The Idea of Americas Noble Savages Essay Example

term, its impact on European thinking was significant.

This period was particularly significant during the Enlightenment era and culminated with the French and American revolutions. 3: Hames, Raymond. The Ecologically Noble Savage Debate. Annu. Rev.

Anthropology. Volume 36, Number 1, 2007, page 179. Author: William, Denevan M.

According to the article "The Pristine Myth: The Landscape of the Americas In 1492" published in Annals of the Association of American Geographers in 1992 (p. 369), it is evident that the author argues against the notion of a pristine landscape in the Americas before the arrival of Europeans.

5: According to Denevan (p370), the idea of Americas Noble Savages oversimplified the reality of Native American social traditions and conventions. The Europeans who came into contact with Native American land described it as already cultivated (6). This is evident in the European accounts of their encounters. For instance, during his voyage along the coast of present-day New England in 1605, Samuel de Champlain encountered many people and cultivated fields at the mouth of the Saco River (present-day Southern Maine) (7).

In Boston Harbor, he observed a significant amount of land cultivated with Indian corn, along with a plentiful presence of squashes, tobacco, and pumpkins. This contradicted the misconception that the Americas were an untouched land populated only by noble savages. 6: Karl, Butzer W. From Columbus to Acosta: Science, Geography, And The New World. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 82, no.

3. 1992, p553, 7: Silva, Cristobal.

The source for this text is an article titled "Miraculous Plagues: Epidemiology on New England’s Colonial Landscape" found in the journal Early American Literature (Vol. 43, No. 2, 2008, p. 249).

John Smith, another European writer,

discussed the Americas in the year 1616. He described the Massachusetts region as an area that had been developed by humans, with numerous fields and settlements (footnote 8). Smith mentioned the presence of beautiful gardens and a populated paradise, which he believed would be appealing to potential investors and settlers.

According to Fernando Colon, the son of Columbus, there were vast corn fields and a significant population along the coast of New England. He also noted various natural observations along the Central American Coasts, being the first to describe pineapples [9: Cristobal].

p249. 9: Butzer. p547. The concept of Noble Savages had an impact on the historiography of the early American encounters in that it did not accurately reflect reality. Instead, it served as a stereotype propagated by Europeans¹⁰. This misconception was widely accepted.

The early interactions between Europeans and Native Americans in America were consistently mispresented. Specifically, the intellectual impact of the Native Americans was perpetually disregarded in order to emphasize European superiority. The Native Americans' significant contributions were never acknowledged, as they were seen merely as individuals who lived harmoniously within their surroundings and were thus not deemed influential in the development of North America.

The Europeans are given full credit for the idea that Noble Savages inspired their invasion of the Americas (Butzer, p543).

The European colonists did not view the Native Americans as a threat and instead saw them as Noble Savages. This perception allowed the colonists to conquer the Native American populations in the Americas. The colonists considered the Native Americans to be abstracted from real human beings and arrived in the new world with the expectation of exploiting its natural resourcesfootnoteRef:11.

They desired to have

dominion over the resources, which led to clashes with Native Americans. Nonetheless, they managed to drive them away and acquire control over the resourcesfootnoteRef:12. The concept of Noble Savages significantly influenced European thinking and consequently motivated the early European settlers to colonize the Americas. 11: Cristobal. p253.

12: Denevan. p375. The colonists were amazed by their encounters in the Americas. The indigenous people had formed perfect habitats for wildlife ¹³. Numerous species of wildlife were present.

The European colonists were greatly impressed by the abundance of various species, such as deer, elk, beaver, porcupine, hare, quail, turkey, and ruffed grouse, among others (footnoteRef:14). The increase in peccary, white-tailed deer, and other wildlife also attracted the colonists. It was believed that the creation of grassy openings on the east side of Mississippi extended the range of bison. Additionally, the bison population grew with the decrease in the Native American population, which resulted in reduced hunting pressure (13: White).

p310. 14: Denevan. p375. To summarize, a common myth exists that the Americas was an untouched land inhabited by Noble Savages.

According to the term, the Americas were considered a vast and desolate wilderness with very few people inhabiting it. However, this notion is incorrect as there is evidence suggesting that Native Americans had already cultivated and modified their surroundings. The concept of a pristine wilderness was a product of European imagination, aimed at asserting their superiority. Despite being a mere invention, this idea of Noble Savages influenced European thinking and ultimately led to the colonization of Native America. Europeans believed in their own superiority and consequently came to settle in North America, establishing their colonies.

Therefore, the concept of Noble

Savages being a myth emerged from the European encounters with Native Americans in 1492.

References

• Butzer, Karl W. From Columbus to Acosta: Science, Geography, and the New World. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 82, no. 3: 543-565, 1992.
• Cristobal, Silva. Miraculous Plagues: Epidemiology on New England’s Colonial Landscape. Early American Literature 43, no. 2: 249-270, 2008.
• Denevan, William M. The Pristine Myth: The Landscape of the Americas in 1492. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 82, no. 3: 369-385, 1992.
• Raymond, Hames. The Ecologically Noble Savage Debate.

Annu. Rev. Anthropol. 36 no.

1: 177- 190, 2007.

White, Richard. American Environmental History: The Development of a New Historical Field. Pacific Historical Review 54, no 3: 297-335, 1985.