A1+ SOCIAL AND CULTURAL AWARENESS Colonies and Native Americans 4 Leggi il brano, poi rispondi in modo personale alle domande. At the beginning, Native Americans and English settlers had a good relationship based on trade and spirituality, but soon disease and conflicts over the control of the land ruined it. Diseases were one of the major problems for the natives because they had no immunity to smallpox and tuberculosis, for example. Some colonial leaders believed that the death of so many Native Americans was a sign of God to support the colonists right to the land. READING SPEAKING My Land Is My Land The Native Americans wanted to live in harmony with nature and their society was not based on property. They lived in different areas during the year, depending on the season and their mobile lifestyle meant that their homes had none of the possessions that were so fundamental in Europe. While the Native Americans tried to make political alliances with the colonists, the Europeans were more interested in taking their lands. Puritanism was the main religion of the colonies and Puritans considered Native Americans to be inferior because of their primitive lifestyle, but many thought they could be converted to Christianity. The natives found Puritan conversion bad and cruel because to accept Christianity they had to give up their language and leave their traditional homes and lifestyle. This led to conflicts and war. Adapted from: https://www.womenhistoryblog.com/2007/10/ native-americans-and-massachusetts-bay.html 23 3 1. Why did Puritans want to convert Native Americans to Christianity and didn t accept their lifestyle? 2. Can you give examples of similar situations in our modern world? Ascolta il testo e scegli l opzione corretta. LISTENING 1. Which season was it when the British colonists arrived in America? a. It was summer. b. It was winter. c. It was spring. 2. How did the natives help the early colonists? a. They helped them to grow food. b. They gave them their food. c. The helped them to build their houses. DO-IT-YOURSELF 5 WRITING GROUP WORK Fate una breve ricerca sulle tribù indiane al tempo della colonizzazione. Sceglietene una e fate un cartellone in cui ne descrivete usi, costumi e storia. 3. How did the colonists thank the natives? a. They gave them money. b. They gave them clothes. c. They invited them for a big dinner. GLOSSARY 4. What is today s most popular Thanksgiving dish? a. Mashed potatoes. b. Apple pie. c. Roast turkey. almost: quasi disease: malattia to establish: stabilire field: campo to found: fondare to lead: condurre relationship: relazione right: diritto settler: colono smallpox: vaiolo to survive: sopravvivere trade: commercio wilderness: terra selvaggia 51