TB+Last+of+the+Mohicans+Response

// “Last of the Mohicans” Reflection  // The relations between the natives and British and French colonists in the novel, //“Last of the Mohicans”// are good examples of settler and native relations. The French colonists used and exploited the natives for profits and imperialistic needs. The British felt that they were victims of native violence and ignored the natives’ right to their land. The natives saw both the French and British as thieves who exploit the land and were going to push them off their lands The French often used the natives for their own gains. The French befriended the natives because they could trade highly prized beaver furs. They often traded alcohol which made the chiefs drunk and willing to sign agreements that cheated the natives out of land. Also, they used their allies like the Huron for the most dangerous part of the fighting. The French sent the Huron to do their dirty work like the attempted kidnapping of the British general’s two girls. The British colonists were convinced that hostile natives had been routinely attacking British settlements for absolutely no justifiable reason. Even though the natives did attack settlements there were reasons for it, like the thief of land; unfortunately it often resulted in the murder of innocent women and civilians. That was how Nathaniel Bumppo’s (“Hawkeyes”) parents were killed. They feared natives and viewed them as savages, not men. However, the British returned these attacks with the same cold-blooded brutality. This leads to great distrust between the two groups. One of the general’s daughters remarked she did not trust her native guides on the way to the fort. British viewed natives as savages who cannot be trusted. The natives saw the both the French and British as a threat to their ways of life. The British were clearly the bigger threat as they were rapidly expanding West into native lands. The natives had come across more confrontations with the British about land. Also, the natives had long trading relationships with the French settlers. The natives believed the French were the lesser of two evils. The native believed both the French and British exploited the land as they clear-cut huge forests for farmland. The natives felt that the Earth was a gift and that one was meant that use what there. They did not know why the white settlers viewed them as savages. The native characters were all calm and reflective, but if they were wronged they became almost animal like, demanding revenge. The natives also believed that they were being cheated out of land by underhanded Europeans or in many cases just stolen from them. The novel portrays accurate relations among most French and British colonists and natives of that time. The British thought the natives were savages, preying on innocent settlers. The French exploited their native allies, and the natives found the French to be safer allies; despite the fact that they were still a threat.