Indigenous continent : the epic contest for North America. Cover Image

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Indigenous continent : the epic contest for North America. / Pekka Hämäläinen.

Hämäläinen, Pekka, 1967- (author.).

Summary:

This nation's history and self-understanding have long depended on the notion of a "colonial America," an epoch that supposedly laid the foundation for the modern United States. In Indigenous Continent, Pekka Hämäläinen overturns the traditional, Eurocentric narrative, demonstrating that, far from being weak and helpless "victims" of European colonialism, Indigenous peoples controlled North America well into the 19th century. From the Iroquois and Pueblos to the Lakotas and Comanches, Native empires frequently decimated white newcomers in battle, forcing them to accept and even adopt Native ways. Even as the white population skyrocketed and colonists' land greed become ever more extravagant, Indigenous peoples flourished due to sophisticated diplomacy and flexible leadership structures. As Hämäläinen ultimately contends, instead of "colonial America" we should speak of an "Indigenous America" that was only slowly and unevenly becoming colonial. In our myth-busting era, this restoration of Native Americans to their rightful place at the very center of American history will be seen as one of the most important correctives yet.

Record details

ISBN: 9781631496998 (hardcover)
ISBN: 1631496999 (hardcover)
Physical Description: xiv, 571 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: New York, NY : Liveright Publishing Company, a division of W.W. Norton & Company, 2022.
Copyright: ©2022

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 467-538) and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Introduction: The end of colonial America -- Part 1: The dawn of the indigenous continent (the first seventy millennia) -- Part 2: Appear at a distance like giants (the long sixteenth century) -- Part 3: The contest for the great American interior (early and mid-seventeenth century) -- Part 4: The indigenous backlash (late seventeenth century) -- Part 5: The enduring indigenous continent (early eighteenth century) -- Part 6: The heart of the continent (mid- and late eighteenth century) -- Part 7: American revolutions (late eighteenth century to early nineteenth century) -- Part 8: The age of equestrian empires (nineteenth century) -- Epilogue: Revenge and revival.