European contact
Inuit peoples were nomadic hunters and fishers. In the Arctic, Europeans fished and whaled, but the initial effects of these activities upon the Inuit are difficult to measure. For example, stranded or lost ships were a fortunate find in the territory of an Inuit tribe. The wood and iron goods salvaged from the ship might have created sudden wealth and may have had long-ranging political implications for Inuit groups.
The Inuit peoples of the Arctic region had only sporadic encounters with Europeans. The earliest Europeans to reach the Arctic were the Norse, who arrived via Greenland. The story of the first encounter was told the European explorer Knut Rasmussen during his expedition of 1921-1924. It is believed that the encounter was with either Erebus or The Terror, the two ships commanded by Sir John Franklin during 1845-1857 on his expedition to find the Northwest Passage. This is an example of how historians utilize Inuit oral tradition to fill gaps in European historical record, and also gain a different perspective of the past.
European explorers captured or lured Inuit onto their ships and brought them back with them to Europe. The Gaspar Corte-Real expedition of the sixteenth century encountered the Inuit of Labrador (Canada). Several dozen Inuit were captured and taken to Europe, and were proof that the explorer had reached the lands he claimed to have reached. Captives were often taught European languages so that they could serve as guides and interpreters for future voyages. Unfortunately, like many captured aborigines, many did not live long after arrival, dying from a result of the unfamiliar European diseases, a different lifestyle and a different diet.
The European arrival tremendously damaged the Inuit way of life, causing mass deaths through new diseases introduced by whalers and explorers, and enormous social disruptions caused by the distorting effect of their material wealth. Nonetheless, Inuit society in the higher latitudes had largely remained in isolation during the 19th century. Unlike most Aboriginal peoples in Canada, the land occupied by the Inuit were of little interest to European settlers.
The Inuit peoples of the Arctic region had only sporadic encounters with Europeans. The earliest Europeans to reach the Arctic were the Norse, who arrived via Greenland. The story of the first encounter was told the European explorer Knut Rasmussen during his expedition of 1921-1924. It is believed that the encounter was with either Erebus or The Terror, the two ships commanded by Sir John Franklin during 1845-1857 on his expedition to find the Northwest Passage. This is an example of how historians utilize Inuit oral tradition to fill gaps in European historical record, and also gain a different perspective of the past.
European explorers captured or lured Inuit onto their ships and brought them back with them to Europe. The Gaspar Corte-Real expedition of the sixteenth century encountered the Inuit of Labrador (Canada). Several dozen Inuit were captured and taken to Europe, and were proof that the explorer had reached the lands he claimed to have reached. Captives were often taught European languages so that they could serve as guides and interpreters for future voyages. Unfortunately, like many captured aborigines, many did not live long after arrival, dying from a result of the unfamiliar European diseases, a different lifestyle and a different diet.
The European arrival tremendously damaged the Inuit way of life, causing mass deaths through new diseases introduced by whalers and explorers, and enormous social disruptions caused by the distorting effect of their material wealth. Nonetheless, Inuit society in the higher latitudes had largely remained in isolation during the 19th century. Unlike most Aboriginal peoples in Canada, the land occupied by the Inuit were of little interest to European settlers.