European colonization had a significant impact on the Comanche tribe and other Native Americans. The introduction of various elements changed their way of life, hunting practices, and perspectives. Although the discovery of new foods and people was beneficial for Europeans, it wasn’t necessarily good for the Comanches.
The introduction of different diseases such as smallpox, influenza, diphtheria, and measles during colonization had the most shocking and unexpected effect. The Comanches were not familiar with these diseases and had no resistance to them. Sadly, many of them became ill and died as the diseases swept through their lands. Additionally, small things like guns, horses, alcohol, and different tools that the Comanches were never aware of also had a big impact on their lives.
Horses and guns changed the way Native Americans hunted for food and traveled. As cultural groups were based on their methods of survival, these changes caused them to stray from their traditions and way of life. However, the Comanche people became known as fantastic horsemen, so horses benefited them in a way. Unfortunately, European armies and settlers treated Natives as nothing more than pests to be eliminated. Laws were introduced that forced Native American children into the European education system.
It was as if the Europeans aimed to deny the Comanches of their cultural identity. They encouraged Christianity and inconsiderately forced their way of life onto the Comanches and other tribes. The Comanches, as well as numerous other tribes, were used as slaves and treated poorly. The Comanches didn’t see land as belonging to one person. When the Europeans started claiming pieces of land and banning them from it, many problems arose. They could no longer hunt or look for food in places they had always done so.
Fights over territories began to break out, and the Native Americans were starting to run low on their food supply. Wars broke out between the Native Americans and Europeans, which, along with disease, caused many deaths and injuries. The Native Americans had no freedom or civil rights and had to endure the last remnants of their culture being thrown away as Europeans made themselves quite cozy on Native American land by building homes, facilities, putting up rail lines, and using the land for mining gold.
