"Indepence"??? Maybe it refers to the ludicrously small sums of money offered by settlers who swindled native Americans out of their land?
"The fruits of peace and tranquility... are the greatest goods... while those of its opposite, strife, are unbearable evils. Hence we ought to wish for peace, to seek it if we do not already have it, to conserve it once it is attained, and to repel with all our strength the strife which is opposed to it. To this end individual[s]... and in even greater degree groups and communities are obliged to help one another... from the bond or law of human society." [Marsilio dei Mainardini (c.1275-1342), Defensor Pacis]
[X] They were thrilled with the special treatment they got:
"1694 is the earliest recording of bounties offered from the English. Massachusetts passed and act that make it "illegal" for "unattended" Indians to enter the colony without permission. Payment was offered for all Indians ("great or small") that were killed or brought in (who ended up sold as slaves). The breakdown:
┬г50 each, regardless of age or sex, if the killer were an average civilian or professional scalp hunter;
┬г20 each as a supplement to the meager pay of militiamen; and
┬г10 each to regular soldiers.
In 1704:
┬г100тАФfour times the annual income of a good New England farmerтАФwas paid per man's scalp,
┬г40 per woman's,
┬г20 per child's
(qtd. and adapted from Churchill)
An adult was any Indian over the age of ten.
Prices varied to some extent, but it was enough that some became "professional" scalpers and were able to make a comfortable living (as could some Indians, as well). It was also, of course, ones' "civic duty" that helped keep the area free of "hostiles." By 1717, all the current colonies and New Jersey had bounties in place."
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