from Asia. It could be possible these religious beliefs were introduced by the interaction between the slaves and the American natives. Christianity was dominant among the Europeans, and it was spread across the world.

This means that the Europeans introduced Christianity to the Americans and the slaves introduced other religions. Some of the slaves settled permanently in America and had to establish their places of worship.In the second half of the fifteen century, the eastern section of America had begun building the 13 colonies, and Virginia was established in 1607. This shows that as Europe and the Ottoman Empire were dominating, America was advancing. The Americans had acquired architectural design skills from the Europeans.

Historically when the Ottoman Empire controlled the Mediterranean, they took silk, spices, porcelain and other valuables from Europe. Applying the same to America, Christopher Columbus was not only looking for a shorter route to china but was also looking for valuable skills and spices in Europe (78). This gave the Americans the wealth and the skills needed to build the colonies and develop the economy of the country. Aztec was an advanced and strong empire in the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico before the coming of the Spaniards.

Cortes wanted to take over the Aztec empire due to its wealth, and this would give the Spanish a better chance to control America. Cortes wanted to introduce Christianity to the natives of Aztec and had managed to woo Montezuma (90). After conquering Aztec, the Spaniards introduced domestic animals such as pigs, sheep, and cattle to the Americans. They also introduced sugar, fruits, and different kinds of grain. These items changed the diet and the farming systems of the indigenous Americans.

This could be the reason why animal rearing is extremely rampant in America and corn is extensively planted. Work citedKicza, John. & Rebecca, Horn. Resilient Cultures: Americas Native Peoples Confront European Colonization, 1500-1800. Boston: Pearson, 2012. Print.