From the discovery of the New World to the developing colonies in North America, the newcomers and the indigenous people benefitted each other by their cultural traditions, but were also weakened by the development of wars, diseases, and political conflicts. These factors would forever affect the lives of the natives and the lives of the colonists.
For the natural instinct humans have for trade, many of the indigenous people traded freely when the Europeans arrived. Trade, for the Indians, was meant to create a friendly bond with the European traders. When the first European item was traded with an Indian's, word of the never before seen item quickly spread throughout North America, and most Indian's wanted these "impressive new technologies", (Calloway). They were increasingly interested in a common European lifestyle that included furniture, clothes, tools, and other household items. Not only the Indians were fascinated by the items, it also made their lives easier. Europeans took advantage of this vantage point to deliver vast amounts of manufactured goods. The requirement of metal goods helped the indigenous people farm, hunt, cook, and many other things. Clothing, which was another benefit from the Europeans, played an important role in an Indian's life because it helped protect Indians from cold weather and diseases by covering up exposed skin from the lethal components of nature. Because of the influence of the European goods, the indigenous people started to manufacture "their own versions of European things", (Calloway).
As the popularity of the European goods arose in the indigenous community, the Indians' dependency of the European suppliers also increasingly rose. This escalated into the developing conflict between other tribes, the Europeans, and also within the same community. Due to the use of guns after trading with the newcomers, it was easier for the Indians to control other tribes.