Some of the Native Americans helped some of the first European settlers survive when the Europeans came to North America. Without Native American help, it is very possible that some of the early settlements, such as the British settlement of Plymouth, which received much help from Squanto and the Wampanoag tribe, might not have survived. This tribe showed the British settlers where to farm and how to raise crops that could be successfully grown.
The French had a strong relationship with many Native American tribes. They married Native American women, converted the Native Americans to Christianity, and had a strong fur trade with them. Many Native American tribes also supported the French when the French fought the British in the French and Indian War.
Some British colonists admired the unity of the Iroquois Confederacy. Five Native American tribes joined together, becoming a strong political force. Benjamin Franklin wanted the British colonies to develop a loose confederation to help the colonies work together in case of a potential attack. He believed it would be easier for the colonies to respond to such a threat if a confederation was established before an attack occurred. While Franklin was unable to convince the colonists to form such a confederation, the Iroquois Confederacy supported the British in the French and Indian War.
There were many ways in which this occurred. In the wars between Britain and France that sometimes spilled over to the American colonies, the Native Americans often chose sides and even fought alongside colonial soldiers. The colonists soon adopted many Native American tactics into their fighting strategies and colonial militia used Native American-style ambushes against British troops in the Western and Southern theater of the Revolutionary War. The first Pilgrims in 1620 would have died without receiving Native American assistance. Europeans who moved to the New World marveled at all the clearings in the forests as they thought that they were natural when in reality they were part of a Native American forest management system which allowed for fertile land for crops. The colonists in both Massachusetts and Virginia later fought bloody wars with the Native Americans in order to force them off the land.
Native American trade also proved invaluable to the colonists. Native Americans provided valuable furs for colonists to trade with Europe; France excelled in creating fur trading empires which went far into North America along rivers. Native Americans sometimes also served in colonial whaling fleets as it was a good source of seasonal income.
The League of the Iroquois was a council made of representatives from five different Indian tribes. The council leaders made decisions about matters that affected all the tribes. In 1754, the league sided with the British against the French for control of America. The British prevailed. The League remained a strong power until the American Revolution.
The first colonists depended heavily on American Indians for food because they were more focused on building their colony and wealth. Indians also traded furs and pelts for European goods. Relations were often tense due to the colonists' desire to acquire more and more land. As the colonies expanded, Native Americans were forced to leave their lands.
Another way Native Americans influenced the colonies was in political thought. The Iroquois encouraged the colonies to form an alliance as early as 1744. Indians were present at meetings where the Albany Plan and the Articles of Confederation were discussed. Founding fathers Benjamin Franklin and John Adams both admired the political model of the Iroquois.
http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/outlines/history-1994/early-america/colonial-indian-relations.php
https://www.powwows.com/native-americans-influenced-american-political-thought/
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