Travel - Colonial Travel Reading Summary James Axtell - The White Indians of Colonial America · Argues that the English, much like the French, colonised North America with a "sincere interest in converting the Indians to Christianity and civilization" - proved by the colonial charters granted by English monarchs in the 17th century which stated this p. 55 · Very few Indians, if any at all, had been transformed into "civilised Englishmen" by the end of the colonial period and most had returned to their previous ways of life. Some Englishmen had even chosen to become "Indian" - these Englishman did this by running away from colonial society, not trying to escape capture or electing to remain with their captors after treaties gave them the chance to go home - looks at Cadwallader Colden who demonstrated that people from colonial countries often did not leave on p. 56 - 57 · Axtell follows on from his example of Colden by using Benjamin Franklin and his comments upon an Indian child who would be taught western ways but, upon contact with his own society, would revert back to his original state. English prisoners were different and would embrace the Indian society and not return p. 57 . The English captives who remained with the Indians were "ordinary men ... of yeoman stock" who were Protestant, a variety of nationalities but all English by law - claims that most of the captured people were children of both sexes, the mothers of these children and young women. This has led to captivity narratives that paint these captives as "weak and defenceless" p. 58 · Women and children were often taken for adoption throughout the colonial period but, primarily in New England, Canadian Indians took captives for their ransom value - examples are given on p. 58 . When the peace in the colonies in the Middle Atlantic fell apart in 1753, people were sold to "compassionate French families" and "anxious English settlers" and so, the Indians of Pennsylvania and Canada, the region captured English settlers in order to replace their own family members who had been killed in English attacks or by diseases they did not have immunity to p. 58 · Details of Indian captives and return rates can be found on p. 59 - 60 · Axtell argues that the "Indians obviously chose their captives carefully so as to maximize the chances of acculturating them to Indian life" and that their methods were clearly effective as the English, despite having more military power, could not match the educational power held by the Indians - details can be found on p.61 and include speeches made by the Indians regarding English treatment that the English knew to be true · Many captives were given Indian names such as the Ohio prisoners, would respond to those names, spoke Indian dialects, enjoyed Indian clothes and felt that the western people who "saved" them were in fact barbarians and captors - meant they tried to run