by Lauren Morris
24 September 2014
European and Cherokee Affairs
Interactions between Native Americans and Europeans varied in different situations partly because the impressions made upon each other. The Cherokee tribe encountered the English in peaceful and non-peaceful meetings throughout trading, war, and various encounters. The “Letter from William Bull” and the “Letter from Alexander Garden,” contain both instances. The different encounters would have a prolonged affects for the Europeans and the Cherokees.
On July 8, 1762, Governor William Bull of Charleston, South Carolina wrote to Cadwallader Colden, Lieutenant Governor of New York to discuss a Chickasaw attack on the English. After defeating the Chickasaws, the English encountered the Cherokees who did not fire a shot nor inflict any harm which was not unexpected. [1] However, in the “Letter from Alexander Garden” written on October 26, 1760; a tale of the English burning many towns of the Cherokee tribes was told. These were their good towns used for living, trading, storing food and other uses, and had been burned in an act of warfare, in which the towns were completely destroyed. The Cherokees were allowed twenty-two days of peace by the English after their towns laid in ruins.[2] This letter shows the cruel warfare fought by English.
Both of the authors of the letters were noble English colonial officials. During the times of the events, the authors, Gov. William Bull and Alexander Garden, were reporting to the other leaders of the English and were merely reporting the events the army had encountered and told their hierarchal superiors. The validity of the authors’ writings could be correct. Knowing whether or not the authors were given the correct information by their informers, the individuals who participated in the encounters with the Cherokees, is incredibly difficult. The Europeans often stated tales of the New World being “untouched” while the Native American population totaled around one million people living across the continents of North and South America.[3]
A “Letter from William Bull” shows the Cherokee tribe choosing not to shoot at the English men, their rivals.[4] The Cherokee nation showed mercy on the enemies in the midst of their ongoing battles with the English. It is accurate to say that the Cherokee tribe did not want war with the colonists nor harm on the Cherokee nation. The author’s experience is typical in the sense that Native Americans did not want war in 1762, but perhaps wanted to fight the British in 1760. If the encounters between the Natives and the Europeans constituted of respect and without fear, the two populations could have co-existed. Respect for the English and Cherokee rituals by each group could have prospered a peaceful and beneficial relationship. A “Letter from Alexander Garden” shows the English’s brutal warfare tactics and fear towards the Cherokees and other Native nations. The English found difficulty in distinguishing between fierce and peaceful tribes.[5] However, in the times of war between the Cherokee nation and the English, peace was given for twenty two days in order for the Cherokee nation to re-coup after the tragedy experienced.[6] The author’s experience is both typical and exceptional. English were scared of a majority of the Native Americans and used terrible war tactics like burning villages and infecting Natives with small pox against Native Americans. However, the time of peace given to the Cherokee nation distinguished individuality.
The two sources establish the interactions and relationships between Native Americans like the Cherokees and the English throughout war. The Native Americans and Europeans had trouble communicating and understanding the different approaches to property, trading and hunting. The Cherokees were not fearful of war with the Europeans. The Europeans had encroached on their land, but the Native Americans were sometimes willing to share and coexist whereas the Europeans were not. The sources a “Letter from William Bull” and a “Letter from Alexander Garden” establish the fight for control of land and superiority. Interactions between the Native Americans and the Europeans vastly differed in experience, but similarities exist.
[1] William Bull, Letter to Cadwallader Colden, July 8, 1762, in the Letters an Papers of Cadwallader Colden, vol. 6, 1761-1764, ed. Lord Cadwallader Colden, Early Encounters in North America, Alexander Street Press, L.L.C., accessed September 23, 2014, http://solomon.eena.alexanderstreet.com/cgi-bin/asp/philo/eena/getpart.pl?S6966-D049.
[2] Alexander Garden, Letter to Cadwallader Colden, October 26, 1760, in Letters an Papers of Cadwallader Colden, vol. 5, 1755-1760, ed. Lord Cadwallader Colden, Early Encounters in North America, Alexander Street Press, L.L.C., accessed September 23, 2014, http://solomon.eena.alexanderstreet.com/cgi-bin/asp/philo/eena/getpart.pl?S6967-D177.
[3] Colin G. Galloway, First Peoples: A Documentary Survey of American Indian History, 4th ed.(Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012), 6.
[4] William Bull, “Letter from William Bull”, 52
[5] Galloway, First Peoples 4th ed., 108
[6] Alexander Garden, “Letter from Alexander Garden”, 362
Bibliography
Bull, William. Letter to Cadwallader Colden. July 8, 1762. in Letters an Papers of Cadwallader Colden, vol. 6, 1761-1764. Ed. Lord Cadwallader Colden. Early Encounters in North America. Alexander Street Press, L.L.C. Accessed September 23, 2014. http://solomon.eena.alexanderstreet.com/cgi-bin/asp/philo/eena/getpart.pl?S6966- D049.
Galloway, Colin G. First Peoples: A Documentary Survey of American Indian History, 4th ed.(Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012), 6.
Garden, Alexander. Letter to Cadwallader Colden. October 26, 1760. in Letters an Papers of Cadwallader Colden, vol. 5 1755-1760. Ed. Lord Cadwallader Colden. Early Encounters in North America. Alexander Street Press, L.L.C. Accessed September 23, 2014. http://solomon.eena.alexanderstreet.com/cgi-bin/asp/philo/eena/getpart.pl?S6967-D177.