Why did settlers at first accept intermarriage with Indians?
In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, a number of people suggested that one solution to the Indian problem was simply to marry them. William Byrd is perhaps my favorite. He suggested that the best missionary’s a sprightly lover. That is, the best way to convert somebody is to marry them. And that way, you incorporate them socially into your own society. Others suggested that by marrying Indians, you become heir to their land; that the easiest way to acquire Indian land is simply marry into the community, and then it becomes yours by right, without bloodshed. Others suggest that marrying into Indian communities provides a certain security, because then you have people in those communities who will defend your interests, or if nothing else, reveal Indian plans to you. They’re learn the language; they will become your advocates, in a sense, in those communities. And so intermarriage was seen as the solution to many dimensions of the Indian problem. Intermarriage also provided a way t
