Difference Between European And Indian Culture

European and Indian Culture and Society Culture varies from region to region, place to place, and world to world. Right from the initial meeting of the Europeans and the Indians, these differences were extremely obvious to both sides in many ways, including religious beliefs, social hierarchy, the concept of trade and gift giving, and more. The Europeans were rather uneducated on what was west of them when they went out on long voyages for the purposes of “God, Glory, Gold.” Europe was a very organized and technologically advanced society. To attempt to get ahead of each other, the various European countries had to be very competitive. One such example of this is the now famous Italian, Christopher Columbus embarking on his voyages from Portugal, with assistance …show more content…
One grave example of geographical differences between Europeans is the fact that Europeans were immune to certain diseases that Indians were not. Disease crippled the Indians because they did not have the immune systems to fight them. “It was disease as much as military prowess and more-advanced technology that enabled Europeans to conquer the Americas” (Foner, 24). In order for Europeans to be able to survive in the New World, it was important that they established some form of friendship with the Indians. On the viewpoint of the Indians, it was essential to give gifts to outsiders. The concept of property was very different back in Europe, so this complicated trade between natives and newcomers. “when the Indian handed a beaver skin to the trader, who gave a gun in return, it wasn’t simply two goods that were moving back and forth. There were symbols passing between them as well. The trader might not have been aware of all those symbols, but for the Indian the exchange represented a statement about their friendship. The Indian might expect to rely on the trader for military support, and to support him in return” (Garraty, 18). This shows the concept of property,