The english were by far the harshest in their treatment with the native population. Within the first couple of years the English used the natives for trade for food, and once they were self reliant the English had no use for the natives. Their immune systems were to weak to be enslaved and fresh land for tobacco, the cash crop, was needed. So the English pushed the natives off their homeland and committed war against them.(Ex: King Philip's War). The Spanish were probably the second harshest against the natives. They conquered and defeated the natives, but also had them assimilate into their lifestyle. The wanting of gold influenced the Spanish so they enslaved the natives to find gold for them. Also, because part of the Spanish reason for exploration was to expand christianity the attempt at civilization and converting natives into christians made the natives seem less like savages and more like people to the europeans. The dutch and French colonies treated the native population very similarly. They were both trading colonies that did not encroach very far onto the land. Also, they had to maintain good relationships with the Native Americans in order to trade with them so they did not enslave or murder nearly as bad as their European counterparts.
