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From VOA Learning English, this is THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in Special English. I’m Steve Ember. This week in our series, we tell the story of a clash of cultures and beliefs. We look at the early history of relations between European settlers in North America and the native groups that had lived there for thousands of years before their arrival. The settlers arrived on the east coast of North America. Along the east coast there were many different Indian tribes. They spoke many different languages. Some raised crops, some were hunters. Some were often at war, others were peaceful. Many of these tribes still exist -- Indian nations like the Seneca, the Mohawk, the Seminole and the Cherokee. Indian tribes shared a highly developed system of trade. They traded goods over a wide area. The first recorded meetings between Europeans and the Indians of the East Coast took place in the fifteen hundreds. Fishermen from France and the Basque area of Spain crossed the Atlantic Ocean. They hunted for whales along the east coast of North America. They set up camps and often traded with the local Indians. The Europeans often paid Indians to work for them. Both groups found this relationship to be successful. On several occasions, different groups of fishermen tried to establish a permanent settlement on the coast. The severe winters, however, made it impossible, so the camps were only temporary. | 
