Garden Of Eden Analysis

Origins
The “colonial period” of America is characterized by the influx of settlers from many different places around the world. Whether the inhabitants of the New World are descendants of Spanish conquistadors, poor Irish potato farmers, African slaves, or even Native Americans, their origin in America is crucial to their cultural identity. For the Native Americans, there is no story about the voyage across the Atlantic; however, their creation stories play a crucial role in their identity and place in America. The Native Americans display their origins through their use of creation stories, in which America was their “Garden of Eden”. For most Europeans, the story of creation refers to the Catholic story of Adam and Eve. In this story, man is created first with the rest of the world to follow, which is eventually …show more content…
This difference in cultures is what led to tension especially between the Europeans and the Native Americans. Historian Martin Quitt explains his views on the rising conflict in the colonies. Quitt believes that conflict did not arise because of a misunderstanding of cultures; however, it is the understanding of opposing cultures, which caused problems. For the first few years in America, there were few to no problems between the English and the Powhatan tribe even though there was no understanding of culture. After about two years, the English began to learn the Native American cultures and from this blending of cultures, conflict began. Cultural misunderstanding was the far from the reason for conflict. Like many groups settling in America at the time, the English and Powhatans had a respect for the other culture that came out of not knowing about it. Once both cultures became understood, it became apparent that there were large differences in the core values of each group, which prevented