Black Robe
...d Dutch colonized the new world they had to encounter the people that already lived on the land. The Europeans took their land either by force or by money. The colonists believed the Indians to be nomadic and had no claim to the land, thus, they moved west to claim more land to their name. This became a problem to the Indians because they were forced to move off the land they had claimed long before the intruders did. The lifestyle of the Europeans caused the Indians to become dependent on trade. The Indians started to trade for market commodities and not for survival. Black Robe was centered around the Indians and their religion. The Indians believed in many gods and demons. Manitou, in the Black Robe, was considered to by a primary demon and bewitched the Europeans. The Indians believed that the Europeans’ prayers were spells being cast on people. The Indians did special rituals to their gods and demons. Compared to the plain European religion, the Indians religion was more spiritual. The priest in the story said, “...devil infects their[Indians] minds, making them resist the truth of our teachings.” Also in the story, The Indians had a afterlife called the World of the Dead. In the day the dead are blind but at night the dead move and walk. Because of the difference between the two kinds of religions, the Europeans had strict beliefs that their was only one god/savior. They tried to convert them but the Indians believed they were bewitched and were saying spells. In the new world many of the colonists fled Europe because of religious reasons. Many of the missionaries tried to convert the Indians. Much of the hierarchy of colonial America believed in one religion and disapproved of many gods and demons. This caused much controversy because of the rituals that were performed by the Indians. Religion was just one more reason why the two sides were not common, thus, the Europeans preached that the Indians were the “devil’s disciples.” Religious independence and population growth caused colonists to move for new land. This in hand led to King Phillips war, which was a massive war between many Indian tribes and the Europeans. Possessions in the Black Robe and in the new world were among the cultural differences between the Indians and Europeans. The Indians were communal people while the Europeans were private people. The Indians shared everything even with strangers. They criticized the Europeans, calling them khisakhiran because the Europeans did not share with anyone. In the new world the Europeans were a covetous bunch. The Indians were not greedy people unlike Europeans. What was Europeans was not for others. That is why many conflicts arose over the possession of land. Europeans thrived on the trade of items and the wealth that it brought them. Indians, on the other hand, grew and made only what they needed. They did not rely on trade to get things they did not need. Soon Indians became involved in war interest of the Europeans because of possession battles. The relationship between men and women has always been an important subject in Black Robe. In Black Robe the French were conservative people, while the Indians had far fewer barriers. Women were not considered to have the same rights as me...