Lesson 2.2

Explore 2

Explore 1

What were the motives that led to the establishment of a relationship?

Often traditional history accounts begin with stories between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples after the European conquest of the New World. Take a step back and find out what motives led to the establishment of relationships (ranging from cultural, economic, mutual, and hostile in nature) between Aboriginal peoples and Europeans in North America.

Motives

CURIOSITY

European Motives
The stories about the travels of Marco Polo created interest and curiosity in finding out more about the world.

Explorers, such as Bartholomew Diaz and Christopher Columbus, were driven by dreams of gold, glory, and spreading the word of God.

ECONOMIC

Read the following about the economic activities that drove explorers such Columbus to seek faster and more efficient trade routes.

European Motives
Portugal and Spain (and later Holland, France, and England) were motivated by profit. Goods such as cotton, silk, precious stones, spices, and slaves from India, China, and Persia had created a market demand that was difficult to maintain with current trade routes and supplies. Travel through central Asia was risky and costly. New sources and cost-efficient routes became the priority of the Portuguese monarchy in the fifteenth century.

Aboriginal Motives
Many First Nations groups along the coasts of North America sought some form of trade with newcomers to the continent.

Despite the lack of formal trade relations until much later, the Inuit found value in salvaging iron, wood, and European goods from stranded or lost ships during early contact.

The Mi’kmaq encouraged Jacques Cartier to come ashore in 1534. They celebrated this first contact with a Mi’kmaq ceremony and communicated the intent to trade with a few words adapted from earlier trade with Basque or Portuguese traders.

The Ouendat nation had many well-established trade networks with other First Nations groups and easily adapted the French as trade partners into their trade system. They insisted that the French trade in the Ouendat language with Ouendat protocol. In Ouendat society the European goods were a sign of prestige and status.

The Haudenosaunee entered into an alliance with the Dutch in 1609 to trade furs for firearms.

The Cree welcomed Henry Hudson in 1611 with the intent of exchanging European goods for furs.

POLITICAL

European Motives
The monarchs of Portugal and Spain viewed exploration as a means of extending the influence of their kingdoms by establishing their presence in new territories.

Henry the Navigator had many motives for financing Portuguese ventures westward. He was curious about the land beyond Portugal. Trade was vital to the power of Portugal. The conversion of new peoples to Christianity would decrease the spread of Islam.