Their Manners Are Decorous
By: Anna • Essay • 621 Words • February 28, 2010 • 1,050 Views
Join now to read essay Their Manners Are Decorous
According to Wikipedia, Terrorism is the organized use, or threatened use, of violence to intimidate a population or government and in so doing effect political, religious or ideological change. The acts of terrorism that are committed are not intended to purely victimize or eliminate those who are killed, injured or taken captive but rather to intimidate and influence the societies to which they belong. After reading, "Their Manners are Decorous and Praiseworthy," The acts against the Native Americans by the Europeans (white men) who settled in the United States were indeed acts of terrorism.
Inferiority had a complex/sense of insecurity with the Europeans contact outside of Europe. When the Europeans embarked on different parts of the world they noticed that the people of these countries had melanin, skin color, in which they did not have. As Europeans explored even further, they concluded that they are the minority in the world. Hence, they wanted to be the majority. The problem with this desire was that the Europeans could not obtain a darker hue. This state of mind caused the Europeans to want to oppress the people opposite of them. So, they began seeking other means of gaining superiority.
The Europeans wanted to make the Native Americans feel inferior to them as they settled on their land. They were violent towards the Native American people by violating their physical, social, and psychological integrity. Several Native American tribes were exterminated for the betterment and the gain of the Europeans. Thousands of Native Americans died at the hands of the Europeans. After King Phillip of Pokanoket was killed, his head was left for public display at Plymouth for twenty years. In another killing, the skeleton of the leader was left in a room for the Europeans as a trophy. Raritans were punished for offenses which had been committed by white settlers, not by them. These are some of the acts of terrorism that the white European settlers committed against the Native Americans.
In a psychological aspect, the Tainos and Arawak people converted to the Europeans religion losing faith in their own beliefs. This manipulated