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Originally Posted by The 1,000 Reader
It was their free will that made them arrogant and ignorant and thus sealed their fate?
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I was talking about the extent to which they were fated to become corrupt was probably at least somewhat determined by the gifts of the very Valar they rebelled against, as
Lalwendë pointed out. In fact, Tolkien mentions as much in the letter prefaced the Second Edition of
The Silmarillion: "Their long life aids their achievements in art and wisdom, but breeds a possessive attitude to these things, and desire awakens for more
time for their enjoyment." The implication of this statement is that if the Númenóreans had not been given that increase in life span, they would not have pined (so much) for yet more life.
Aside from that, the Valar did a very poor job in dealing with the Númenóreans anyway, probably because they did indeed have more difficulty understanding Men than Elves. In Númenor's last years, they sent all sorts of frightening (and lethal) storms and other signs of their displeasure, which understandably scared the Númenóreans. The Númenóreans' reactions were motivated by this fear and the aggression they perceived in the acts of the Valar; their (hardly unreasonable) understanding was that the Valar must really be the cruel enemies Sauron said they were.
Not to mention the continuing coldness of the Valar toward Númenor after Tar-Palantir's repentance; this was an inexcusable act on their part. So what if most of the people did not follow in Tar-Palantir's footsteps? A sign of blessing from the Valar upon their King might have induced some of them to change their thinking. But instead they did nothing at this very crucial time in Númenor's history, whereas they had no qualms in pelting the Númenóreans with curses afterwards! Too much negative reinforcement, and no positive reinforcement whatsoever. Men react violently against that which they fear, against that which they see as a terrible obstacle that has never done them any good. It's elementary for us to understand, but for some reason the Valar never got it. And in the end, they might have fully realized their mistake, hence their appeal to Eru for help in dealing with the Númenóreans who had finally come to their shores to confront them once and for all.