West of the Revolution : an uncommon history of 1776

This panoramic account of 1776 chronicles the other revolutions unfolding that year across North America, far beyond the British colonies. In this unique history of 1776, Claudio Saunt looks beyond the familiar story of the thirteen colonies to explore the many other revolutions roiling the turbulent American continent. In that fateful year, the Spanish landed in San Francisco, the Russians pushed into Alaska to hunt valuable sea otters, and the Sioux discovered the Black Hills. Hailed by critics for challenging our conventional view of the birth of America, West of the Revolution [coaxes] our vision away from the Atlantic seaboard and exposes a continent seething with peoples and purposes beyond Minutemen and Redcoats ( Wall Street Journal ). 22 illustrations; 15 maps Details The Other Revolutions During 1776, Including The Reaction Of The Native Residents Of San Francisco In The Wake Of The First European Settlement There And The Devastation Of The Aleutian Islands By The Russians' Hunt For Sea Otters. Part I: The Russians Are Coming. Soft Gold : Aleuts And Russians In Alaska ; A War For Independence : The San Diego Uprising ; First Contact : Colonizing San Francisco ; Across The Colorado Plateau -- Part Ii: The Continental Divide. A Forest Transformed : The Hudson's Bay Company And Cumberland House ; The Discovery : The Black Hills And The Lakota Nation ; An Invasion Of Malefactors : Osage Country ; Surrounded : The Deep South Interior. Claudio Saunt. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 215-259) And Index. A dramatic and compelling new take on the North America of 1776, 'West of the Revolution' reveals a continent gripped by upheaval, freedom struggles, and the search for new meanings