The Conflict of European and Eastern Algonkian Cultures, 1504-1700 : A Study in Canadian Civilization, Second Edition

The movement of one cultural group into the territory of another has always produced conflict: a conflict which is resolved at times by the obliteration of one group, but more often by a gradual fusion of elements drawn from both. This study examines the conflict between the Europeans and the Indians precipitated by the arrival of the French in the New World. The Indians were necessarily affected by the fur trade and the religious and social development of New France, and the meeting of contrary cultures resulted in most cases in the obliteration of that of the Indian. However, a fusion of Indian and European elements sometimes occurred, resulting in the birth of a ‘Canadian’ culture. The process has been repeated with the immigration of every new cultural group to Canada. This study analyses the conflict and traces the fusion of Canadian culture in its initial stage. First published in 1937, the book has proved an importance contribution to an area of early Canadian history which has been receiving renewed attention. This edition contains the original text with the addition of an index and a new chapter appraising some of the leading developments of the past few years. Contents 7 Preface to the First Edition 9 Reappraisals 11 1. The Aboriginal Population 27 2. Occasional Contact on the Gulf Coast 30 3. Acadia at the Turn of the Century 34 4. The Eastern Algonkians and the Balance of Power 52 5. The Displacement of Materials 72 6. Drunkenness and Regulation 92 7. Disease and Treatment 101 8. Political Modification 110 9. Social Disintegration 122 10. The Effect of Contact on the French 143 11. Religion 152 12. Art, Pictography, and Music 174 13. Mythology 183 Bibliography 218 Index 233 Analysis of the conflict of cultures resulting with the arrival of the French in the New World