Final answer:
The English had a mixed view of Native Americans that combined respect with dismissal of their land rights, leading to conflict and decline of indigenous populations.
Step-by-step explanation:
The English attitude toward Native Americans as depicted in A Brief and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia by Thomas Hariot, and subsequent English actions, reveal a complex view that often combined respect for the ingenuity and customs of Native Americans with a dismissal of their land rights and sovereignty. This conflicting perspective was rooted in both a commercial interest in the resources of the New World and the religious beliefs of the period, which held that the land was given to the 'Saints' and justified the claim over lands that were not 'improved' in a European sense. The Puritans, for example, believed they had a natural right to take land that Native Americans were not using in ways Europeans recognized, such as enclosed farming. Over time, these views led to repeated conflicts between English settlers and Native American tribes, such as the Powhatan Confederacy, resulting in numerous wars and contributing heavily to the decline of indigenous populations through violence and disease.