An Alternate Look at the Invasion of North America Michael Cawley History 2510 FA November 6, 2015 Mr. David Ratz Steele, Ian Kenneth. Warpaths: Invasions of North America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994. In the book Warpaths Invasions of North America author Ian K. Steele attempts to show the reader a different perspective pertaining to the European invasion of North America. The book’s main focus is to re-evaluate the racial colonial version of North American history that society has become accustomed to and show that the original inhabitants were more than merely a primitive and submissive people. The author points to the European attitude that North America was inhabited by a submissive people that were no match for …show more content…
the mighty European invasion and instead offers a story about Indigenous people who were skilled in the art of warfare and diplomacy. This book is filled with many interesting observations that help to further Steele’s claims that the inhabitants of North America were not helpless and primitive people, but instead adjusted to the European invasion by fighting, adapting, and incorporating their encounters to serve their own needs. Overall, this book offers a very unique perspective on the historical, and often biased, version of first contact between European and Indigenous peoples on North American soil. The book’s first chapter is titled, “Arms in Arcadia” and is used to set the stage for the remaining three parts of the book that the author uses to tell his version of the story.
The first chapter begins in 1513 with the Spanish making first landfall on American soil in San Augustin, Florida and chronicles the many failed attempts that preceded their final success of establishing settlements along the East coast of North America during a span of fifty two years. From there, the book is divided into three parts with part one of the story picking up in 1565 and focuses on the European’s success in establishing five major settlements that would further serve as points of their continued invasion into North America. These five critical bases for European invasion included the Spanish in Florida, the French in Quebec, the Dutch in New York and the English in Virginia and Massachusetts; consequently, for the next one hundred and twenty-five years these bases would serve as interaction points that consisted of feuding and finally integrating one another into each other’s social problems. Next, part two of the book takes place from 1687 and follows the war between the French and English for dominance of North America and explains what it all meant for the Amerindians in their quest to maintain the war between the invaders . The second part of the book covers a span of fifty-one years and illustrates the degree of violence and bloodshed that took place in the settling of the …show more content…
North American continent. The conclusion of this story is part three which is aptly named Empires, Colonies and Tribes taking place from 1748 to 1765 with the fight for the Ohio Valley and ending with the eventual British victory . This book by Steele’s book contains many strengths that allows the reader to understand the North America of 1513 and a lot of persuasive information that helps to back up his claim that there was a were different accounts of to events which have been overshadowed by the colonist’s version of history.
To begin with, the author includes a nice set of maps that allow the reader to identify the places he mentions throughout the book. For example, Steele describes the Spanish’s first attempt at landfall in a place called San Augustin, Florida and includes a map to show the reader exactly where he was talking about and the map is titled, “La Florida to 1575” which depicts the places Ponce de Leon and Hernandez de Cordoba first made landfall in 1513 and 1517 respectively. The reason the map sections are so integral to the book is because the author mentions many places and Amerindian tribes throughout the book and it allows the reader to understand exactly where the place or tribes he is speaking about were situated. As well, the author includes a figures section that is filled with many pictures and drawings of old Forts and places like Quebec, New England and Albany that give an accurate representation of the time era that the book is trying to cover. The reason that these figures are important is because it allows the reader to make a visual connection to the settlements as they were during the invasion of North America; instead of them being portrayed as the bustling centers
that they have become today. The information the author leans upon to contradict European claims that the inhabitants of North America were a primitive group of peoples and were no match for the superior invaders are scattered throughout the book. The most important example given by Steele that pretty much sums up his argument about how the history of North America was misrepresented by Europeans points to the first attempts of landing made by Ponce de Leon in 1513, where Steele states, “On entering their first Timucua village, the Spanish met armed resistance and withdrew.” In addition, another perfect example that the people of North America were not primitive, but were experienced in warfare happens in 1521 when Ponce de Leon again tries to make landfall on the Western side of Florida instead. This encounter was launched with a much larger force and again the Spanish were defeated by the Calusa and Timucua fighters who Steele describes as having, “well-developed martial skills in repulsing experienced conquistadors.” Coincidentally, both Spanish leaders met their doom trying to make entrance to North America through Florida because the tribes there were not submissive pushovers like they have been portrayed throughout European history. Unfortunately, I did not think the book displayed any weaknesses because the author did what he said he was going to do by telling a story that helps the reader rethink the racist and bias version of history that has been told through the eyes of the North American colonizer. All things considered, I thought the book was well written and followed a chronological path from first contact in 1513 to the eventual British victory and throughout the author showed the First Peoples of this continent fought, adapted, and co-ordinated their efforts in an attempt to fulfill their own needs. The material the author choose to justify his claim definitely gives anyone who reads the book a very unique perspective that challenges the European version of what they claim to be the truth. Bibliography Steele, Ian Kenneth. Warpaths: Invasions of North America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.
