|
|
Article: Indian Treaties
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
INDIAN TREATIES
INDIAN TREATIES
were the means that Europeans and Americans used to secure alliances with, and most often acquire land from, Native Americans. Historians disagree about the number of treaties negotiated between European powers and the United States between 1492 and the end of the formal treaty-making period in 1871. Because municipalities, companies, and state and national governments all made treaties, the number may well be in the thousands.
Origins
After Christopher Columbus discovered the New World for Spain in 1492, Spanish explorers and conquistadors used the Caribbean as a base from which to explore North and South America. At first, conquistadors ruthlessly took ...