From Chicaza to Chickasaw: The European Invasion and the Transformation of the Mississippian World, 1540-1715 by Robbie Ethridge

From Chicaza to Chickasaw: The European Invasion and the Transformation of the Mississippian World, 1540-1715 Reviews

• 
  Bob Pearson

  This treatise describes the impact on the civilizations of the Native Americans in the South and Southeast of North America from the time of de Soto's expedition of 1540 to 1715, when the triumph of English, French and Spanish colonization became inevitable. It is an academic work, but it is more than that. With a little imagination, it might become a history of "first contact" at many places around the globe when two entirely different cultures meet and begin the complicated process of education, trade, competition and conflict that results too often in victory for one or the other. There was an established Indian culture in the Mississippi River valley extending east to the Atlantic when the various Europeans arrived. These cultures shared in various degrees a theology and a pattern of behavior based on agriculture, raiding, and slavery. The Europeans seized on the potential of this culture to exploit Indian rivalries to vastly expand the system of Indian slavery for the benefit of the European colonies. The Spanish wrapped their plans in the spread of their faith. The English focused on commercial profit, their colonies acting as forward entrepots for the spread of European capitalism. The French were the most respectful of the integrity of Indian culture and tried with little success to form alliances with tribes north and east of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast to hold off the English and the Spanish. In the end, facing uneven odds and unable to overcome their own traditional rivalries to unite against the Europeans, the Native American culture collapsed. This "shatter" zone was the creation of the Europeans and expanded for nearly two hundred years until the indigenous cultures buckled beneath the onslaught. I guarantee that you will not think of Native American culture and the impact of European contact in the same way ever again. Yes, the book is academic and filled with details that will excite many, but not all. I found the accomplishment superb. It brought together events half a continent wide and lasting for decades to leave an indelible picture. Maps are plentiful and enlightening, better in the hard copy (expensive) than the Kindle version. The book is a profound addition to a history that almost none of us ever heard, thanks to the scholarship of Robbie Etheridge and many others cited in his notes and bibliography.
• 
  Tim

  expertly researched and well written. The book suffers from decidedly poor quality editing though which detracts from the overall experience of the work.