Working Paper No. 57, The Plight of the Indigenous in British North America

This inquiry seeks to establish that the Indigenous population of North America experienced a tragic fate as a result of British colonization and American dominance. Upon the arrival of the English colonists, infectious diseases spread rapidly, disrupting Native American’s way of life and also decimating their populations. This inquiry examines two geographic areas—Virginia’s Eastern Shore and the Midcontinent—in order to demonstrate how these diseases affected Native Americans differently. Aside from the negative effects of the introduction of new infectious diseases, Indigenous peoples endured genocide perpetrated by English settlers as a means to gain greater control of their lands. Lastly, Indigenous communities were also subjected to policies of systematic relocation, such as the Indian Removal Act and the Dawes Act, which took away the land base used by millions of Native Americans in North America