Some Indian tribes exchanged the leathers of otters and beavers with necessary goods and gained some bread and brandy. The civilized culture of the whites, which could only be described as a culture shock, led the Indians to shift their ways of life toward those of the whites. However, sailors soon began to treat Indians inhumanely as if they were their slaves and even raped women. Subsequently, Indians began to live in the woods staying away from the whites.
In 1607, 144 British immigrants established the first permanent British settlement in North America and called it Jamestown. By 1620, Dutch and British immigrants increased. Mayflower carrying British "Puritans" landed in New England and Dutch ships with poor immigrants arrived in New Amsterdam. The penniless immigrants who were placed in an unfamiliar environment had no choice but to depend on the resources of the Indians in order to avoid starvation.