Empire by Collaboration : Indians, Colonists, and Governments in Colonial Illinois Country / Robert Michael Morrissey.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Morrissey, Robert Michael, Author.

Series:

Early American studies.

Early American Studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jesuits--Missions--Illinois.

Jesuits.

Indians of North America--Illinois--History--18th century.

Indians of North America.

Indians of North America--Illinois--History--17th century.

Illinois--Civilization--History--18th century.

Illinois.

Illinois--Civilization--History--17th century.

Great Britain--Colonies--Administration.

Great Britain.

France--Colonies--Administration.

France.

Illinois--Colonization--History.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (337 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, [2015]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

From the beginnings of colonial settlement in Illinois Country, the region was characterized by self-determination and collaboration that did not always align with imperial plans. The French in Quebec established a somewhat reluctant alliance with the Illinois Indians while Jesuits and fur traders planted defiant outposts in the Illinois River Valley beyond the Great Lakes. These autonomous early settlements were brought into the French empire only after the fact. As the colony grew, the authority that governed the region was often uncertain. Canada and Louisiana alternately claimed control over the Illinois throughout the eighteenth century. Later, British and Spanish authorities tried to divide the region along the Mississippi River. Yet Illinois settlers and Native people continued to welcome and partner with European governments, even if that meant playing the competing empires against one another in order to pursue local interests. Empire by Collaboration explores the remarkable community and distinctive creole culture of colonial Illinois Country, characterized by compromise and flexibility rather than domination and resistance. Drawing on extensive archival research, Robert Michael Morrissey demonstrates how Natives, officials, traders, farmers, religious leaders, and slaves constantly negotiated local and imperial priorities and worked purposefully together to achieve their goals. Their pragmatic intercultural collaboration gave rise to new economies, new forms of social life, and new forms of political engagement. Empire by Collaboration shows that this rugged outpost on the fringe of empire bears central importance to the evolution of early America.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Illustrations

Introduction. An Earnest Invitation

Chapter 1. Opportunists in the Borderlands

Chapter 2. The Imaginary Kingdom

Chapter 3. Collaboration and Community

Chapter 4. A Dangerous Settlement

Chapter 5. Collaborators: Indians and Empire

Chapter 6. Creolization and Collaboration

Chapter 7. Strains on Collaboration in French Illinois

Chapter 8. Demanding Collaboration in British Illinois

Conclusion. The End of Collaboration

Abbreviations

Notes

Index

Acknowledgments

Notes:

Includes index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 23. Jun 2020)

ISBN:

9780812291117

0812291115

OCLC:

905856024