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Exploitation, Forgone Conclusion?
Morgaine McFarland
My brain has decided to be sporadic and non linear so this is less of an essay (at this point) and more of a series of ideas/arguments.
It’s obvious to most people, that the indigenous population of the Northwest and the foreign, originally European, explorers had very different cultures. Their views of the world and power were alien to each other. They shared no language, and what was interpreted was choppy at best. Trade customs and values were vastly different. While they understood that there were obvious differences between them, they still had assumptions about how the other would act/ react.
The natives concept of power was less about violence and physical prowess and more about strategy and skills. The spirits and their gifts were highly coveted. There was respect between tribes and the assumption that even if one tribe achieved victory in one circumstance there was still the chance that they would suffer great losses in the next.
The Brits, on the other hand, had a culture based on dominance. The obvious loser in any given situation was the one who was outmanned or outgunned. This was the way the Brits had been conquering the world. By this time in history, the Brits were all about capitalism and profit. Exploitation was ‘natural’. Sailors in particular understood these concepts because these concepts defined their lives.
So it would seem that a logical conclusion of these two cultures trading would be that the Brits would eventually resort to extreme violence and exploitation to gain profits and therefore power. The natives, being several separates tribes and not one collective force, would be unprepared for this fight. They would not understand the idea of profit and exploitation (in the eyes of the European world).
The decimation of the indigenous populations of the Northwest was not the intention of the explorers when they landed here. They needed these people to provide them with food and products for profit. Trade was the intention. Unfortunately, though not a forgone conclusion, looking back, it is not surprising that the Brits eventually conquered this land.
