Iroquois Diplomacy on the Early American Frontier
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- USD 10.99
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- USD 10.99
Descripción editorial
The newest addition to the Penguin Library of American Indian History explores the most influential Native American Confederacy
More than perhaps any other Native American group, the Iroquois found it to their advantage to interact with and adapt to white settlers. Despite being known as fierce warriors, the Iroquois were just as reliant on political prowess and sophisticated diplomacy to maintain their strategic position between New France and New York.
Colonial observers marveled at what Benjamin Franklin called their "method of doing business" as Europeans learned to use Iroquois ceremonies and objects to remain in their good graces. Though the Iroquois negotiated with the colonial governments, they refused to be pawns of European empires, and their savvy kept them in control of much of the Northeast until the American Revolution. Iroquois Diplomacy and the Early American Frontier is a must-read for anyone fascinated by Native American history or interested in a unique perspective on the dawn of American government.
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In this scholarly examination of Iroquois diplomacy through the 17th and 18th centuries, historian Shannon rejects the depiction of the Iroquois as "noble savages" and "fierce warriors" during the colonization of North America. Instead, he posits, "They were flesh and blood participants in a scramble for dominion in North America, and diplomacy was their tool of choice." By maintaining official neutrality during the colonial wars, the Iroquois became key interlocutors in the New World their diplomatic language and rituals became the lingua franca of New World multicultural deal making. Shannon credits the Iroquois strategy of diplomacy and "occasional subterfuge" with securing their survival as a political entity, pointing out, "Other Indians might have fought bravely against the European invaders, but only the Iroquois created a confederacy that was capable of withstanding the juggernaut of colonialization for so long." Shannon meticulously chronicles Iroquois political maneuvering, and although many readers will find the highly technical account tedious, true aficionados of Native American history will relish this serious and sympathetic account of the Iroquois' skilled, if ultimately doomed, diplomacy.
