After Columbus : Essays in the Ethnohistory of Colonial North America

This volume comprises a new collection of essays--four previously unpublished--by James Axtell, author of the acclaimed The European and the Indian and The Invasion Within: The Contest of Cultures in Colonial North America, and the foremost contemporary authority on Indian-European relations in Colonial North America. Arguing that moral judgements have a legitimate place in the writing of history, Axtell scrutinizes the actions of various European invaders--missionaries, traders, soldiers, and ordinary settlers--in the sixteenth century. Focusing on the interactions of Spanish, French, and English colonists with American Indians over the eastern half of the United States, he examines what the history of colonial America might have looked like had the New World truly been a "virgin land," devoid of Indians.

This volume is a new collection of essays—four previously unpublished—by James Axtell, author of the acclaimed The European and the Indian and The Invasion Within: The Contest of Cultures in Colonial North America, and the foremost contemporary authority on Indian-European relations in Colonial North America. Arguing that moral judgements have a legitimate place in the writing of history, Axtell scrutinizes the actions of various European invaders—missionaries, traders, soldiers, and ordinary settlers—in the 16th century. Focusing on the interactions of Spanish, French, and English colonists with American Indians over the eastern half of the United States, he examines what the history of colonial America might have looked like had the New World truly been a "virgin land," devoid of Indians.

This collection of essays by one of our leading ethnohistorians examines a wide range of important and fascinating topics.

Foreword: The Columbian Legacy -- [1.] The Normative Stance: A Moral History Of Indian-white Relations Revisited -- Forked Tongues: Moral Judgments In Indian History -- [2.] New World Crusades: Some Thoughts On The Ethnohistory Of Missions -- The Scholastic Frontier In Western Massachusetts -- White Legend: The Jesuit Missions In Maryland -- The Power Of Print In The Eastern Woodlands -- Were Indian Conversions Bona Fide? -- [3.] Confluences: Through Another Glass Darkly: Early Indian Views Of Europeans -- At The Water's Edge: Trading In The Sixteenth Century -- The Rise And Fall Of The Powhatan Empire -- Colonial America Without The Indians -- Afterword: The Scholar's Obligation To Native Peoples. James Axtell. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. This collection of essays--including four previously unpublshed--by one of our leading ethnohistorians examines a wide range of important and fascinating topics and will serve as an invaluable reader for students of ethnohistory and Native American history.