There are several examples of cultural transfer across the Atlantic and within the Atlantic World, whether this was through force, necessity, choice or simply prolonged exposure. There are also many kinds of cultural transfer, although high culture and religious ideals may have been the intended form of culture that Europeans wished to take to the New World, other forms of culture were also transferred such as language and methods of cooking. Settlers not only took with them their own individual lifestyles but the ways in which they chose to clothe themselves and build their houses, as well as their expectations of what was normal behaviour. Furthermore, desires to trade or convert led to traders in North America adopting Algonquian words such as moose, and friars in Mexico to begin to learn the local language. In addition, the influence of indigenous methods of agriculture, and foods such as cherries, squash and beans, coupled with the use of the products not only in English colonies but in England too, suggests that migration affected culture. While in Spanish America there was a particularly evident change in the style of dress in Mexico as men often wore a loin cloth, but by the sixteenth century men largely wore trousers although female fashion was predominantly unchanged. Therefore it could be argued that European aesthetics were altered to suit the New World as much as the aesthetics of the indigenous populations were altered as European aesthetics were imposed upon them.
A change in aesthetics is particularly evident in English interactions with the indigenous population as they adopted moccasins as a more practical shoe, although the extent to which aesthetics are affected by practicalities could be debated. It could, however, be suggested that this was not a transference of culture but as James Axtell argues, borrowing ‘Indian means’ such as clothing, or farming techniques such as using fish fertilizer, and adapting them to ‘English ends’. However, Michele Espagne argues that ‘in the process of transfer and the migration from one cultural situation to another, any object falls into a new context and takes on a new meaning’ implying that regardless of intention, by introducing a new context cultures were interchanged and transferred. Therefore it could be suggested that cultural transfer was not only a one-sided process but a natural process derived from the migration and interaction of different peoples. There is evidence to suggest that those who abandoned a European way of life were discounted by contemporaries, thus suggesting that the colonialist view of cultural transfer was that European culture could not, or should not, be affected by any indigenous cultures.
It cannot be argued that those who migrated to the New World did not intend to transfer their European cultures and beliefs onto their colonies and the indigenous population. While Spanish settlers questioned why Indigenous Americans did not conform to European norms, there is an argument that the desire to Europeanise the indigenous population was to justify a culture of conquest maintained by conquistadors. The Spanish desire to spread Catholicism throughout New Spain not only had major influences in the art, architecture and religion of Hispanic towns, but created an exchange in language; friars such as Bernardin de Sahagún learnt the language of the indigenous population and even preserved Aztec texts as a means to spread Catholic doctrines more easily. Catholic notions and ideas also appeared to spread easily throughout New Spain while creating a separate, New Spanish, Catholic identity as capilla aberta, or open chapel, was developed to allow larger, outdoor, masses as attendance was so high. However, the Spanish authorities enforced religious uniformity by burning heretics , although many did continue to practice their old religion in secret, thus demonstrating that there was colonial force behind cultural transfer in New Spain. It could be argued that this was due to the ease with which Spanish Catholicism could be placed over Inca society through the adoption of mannerisms and dress, although this was rejected during the eighteenth century with a revival of traditional behaviours and dress alongside independence movements. This therefore suggests that the imposition of European Catholicism drastically changed the culture, but also that this was not permanent nor irreversible.
There was similar cultural change for Indigenous Americans living within English colonies as the British expected them to behave in the same way as the settlers or move away. However, certainly as far as religion was concerned, there was a far more one-sided cultural transfer in areas where the British interacted with Indigenous Americans as their religion was far more incorporative than Christianity. John Smith argued that Indigenous Americans regarded the Christian God as an oracle, suggesting that this may make the indigenous population easier to convert to Christianity. There is further evidence to suggest that religious cultural transfer under the British was one-sided as tribes such as the Cherokees had no temples or religious buildings, thus building churches in North America became a greater display of cultural transfer. That is not to say that the transfer of culture was necessarily successful as attempts to teach Indigenous American children to behave like English children in schools away from their settlements had little effect. Furthermore British contemporaries believed that settlers who joined indigenous tribes and adopted their ways ‘played no role in the formation of English colonial culture’. Thus it could be suggested that, certainly in contemporary minds, cultural transfer could only be from the English to the Americans.
There is evidence, however, that North American tribal culture did influence the life of English settlers. Not only for those who joined indigenous tribes, or through the change in language, but the proximity to the transient lifestyle of Indigenous Americans, had an influence on the lifestyle of settlers. Some early English settlers used wigwams as housing until they could afford to build traditional frame houses; however, there is an argument that this did not have a lasting effect on English culture as this style of building was not maintained. On the other hand there were clear effects on both cultures as Indigenous Americans became more dependent on English goods, while English traders began to adopt Indigenous American customs and languages in order to improve relations and increase trade. While there is an argument that English settlers strongly opposed this, there was a bicultural transfer induced by environmental necessity. Indigenous Americans adopted European weaponry in order to defend their own culture while Europeans adopted indigenous agriculture and hunting techniques in order to better adapt to their surroundings. Therefore it is particularly evident that there was a cultural transfer between English settlers and Indigenous Americans even if Anglicising techniques led to the illusion that there was no transfer.
