HELP PLEASE!why couldnt the indian tribes in early america beat the europeans even tho they had more people?

Question

why couldnt the indian tribes in early america beat the europeans even tho they outnumbered the europeans and even had alliances/confederations among tribal groups? help me pleasee!!!

Answer 1

automatic rifles, alchohal and Europeans lied..Natives trusted

Answer 2

In a word: weapons. The Europeans had black powder muskets, which could do significantly more damage and at greater range than those the native Americans had at their disposal.

Answer 3

Because the Europeans had better weapons like guns while all the Indians had were spears and bows and arrows and stuff like that.

Answer 4

Because the Indians only had knives and swords. The Europeans had guns. Never bring a knife to a gun fight.

Answer 5

Four reasons - Politics, Money, Weapons, Disease.

Politics, in that the Native American nations were more concerned with their own power struggles and didn't see the Europeans as a unifed threat they had to fight against.  In all the colonial wars, between the English and the French for instance, each side had their own native allies.  The First Nations made alliances with the settlers to help overcome their own local enemies, without seeing the long term consequences of this approach.

Money - the Europeans brought a lot of wealth with them, and there were many Native Americans who basically sold out and worked for them.  Cultures became divided as a result.  

Weapons - guns, war-dogs, cannons, armour.  The Europeans had a lot of advantages but in particular they had a different strategic outlook.  Native American wars were tribal wars - you went out and shot arrows at each other for a bit and went home if anyone got too badly hurt, then you made peace in time for the harvest season.  Europe was almost constantly at war and its soldiers were professionals used to long campaigns.  They were able to pursue a campaign of conquest on a scale unimaginable to the natives.  It would be like someone setting out to seriously conquer the entire world today.  You wouldn't believe they were either capable or prepared to do it, and nations wouldn't band together until it was too late.

Disease - probably the most important factor.  European diseases ravaged the American peoples and left their nations in disarray.  When one in three or more people are dead of a mysterious plague, it's hard to organise an effective military resistance.

Answer 6

Adding to what others said: There weren't many alliances / confederations (aside from the Iriquois) at the time and as one tribe was defeated, they were often convinced by whites who "fed off" previous inter-tribal warfare. That's one of the reasons why there is still friction, so to speak, between different tribes.

Also it seems the Europeans were more determined to conquer than proud Natives who didn't realise how quickly the whites would proceed and with such efficiency.

Answer 7

You need to learn how to write correctly, tho is not a word.

Europeans had better armor, better weaponry, and better strategy.  

Answer 8

But put in another context, the Indians were of Asian or South American origin and there they still thrive.  At a certain point in time, Europeans were stronger but when you step back, the Natives still have a foothold in North America and are quite adept at playing the guilt game.

Answer 9

In addition to what everyone else is saying about the European technological superiority, there is also the fact that the Europeans brought deadly deseases over to the Americas. The Native Americans had no immunity ( as they had never been exposed to the diseases before) and died in droves. No amount of number would have made a difference- in fact more Indians meant a quicker outbreak throughout the population!