This study explores the interactions between the
indigenous Abenakian peoples of
northern New England with their colonial English
neighbors. Between 1675 to 1725, Abenakis and English
fought four wars with
each other. This series of wars was neither the
product of outside
agitators, nor the result of clashing
interests in the land. The source of the violence was
instead the ignorance of each side of the other
side''s interests and values. Because of this
ignorance, no one on the frontier of northern New
England was able to understand how pursuit of his or
her own goals might
threaten others. Nor was there any mechanism by which
the tensions that intercultural
contact and exchange inevitably produce could be
resolved. Consequently, disputes
between Abenakis and English quickly became violent.
This fundamental problem,
though it iterated into new forms after each
conflict, was never resolved. Demonstrating
the structural conditions that produced this
ignorance and highlighting the difficulties it
created in inter-group relations provides a model for
Indian-colonist relations that helps
illuminate violent encounters in other times and
places in North America.
indigenous Abenakian peoples of
northern New England with their colonial English
neighbors. Between 1675 to 1725, Abenakis and English
fought four wars with
each other. This series of wars was neither the
product of outside
agitators, nor the result of clashing
interests in the land. The source of the violence was
instead the ignorance of each side of the other
side''s interests and values. Because of this
ignorance, no one on the frontier of northern New
England was able to understand how pursuit of his or
her own goals might
threaten others. Nor was there any mechanism by which
the tensions that intercultural
contact and exchange inevitably produce could be
resolved. Consequently, disputes
between Abenakis and English quickly became violent.
This fundamental problem,
though it iterated into new forms after each
conflict, was never resolved. Demonstrating
the structural conditions that produced this
ignorance and highlighting the difficulties it
created in inter-group relations provides a model for
Indian-colonist relations that helps
illuminate violent encounters in other times and
places in North America.