Minority Groups In The 17th Century

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In the 17th century, many colonists traveled to the new world seeking "Gold, God and Glory". The majority of the colonists were white English, while there were many minority groups. An unfortunate characteristic of minority groups is that they are often accompanied by prejudice and discrimination, and usually tend to be at a disadvantage in most situations. For example, in the 17th century, Native Americans, African Americans, and indentured servants were minority groups that were poorly treated. To start, when colonists first settled in the new land, their interactions with the Native Americans were friendly. Soon after, conflicts arose, which eventually led to war. During many disputes, Native Americans were forced out of their land, killed, …show more content…
When colonists first settled, they established laws and rules for their government. Many of those laws discriminated against the minority and left them at an unfair advantage regarding justice. Also, the government was less harsh on majority groups, like the English. For example, a group of Native Americans, the Moravian Delawares, were robbed and killed by settlers. Despite court efforts, the English colonists responsible for the attack were not brought to justice. According to the article, Were the American Indians Victims of Genocide?, published by History News Network, a nonprofit corporation composed of academic scholars, it states, “Although federal and state officials tried to bring such killers to justice, their efforts, writes the historian Francis Prucha, ‘were no match for the singular Indian-hating mentality of the frontiersmen, upon whom depended conviction in the local courts.’” Due to the hatred towards the Native Americans, the murders were not convicted of the crime. The colonists were able to justify the massacre of the Native Americans with government because the court allowed the convicts to walk without any further efforts to bring them to justice. To continue, there were laws placed on the African Americans that allowed slave owners to mistreat them. According to the article, Colonial Authority, published by the American Anthropological Association, an organization of scholars that helps to protect ethnic rights, it states, “ The Barbados slave code was set up by the English in order to provide a legal base for slavery in the Caribbean island. Under its provisions, slave owners were required to provide clothing for their slaves; but the slaves were denied even the basic rights guaranteed by English common law.” Government laws justified the treatment of the slaves because it was legal to do those things to the slaves and there were no laws to protect the slaves’
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