"I value the blood of one Christian more than that of a hundred Indians"

This quote by Peter Stuyvesant shows the colonialist attitude of the time, which was to focus on the lives of Europeans over those of Indigenous people. Stuyvesant was a Dutch colonial governor in the 17th century, and his quote suggests that he thought the life of one Christian was worth more than the lives of a hundred Indigenous people. This mindset prevailed among Europeans throughout the colonial duration, as they saw Indigenous people as inferior and expendable. Stuyvesant's quote is a pointer of the racism and discrimination that Indigenous individuals faced throughout the colonial period. It also works as a tip of the power imbalance in between Europeans and Indigenous individuals, and how Europeans had the ability to make use of Indigenous individuals for their own gain. This quote is a stark tip of the injustices that Indigenous people have faced throughout history, and how their lives were typically viewed as expendable by Europeans.