Snowshoe Country: An Environmental and Cultural History of Winter in the Early American Northeast Contributor(s): Wickman, Thomas M. (Author) |
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ISBN: 1108426794 ISBN-13: 9781108426794 Publisher: Cambridge University Press OUR PRICE: $61.74 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: September 2018 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - History | United States - Colonial Period (1600-1775) - History | Native American - History | Social History |
Dewey: 974.01 |
LCCN: 2018031522 |
Series: Studies in Environment and History |
Physical Information: 0.95" H x 6.43" W x 9.28" (1.31 lbs) 324 pages |
Themes: - Cultural Region - Northeast U.S. - Seasonal - Winter - Chronological Period - 17th Century - Chronological Period - 18th Century - Ethnic Orientation - Native American |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: Snowshoe Country is an environmental and cultural history of winter in the colonial Northeast, closely examining indigenous and settler knowledge of snow, ice, and life in the cold. Indigenous communities in this region were more knowledgeable about the cold than European newcomers from temperate climates, and English settlers were especially slow to adapt. To keep surviving the winter year after year and decade after decade, English colonists relied on Native assistance, borrowed indigenous winter knowledge, and followed seasonal diplomatic protocols to ensure stable relations with tribal leaders. Thomas M. Wickman explores how fluctuations in winter weather and the halting exchange of winter knowledge both inhibited and facilitated English colonialism from the 1620s to the early 1700s. As their winter survival strategies improved, due to skills and technologies appropriated from Natives, colonial leaders were able to impose a new political ecology in the greater Northeast, projecting year-round authority over indigenous lands. |
Contributor Bio(s): Wickman, Thomas M.: - Thomas M. Wickman is Associate Professor of History and American Studies at Trinity College, Connecticut. |