NM+Last+of+the+Mohicans

The novel __The Last of the Mohicans__ by James Fennimore Cooper is a story based on the relationships the Indians made with the Europeans. The two European groups in the novel are the French and British who were in military conflict throughout the novel. The main characteristic of the relationship between the Indians and the Europeans is that the Europeans and Indians do not really seem to care for each other but use each other as allies to destroy their own enemies. This is shown in how the Hurons do not listen to the French commanders and how the Europeans use the Indians to help them navigate the forests and find good military positions as well as use the Indians as fierce warriors. When the British were forced to surrender and relinquish Fort William Henry to the French, they were promised safe passage by the French authorities. However, when the British people were walking away from the fort, the Hurons attacked and massacred many innocent people. This is an example of how the relationship between the Indians and European colonists is based off the Indians wanting to destroy their enemies because the British had settled in their land and they wanted to reclaim their land. Also, the Mohicans were enemies of the Hurons before the Mohican people died out so now the Hurons want to exterminate their enemies forever and destroy their enemies’ allies. The Hurons do not actually really value the French people as friends or close allies but they do value them as something that will assist them in their military plans. The Hurons proved that the relationship between Indians and Europeans is based off each side trying to destroy their own military enemies and in this case with the Hurons these enemies were the British and the Mohicans. The Europeans did not care for the Indians either but they did use them to destroy their enemies. One way they did this was to use the Indians too navigate through the wilderness to find good military positions. The two Mohicans were used for this purpose by the British for escorting Munro’s daughters, Alice and Cora, back to Fort William Henry. The Mohicans found the hiding spot within the rocks by the river where they were able to hide until the Hurons eventually found them. Also, the scout and the Mohicans knew of an old makeshift fort that had been used in a battle many years ago where the scout and many Indians had fought in against the Hurons and French. The Mohicans were also used to sense if there were any enemies around in the woods. The Europeans also proved that they did not care for the Indians because they used them as warriors for their armies. The French did this by using the Huron tribe to hunt down the British people in the woods as well as massacre them and to fight the armies. The European people, just as the Indians did, did not really care about the Indians as friends but more as military allies. This is shown in the novel by how the Europeans use the Indians as guides in the wilderness and sentinels from armies. They also use them as fierce warriors which is what the French do because of the fear Indians put into the hearts of the European colonists. In __The Last of the Mohicans__, the relationship between the Indians and the British and French colonists was more of a military relationship than a relationship at a personal level. The relationship was a relationship where each side was using the other to destroy their own enemies. The Huron tribe used the French to help destroy the Mohicans and the British. The Europeans used the Indians to help them navigate the wilderness and even used them as warriors to destroy each other. This relationship was a tense one that was held together by military goals.