A latecomer in the outpouring of revisionist histories prompted by
the Columbus celebration, this intensely idiosyncratic account
reviews the centuries of conflict that led to the destruction of
substantial Native American civilizations. Keen to show that the
Indians of North and Mesoamerica were not so much civilized by a
European presence as eradicated, Iroquois-specialist Jennings
(Empire of Fortune, 1988, etc.) briefly notes evidence of major
pre-Columbian settlements, from the magnificent Tenochitlan in
central Mexico, the heart of the Aztec Empire, to Cahokia and the
mounds of the Mississippian culture to the north. Whites following
in the wake of Columbus wrought havoc through enslavement, assault,
and disease; in North America, the destruction was accomplished via
the demands of trade as well. Much is made here of the notion of
the frontier as an interactive zone rather than as a line of
demarcation, where exchanges brought maize and tobacco to the
newcomers, who brought horses and clover in return, and where
intermarriage was acceptable until the supply of European women in
the area proved adequate. The Iroquois Confederation figures
prominently as the record of conflict between colonizers - French,
English, Dutch, Spanish - is examined, but the larger picture of
conquest, from Cortes in Mexico to the US Cavalry at Wounded Knee,
reveals that the main business was the wholesale replacement of
Indian cultures with European ones. Wide-ranging and informative,
if somewhat disorganized and not always cogent (e.g., a final note
claiming a recent marked increase in Native populations on US
reservations as evidence of a revival lacks conviction). A timely
reminder of the importance of Indians in all periods of American
history. (Kirkus Reviews)
Jennings describes the experience of the first pioneers of the
North American continent, who migrated from Siberia across what is
now Beringia nomadic people who traveled over the continents and
islands of the Americas, establishing networks of trails and trade
and adapting the land to human purposes. He tells of the rise of
imperial city states in Mexico and Peru, and of the extension of
cultures from Mexico into North America; he describes the multitude
of cultures and societies created by the Native Americans, from
simple kin-structured bands to immense and complex cities. Jennings
shows that Europeans did not "discover" America; they invaded it
and conquered its population. We grew up on history written from
the point of view of the victor. Here now is the rest of the story,
by the acknowledged dean of American Indian history. It is strong,
eye-opening, and timely."
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