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Indians and English: Facing Off in Early America

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In Indians & English Kupperman states ...in the New World,"Civility, especially among the lower orders, was fragile, hard won, and shallow rooted; as the poet Edmund Spenser remarked, 'It is but even the other daye, since England grewe Civill (p.219)." Thus many early "civilising" colonists were described as degenerate, and tending towards regression. Extreme measures were taken to promote order in Virginia, in 1610, for example. Fear and strict control were necessary according to informed colonial sources like John Rolfe and Sir Thomas Gates of Virginia. Early colonial reports indicated the belief that Americans (natives) would soon embrace European "civility" and Christianity. Yet duplicity of the colonials was implicit. This expectation of treachery by the early colonists was due to the European's assumptions that society and successful government is based on fear rather than cooperation. Of course, expected treachery begot betrayal. One of the comments reported to have been made by Miantonomi, a Narragansett sachem or chief, of Winthrop was "Did ever friends deal so with friends (p. 236)?" Elaborating on the theme of suspicion and fragmented government, Kupperman writes "At no time was there a single hegemonic voice in the Euramerican population (p. 239)." She demonstrates that European colonists and Native Americans developed a complex history of interactions from the beginning contacts in 1580 to the 1600's. Both viewed the other culture as fully human, she believes. However, problematic interactions may have occurred because of fear of eradication. Indians & English provides a hard look at precolonial stereotypic sources and propaganda, and counters myth in many instances. Painful as the bloody history may be to remember, light shed upon it may release new pathways of understanding and responsibility so needful to this time. Recommended reading for American studies students and others interested in this period of American history.

Nancy Lorraine, Reviewer

The traditional Indian-Euro paradigm of colonial America incorporates an unbalanced and unilateral interpretation of early U.S. history that relies heavily on a one- sided Eurocentric view. In recent years, scholars have moved toward a new, more academically balanced, school of thought. They have re-visited the early relationships between Native Americans and Europeans, and have given equal attention to both the Indian and European narratives. Consequently, new and more sophisticated tales have emerged about the early Americans. One such work, Indians and English, provides an incisive study of the complex relationships that defined the early years of colonial history.

Building on a previous work, Settling with the Indians, Karen Kupperman explicitly explores the early interactions and struggles of Indians ("Americans") and early Europeans settlers. Kupperman sees the "English as supplicants rather than conquerors, doubtful and insecure rather than self-assured and dominant." (14) She dismisses scholars who argue that the English were imperialists who only sought to exploit Native Americans for their resources. Instead, she strongly contends that ambivalence defined the roles of the aforementioned people. According to the author, she "seeks to recover the fear and uncertainty in which all sides lived." (x)

Masterfully comparing and contrasting writings and images between New World and Old World Europeans, Kupperman notes that the former portrayed a much more accurate and wider range of reactions about the Indians than the latter. "Those who stayed home [Old World]" Kupperman suggests, "could be much more definite in their judgments." (x) Illustrations of an Indian mother and daughter (44-45) highlight this point. In the initial portrait, New World artist John White illustrates the dark skin tone of the Indians and their close proximity to one another. In contrast, Old World artists modified the mother and daughter images to reflect "body shape and posture . . . to fit Old World expectations." (44) The theme that emerges, argues the author, is that artisans and writers who resided in the New World were more credible historical sources than those who resided outside of it.

In the latter chapters, the author unpackages the rather subtle changes that progressed between the English and Indians, which ranged from incorporating to resisting the `Other.' The author further discusses the spiritual, and language, exchanges between New World residents. For instance, early colonials re-named Pocahontas to Rebecca in order to reflect a strong spiritual connection to Christianity. According to Kupperman, this "was intensely meaningful, evoking the Genesis account of the origins of the people of Israel." (197) Kupperman eloquently sprinkles vignettes, such as the aforementioned one, to convey a convincing argument that colonial interactions with Native Americans had rich and deep meanings, which underscored the complexity of their relationships.

The "stretched identities" (211) of the English and Indians, inevitably, reached a boiling point. The author notes that "both the Americans and the English were always aware that, however friendly their relationships, enmity lay just over the horizon." (220) Of course, Kupperman details the various skirmishes and battles that erupted throughout the New World between the Americans and English, however, she is quick to re-iterate that "at no time was there a single hegemonic voice in the Euro-American population." (239)

There are no blaring weaknesses to this work, but Kupperman does seem to ignore the African-American voice during her studies. Surely, they were an integral part of the colonial society. Also, Kupperman claims that the English were interested in the Americans "partly as a way of learning more about themselves." (40) Her evidence on this point is very speculative, as she contends that Indians reminded early settlers of their distant ancestors. It could just as easily be argued that the English needed a philosophical reference point, a jumping off point if you will, to provide them with a means, or method, to understand Native Americans. In laymen terms, they may have just sought a way to compare and contrast Native Americans with a known - in this case their ancestors.

Other than the minor criticisms previously noted, Kupperman succeeds in delivering a powerful "new" colonial interpretation of New World relationships. Well researched, organized and synthesized; Kupperman, like Daniel Richter, approaches the study of Native Americans from an "eastward" perspective. The simplicity of former Indian and English histories, which have been Eurocentric slanted, must be re-examined by serious scholars. This work is sure to withstand the test of time, and challenge new scholars to delve deeper below the historical surface for English-Indian studies in colonial history