Bitter Feast: Amerindians And Europeans In Northeastern North America, 1600-64 Pays Renversé. English

This interdisciplinary study offers a comprehensive analysis of the French, Dutch and English colonization of northeastern North America during the early and middle decades of the 17th century. It is the first to pay serious attention to the European economic and political factors which promoted colonization, arguing that its prime determinant was the uneven development of agricultural systems in western Europe. "Bitter Feast" examines the impact of colonization upon the native peoples and the nature of the colonial societies which were established in northeastern North America. Denys Delage contends that the outcome of colonial rivalries in North America depended on the characteristics of the European national economies which were competing with each other for a share of the world market, maintaining that the Netherlands constituted the core of the European world system prior to the 1660s, with England and France both part of the semi-periphery. Originally published in French, this award-winning book presents a provocative world-system analysis of European colonization of northeastern North America during the early and middle decades of the 17th century. 'a Strange And Gripping Tragedy' Is How Brian Moore Has Described The Seventeenth-century Confrontation Of Europeans And Amerindians In His Compelling Novel, Black Robe. In Bitter Feast, Sociologist And Historian Denys Delage Takes A Fresh Look At The Struggle Underlying The Meeting Of Two Civilizations On The North American Continent. Both Civilizations Had Strongly Developed Economic, Religious, And Cultural Traditions. Each Had Something To Give And Something To Learn, And Yet One Was To Emerge As A Powerful New Force, While The Other Was To Be Shaken To Its Foundations. 'the Race To Accumulate Capital Drove European Ships To The Shores Of Northeastern North America, ' Writes Delage, 'bringing Into Contact Two Civilizations - One On The Brink Of The Industrial Revolution, The Other Still In The Stone Age.' When The First Europeans Arrived, The Continent's Population Was As Great As That Of Europe. Until This Time, Amerindians Had Rarely Lacked Food, And Had Traded Widely On Foot And By Water For The Commodities They Desired. Caught In The Web Of An Unequal Trading Relationship Where Furs Were Exchanged For Fish Hooks And Faith, Amerindian Civilization In Northeastern North America Faced A Challenge That Set The Pattern For Future Generations. Finally Available In English, This Award-winning Book Presents A Provocative World-system Analysis Of European Colonization In North America As Well As A Sobering Account Of. The Impact That This Colonization Had On Native Peoples. It Will Be Of Interest To Anyone Looking For New Ways Of Understanding The Continent's Early History - The Legacy Of Which Still Has Implications Today.--jacket. 1. European Transition At The Heart Of An Economic World-system -- 2. North America Before European Settlement -- 3. The Question Of Unequal Exchange -- 4. Huronia And Iroquoia -- 5. Conquer America And Conquer The Atlantic -- 6. The Rebirth Of European Societies In North America. Denys Delâge ; Translated From The French By Jane Brierley. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. This innovative interdisciplinary study offers a comprehensive analysis of the French, Dutch and English colonization of northeastern North America during the early and middle decades of the seventeenth century. It is the first book to pay serious attention to the European economic and political factors which promoted colonization, and it argues that the prime determinant was the uneven development of agricultural systems in western Europe.