Describe the relationship between Europeans, Native Americans, and Africans in the 1600's.

The relationship between Europeans, Africans and Indians was one that was dominated by Europeans. The primary reason for this dominance, of course, was the use of guns and superior weapons. Europeans also had the notion that their race was superior to African and Native races. They even used religion to justify their actions. In the New World, Europeans had already begun to settle by the 1600's. The Seventeenth Century was an important period for colonization in North America by Europeans. In 1629, the Puritans began arriving in New England. Their relationship with the Indians was one of cooperation, but it was also violent at times. Over time, the European populations that settled in America would remove Native Americans from their lands. This was done through unfair treaties, but most often by force. European diseases also ravaged the native populations.

The Seventeenth Century also marked an escalation of the European exploitation of Africans. The century saw the development of a large-scale trade network in which very few Africans benefited economically or politically. In 1619, the first slaves were brought to the territory that would become the United States. Millions of African slaves would be captured in Africa and brought to North America. Millions would die in the voyage. This dominant relationship was also based on superior weapons that the Europeans possessed. In the 1600's, Europeans like the Portuguese, Dutch, English and French perpetrated crimes against Indians and Africans that these groups would never recover from.