Wednesday, September 11 | 7:30 PM | Parish Lounge/Zoom
Join the Men's Book Group on Wednesday, September 11, for a discussion of Indigenous Continent: The Epic Contest for North America. It will be a hybrid gathering, meeting both in the Parish Lounge and on Zoom.
Newcomers are always welcome. To join the email list, please use the form below to contact Earle O'Donnell.
About the book: Author Pekka Hamalainen, Rhodes Professor of American History at Oxford University, offers a distinctive perspective on the nearly 400-year struggle for control of North America. To Hamalainen, a continent made up of hundreds of native tribes and confederacies controlled the vast majority of what became the United States for hundreds of years through shrewd diplomacy, ceaseless determination to preserve their land and culture and frequent (and often overlooked by US scholars) triumphs in battle. For over 200 years, indigenous people controlled virtually all the land west of the Alleghenies, successfully stymied the Spanish in the Southwest and Florida and defeated French efforts to build a mid-continent empire. The book goes beyond the struggle between the indigenous peoples and the Europeans to delve into other aspects of indigenous culture including the economic and political power of women who, among other things, operated the farms; the prevalence of black slavery among many indigenous tribes; and the recurring wars and alliances between tribes. For Hamalainen, the indigenous people of America—unlike the Incas and Aztecs, who were swiftly conquered—proudly and successfully resisted Western domination for almost 400 years, and their defeat was only inevitable in retrospect.
Questions?
Complete this form to connect with Earle O'Donnell.