However, at the root of the problem was this: two vastly different cultures with incredibly different ideals and ambitions. Even if some semblance of an effort at peace had been made, ultimately the differences would have won out. The two groups could not coexist forever in the same area – the European tendency to push their values onto the Native Americans and seize the land for their own use turned an already problematic situation into a disastrous one, and would make the collision in 1622 unavoidable.
Firstly, one must consider the culture and social structure of the Native Americans before they came into contact with the Europeans. Native Americans had been occupying the country for at least 20,000 years, and had themselves evolved over time to the group which is known as the Mississippi Period (A.D. 900 – 1492) – the group which the European settlers would encounter upon their arrival to North America. These 16th-century Native Americans were primarily farmers, placing most emphasis on the production of maize, but also hunted and fished. Their agricultural lifestyle, which had been perfected over many years, allowed for a culture in which the production of crafts was rather important, both for practical and non-practical uses. The Native Americans were living in a culture which was based off of an equitable relationship with the land, which they took care of and did not allow themselves to take ownership over, as it was considered a living being which could really belong to no man. Societies were based not on a hierarchy or on any sort of individualism, but rather on the collective efforts of the whole tribe. Native Americans had developed their ways of life over several thousand years, but in Europe, a different sort of society had developed and was ready to expand its reaches by colonizing a new world.
The Europeans began their expansion west in the late 1400s with Spain's explorers, such as Christopher Columbus and Francisco Vasquez de Coronado.
