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What If...

What If...

What if history was changed and the Native Americans were able to keep the Europeans out of the Americas? How would America be today? Do you think that the Europeans would have kept coming back again and again until they won, or would they have given up eventually?

Keep in mind the Discussion here is pure speculation and is meant only for friendly analysis or each member's perspective.

If What

The Europeans were repelled, many times, but they kept coming back. This isn't much of a what if because this did happen. But for the sake of argument, what would have happened if they had been successful in keeping them out all together? Several aspects of this question come to mind such as:

A.)What would the religious atmosphere of the world be like?
Understanding that the Native Americans had views of religion very close to nature and away from more monotheistic views would give the world a different religious view to see from.

B.)What would trade be like?
Money itself was not as important to indian society, so this would also have an effect.

C.) What about environmentalism?
Natives thought highly of the land, so what would they have thought about cars?

What If... History & Civil Business Politics

First of all, to answer Neo's questions:

I think the Europeans would have kept coming back again and again, launching one invasion after the other. The europeans are made up of many countries, so as one failed, the other would have moved in.

With regards to Konquererz's questions:

A. I think this can be seen today. There would be still a strong religious presence with some conversions - just as anywhere else. I think everything would be accepted on the level as many Eastern Religions are practised today by Westerners.

B. I do believe there would be modernization and interaction. The Native Americans were willing to use guns because they saw it's powers, and I am sure they would use modern equipment just like everyone else. The difference I believe is that their would be better management so that the modernization would not out rule environment.

C. They would probably have used solar cars *shrug*.

Keep in mind that I believe there would be a lot of civil wars, as no two tribes always agreed nor had everlasting peace - so as with most things war may have driven them to develop in other ways to conquer the enemy, but largely the Native Americans are just peaceful.

If What

I tried to imagine our country as it might have been without European influence, then remembered a place I visited that might serve as a model to give some idea what the north American continent might have been like.

I was lucky enough to see a group of islands that are almost lost in the vast south Pacific Ocean. The natives have lived there since 125 years before Christ. They have accepted a few things from the modern world. A very few have generated electricity for lights. There is an occasional outboard motor and Coke is sold, but the only thing I saw taken wholesale was the Catholic religion. They still collected and dried copra, fished with nets, and made beautiful music in consistant 80 degree temperatures. There was an occasional blond or red headed child left by a passing sailor, and although they are Catholics, they still love and support all children no matter who the father or mother is.

I would very quickly be bored to tears, but these people appear to be very happy. Except for the monthly freighter stop, they prefer to be left alone.

If What

As one of mixed European, Native American decent, I am torn on this subject. One part of me wants the invasion of this country by the europeans to have never happened, but the other part of me quietly reminds, that if that had happened, I would not be here. Everything happens for a reason. Reasons we are not meant to know, until we are meant to know them. I do not dare to presume to know the mind of God, but I do believe He had a reason for allowing this invasion to occur. I sit at this keyboard and weep over the souls of those killed by the europeans. The wholesale slaughter. The rancid beef and smallpox innoculated blankets. If any other nation had done these things to its' own, our government would scream genocide. And that is exactly what it was, but they failed. Call it Divine Providence, or what you will. They failed in their attempts to kill us, then to make us like them, so they split us into groups so small that we were no longer an viable political entity. To my mind, as I sit here and think about it, the invasion by the europeans has proven one thing...The resiliance of the Native American Spirit.

What If...

Within the last year I watched a program on the Public Broadcasting Service channel in my area that proved the American Indians did NOT all come across the Bering Land Bridge. The Eastern Tribes, who found so many similarities with the Irish, Scot and German immigrants that they intermarried themselves out of distinction, originally came FROM Europe during the last Ice Age.

Given that fact, the "invasion" by Europe to the Americas would still have happened, only if the earlier Indians had managed to either succeed in repelling the invasions or adopted the technology of the Europeans faster I think we would not, for one thing, have the Bureau of Indian Affairs ... Though we might have the bureau of Immigration be an entirely different kind of organization.

How different? Let me remind everyone that the United States Constitution is based on the Constitution of the Federated Iroquois nations! Yes, the US Constitution was modeled on an Indian constitution!

Exactly which set of immigrants, the Eastern or the Western produced the cannibalistic tribes of the south and the islands I don't know, but there were more than the Carib Indians who were cannibalistic. Then you had the Aztecs who were so militant they almost decimated themselves, the Mayans who retreated to the hills and jungles and hid their advanced civilization from Cortez, and the Inca who were wiped out by the diseases the Spanish brought to South America.

If all the Indian civilizations had better assimilated the European technology we'd be living in a politically very different place but I think other than that, we'd all be living where we live anyway. The Western Hemisphere has no "native" sentient beings, we are ALL immigrants by origin.

The West may not depend on oil and coal as much as it does because the regard for the earth and her other children would be culturally wider spread if the Indians had remained strong here. We would have found other, alternative, means of supplying our energy needs. We likely would still be growing our food with ancient seed instead of Montsanto's genetically altered crap, and there likely would be more family farms instead of the huge industrial farms which use ultra heavy equipment which only compacts the soil so badly that normal crops won't grow in it and it has to be fertilized too heavily. The population of the Western Hemisphere might have been less, as well, as many of the Indian Nations respected their place in the ecology enough to realize they could not populate unchecked as the Europeans thought they could.

Attitudes would be different. The Indians knew it took the entire tribe to care for the children old enough to walk. IF their social and moral codes overshadowed the European, we'd see a time still in existence where everyone watched out for everyone's kids and people would not be afraid to reprimand or correct someone else's child.

What If...

The land would not be ravaged. There would be respect for what many refer to as Mother Nature. I would not have to fight for something that I feel is my right. There would be relative peace and not so many enemies against us. There would be many nations and not many states.

What If... Politics Business Civil & History

If they had kept the Europeans out and were aloud to grow with our own believes, I know I wouldn't be here to see if. But it would be such a wonder to see. The rivers and lakes would be clean. All places classed as parks and reserves for animals wouldn't be. For they would expand far more than the few yards and acres that we have to day.
And even though I have really bad summer allergies, it would still be something to stand in a vast lust forest and be able to call it home.