Warpaths Invasions of North America

by Steele, Ian K.

• ISBN13: 9780195082234
• ISBN10: 0195082230
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1995-02-02
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

In 1513, only a few years before Cortes conquered the Aztec empire, Juan Ponce de Leon and three shiploads of conquistadores landed just south of what is now St. Augustine, Florida. The Spanish adventurers, however, were quickly driven away by the Timucua people; further landings weresimilarly defeated by the extraordinary archers of the Calusa, who ultimately took the lives of Hernandez de Cordoba and Ponce de Leon himself. Clearly, the European experience in North America would be a far cry from their swift victories over the Aztecs and Incas. A panoramic history of the numerous European invasions of North America, this book paints a dramatic new portrait of the centuries of warfare that shook the continent. From the defeat of Ponce de Leon in 1513 to a negotiated peace with the British in 1765, Steele's fascinating account destroysthe old image of technologically advanced Europeans overrunning primitive savages, and reveals how Amerindians rose to the challenge of each successive invasion with martial and diplomatic skill. In war after war, the Amerindians and Europeans battled in a precarious balance, adapting each other'stechnology and tactics and seeking each other out as allies and supply sources for food and weapons. Steele follows the experience of the Spanish at San Agustin, the English at Jamestown and Plymouth, the French at Quebec, and the Dutch at Albany, revealing the vast range of Amerindian strategiesfor coping with the invaders. The conflicts that erupted with the European arrival have long been distorted by myth and self-congratulatory folklore. Warpaths offers students of American history and Native American studies a startling new look at this pivotal era, combining social, cultural, and military history to providea more nuanced portrait of the violence that gave birth to modern North America.

Table of Contents

1. Arms in Arcadia, 1513-1565	3	(18)
I Bases for Invasion, 1565-1684	21	(110)
2. Spanish San Agustin, 1565-1672	25	(12)
3. English Jamestown and the Powhatan, 1607-1677	37	(22)
4. French Quebec, 1608-1682	59	(21)
5. Plymouth, New England, and the Wampanoag, 1620-1677	80	(30)
6. Dutch Fort Orange (Albany) and the Five Nations, 1624-1684	110	(21)
II Colonies and Tribes, 1687-1748	131	(44)
7. Establishing Patterns, 1687-1701	137	(14)
8. Recurring Patterns, 1702-1748	151	(24)
III Empires, Colonies, and Tribes, 1748-1765	175	(74)
9. Invading the Ohio, 1748-1755	179	(18)
10. Vaudreuil's Offensive, 1756-1757	197	(10)
11. The British Imperial Victory, 1758-1763	207	(19)
12. Different Drummers, 1759-1765	226	(23)
Notes	249	(24)
Index	273