In Spanish colonies there was a different attitude to cultural transfer as Spanish authorities accommodated cultural diversity. It could be argued that this was due to the fact that the Spanish arrived with wide cultural differences, as well as the fact that the indigenous population was seen as welcoming and accommodating to Christopher Columbus on his arrival. However, there is a particularly religious element to Spanish culture transferred to the New World as the communal lifestyle in Mexico enabled the clergy to influence all levels of cultural life. This is despite evidence that the Spanish authorities made an attempt to accommodate and understand indigenous cultures through surveys used in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It could alternatively be argued that these surveys were used in order to justify Spanish practices and to further influence cultural life, particularly as very few elements of indigenous life had been affected. Despite this, there is evidence that there was a gradual bicultural exchange in Spanish America, as some Spaniards adopted indigenous foods and customs, while the indigenous population gradually adopted Hispanic ideals. However, the rejection of Spanish customs during an eighteenth century cultural revival suggests that while it cannot be denied that there was a considerable transfer of culture in Spanish colonies, this was neither consistent or long lasting.
There is, however, a distinct cultural crossover in Spanish America, shown particularly in the adaptation of Inca houses by adding Spanish-style white stucco walls an orange roof tiles. It could, on the other hand, be argued that this was simply a more practical solution in smaller towns, whereas larger towns were reorganised into a traditional Spanish layout. Furthermore, the extent to which housing and architecture was Hispanised varied throughout Spanish America due to environmental practicalities, often cathedral designs differed from European ideals in order to be suitable. This coupled with the influence of Mexican design on Spanish architecture, especially as this influence went unrecognised, suggests that contemporaries saw cultural transfer by their own definition. There is further evidence that religious culture gelled groups of people together, religious ceremonies were important in New Spain, while it is argued that religious art was able to develop a New Spanish identity due to the distance from European Christianity. Therefore it could be suggested that while there was a clear cultural transfer between Spanish settlers and the indigenous population in New Spain, geographical bounds meant that this did not reach Old Spain. There is however an argument that this led to a cultural split in Spanish colonies with each generation, thus it may be suggested that cultural transfer cannot be measured in the same way for all cultures and regions.
This argument may further be seen in British North American colonies as different groups of settlers took different influences from indigenous tribes. While they were the minority, there were cases of European settlers who joined indigenous tribes as they preferred that lifestyle. Although there were instances of this being due to being captured by North American tribes, the resistance shown by captives to return to English life might suggest that cultural transfer in North America was too limited. However, there is contrasting evidence from Indigenous American converts to the European lifestyle, as despite English fashion being seen as restrictive it was adopted by some as a political statement. Therefore it could be suggested that where English culture was transferred, it was seen as a political statement rather than the most practical option. This could further be supported by the reluctance of North American tribes to share their medicines and healing techniques with English settlers in order to maintain their position; therefore, it could be suggested that cultural transfer was a political tool. It could be argued that the reason for such a difference between English and Spanish cultural transfer was the lack of cultural variation in English settlers, while it has been argued that the Spanish had a ‘proud range of cultural and social differences’. Thus it may be seen that cultural transfer was affected by politics as well as an awareness of culture on both sides of the transfer.
Contemporary attitudes towards cultural transfer not only show the colonists understanding of cultural transfer, but also the lack of understanding of how a new country and context in which their culture was based would alter it even if it never came into contact with another culture. Not only is this demonstrated by the differences in produce and animals found in the Americas compared to Europe, but in the way in which buildings had to be constructed, particularly in Spanish America, in order to withstand the environment. While there is considerable evidence of the deliberate attempts to supplant indigenous cultures with a European culture, there is also lasting evidence of the influence of Indigenous American culture on English culture and Algonquian words have continued use in the English language. The use of force and political coercion to transfer culture further implies that having a shared culture with the Indigenous Americans would make colonisation easier, although this theory disregards Espagne’s notion of cultural transfer as it suggests that it was possible to simply transplant European culture onto the New World. This notion may have been particularly apparent in English colonies, Spanish settlers seemed more willing to create a hybrid culture in New Spain, thus suggesting that there was not one single European idea of cultural transfer. These variations in the methods, effectiveness and beliefs about cultural transfer imply that it became increasingly reliant on environmental practicalities. Thus, it may be concluded that cultural transfer was neither consistent or controlled, but affected by the individual circumstances at hand.
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An essay written as part of my Bachelors degree in History at Aberystwyth University 2016-2019, on Dr David Ceri Jones’ “The Atlantic World 1492-1825” module 2017
The Colourful Historian 