One question posed by the authors is “How did Columbus’s relationship with the Spanish crown change over time, and why?” In simple terms, Columbus’s relationship with the
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Milanich, Jerald T. and Susan Milbrath., ed. First Encounters: Spanish Exploration in the Caribbean and the United States1492-1570. Gainesville: U of Florida P, 1989.
Axtell, James. “Native Reactions to the Invasion of North America.” Beyond 1492: Encounters in Colonial North America. New York: Oxford UP, 1992. 97-121. Print.
Borneman, Walter. The French and Indian War: Deciding the Fate of North America. New York: Harper Perennial, 2006.
Bartolomé de Las Casas begins by providing a vivid description of each land being invaded by the Europeans and the type of peopl...
In conclusion, I liked this book because it told about two different perspectives, one from the past and one from the present. It showed me the struggles Lewis and Clark faced, during their expedition, and what it was like to explore unknown terrain. I learned that the information gathered and the proof of an overland passage to the Pacific helped to open up the entire continent for rapid expansion and settlement to the new nation. It also told me about a family following in the footsteps of the Lewis and Clark expedition, and their excitement in doing so. I would defiantly recommend this book to my friends.
The Europeans colonized most of America because they saw the land they had available where they could expand their influence on the world. Also, they were able to establish colonies that sent raw materials home which would make them money. Through the analysis of Jared Diamonds video Guns, Germs, and Steel, this essay will show that the Europeans were able to conquer the Native American’s so easily because of their geography, weapons, and diseases.
Throughout the comparatively recent history of the United States, there have been many obstacles that the relatively young nation has had to overcome. Even before the nation had obtained its independence from Britain, there were conflicts with the Natives of the new land. Then wars were fought for other countries benefit, on their own soil. Then, of course, there was the Revolutionary War, fought in the late 1770’s, in which British colonists rose up against their British fathers in order to gain economic, religious and political freedom. After the acquirement of their independence as a nation, there were still many conflicts that the fledgling country had to worry about. The continent of North America was still controlled by other European superpowers, not to mention the multitudes of Native Indians that populated the lands west of the Appalachians. In order to combat other world powers as well as increase their own wealth, trade, and influence, the Americans adopted an attitude of ‘Manifest Destiny’, in which westward expansion was priority and their right. This however, led to more troubles and conflicts with the Natives of the land. The Indians west of the Appalachian m...
While the far-away North American tribes were having their land taken away, and being harassed by white American expansionists, they also faced another threat: Spanish occupation. During the early-1500’s, many Spanish explorers and conquistadors, such as Cabeza de Vaca, wished to find gold and riches and, in the process, they harassed, oppressed, tortured, and spread deadly diseases to the Native tribes. They often used the excuse of racial class-separation, known as “castas,” to justify their rotten, atrocious crimes. Throughout the 1600’s and 1700’s, the focus of the Spanish explorers experienced a shift from conquistadors wishing to acquire gold and wealth to Catholic missionaries wishing to religiously convert the Native tribes and, as a result, they built up many churches on the land. As one might guess, the
During the European expedition in America, they founded colonies in North America that attracted thousands of settlers. The Europeans tried to get rid of the Native Americans in order to get what they wanted, which was economic wealth, landowning, slave trade, property ownership, and tobacco. M. Zylstra writes about “Colonization of History”, hybridization of history, and what the colonization of the natives by the Europeans lead to. Zylstra states.