Creatures of Empire: How Domestic Animals Transformed Early America

by Virginia DeJohn Anderson

Book Overview

When we think of the key figures of early American history, we think of explorers, or pilgrims, or Native Americans--not cattle, or goats, or swine. But as Virginia DeJohn Anderson reveals in this brilliantly original account of colonists in New England and the Chesapeake region, livestock played a vitally important role in the settling of the New World.
Livestock, Anderson writes, were a central factor in the cultural clash between colonists...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195304462
• ISBN13: 9780195304466
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

American History and Domestic Animals

Humans are so arrogant that they write histories -- and current events-- as if they alone are responsible for what happens. They ignore the incredible contributions that dogs, and later, horses, have made to the sweep of history. Without them, history as we know it, wouldn't have occurred. That is easy enough to prove, but this book considers other animals as well, such as cattle and pigs. I was astonished to discover that so much of the colonists' and later Americans' treatment of Native Americans hinged upon the differing attitudes of each culture to domesticated animals. Also, Native Americans were often displaced because of the settlers' needs for grazing their herds. This book is very interesting and provides an original perspective on the settlement of The New World and its concomitant destruction of the Native peoples that the Europeans found here.

Well its about cows

This book is interesting, yet sometimes abit to general. While Anderson stays down the middle and doesnt blame one side or the other, she often generalizes. She did a wonderful job in making a distinction between N.E. and Chesapeake Bay, but does not clearly define which tribes she is talking about and gives the reader the assumption that all tribes reacted in similar ways. As a graduate student of history I believe this book has its purpose, but over generalizing is often dangerous. Overall it is a good book, well writte, and if you are curious as to what sorts of changes livestock had on America--this book is for you. I have one suggestion. Becareful not to take the idea to literally that livestock caused wars. Anderson fails to show how numerous things resulted in Indian resistance. Another book that complements this one is "Changes in the Land" Cronon. This book gives an ecological argument to support the livestock problem. Also, Facing East by D. Richter illustrates some economic, political, and military problems in the new world. However, if you read Richter, read it carefully--much is based on imagination not sources. With that said, Richters discussion on politics, military, and economics is very good. These three books give a good backdrop for native resistance.

Excellent account

The nature of the colonial relationships between the European settlers and the Native Americans has been readjusted to include livestock in a central rather than marginal role in the shaping of American history. Virginia DeJohn Anderson's Creatures of Empire culminates around the way in which the colonial settlers and natives viewed the very nature of animals and therefore the way in which their relative reactions affected their relationships with each other. Anderson seems to say that if Native Americans and settlers were opposing teams in the championship game, then the livestock were as pivotal as the field on which the game was played. Through her research, Anderson is able to reconstruct accurate tales of interaction between the natives, settlers and their imported livestock, which eventually lead to conflict and European expansion. There are three main purposes of Creatures of Empire that serve to further illuminate colonial history. The first purpose is deducing how natives and settlers view fauna independently of one another. Second, by analyzing the clear difference in point of views, Anderson is able to realize how conflicts arose and were potentially solved between the two parties, because of their interaction with various animals and finally, she is able to reason how these conflicts or resolutions shaped Colonial America and its future. Virginia DeJohn Anderson received her Ph.D. in History from Harvard University and is currently a Professor of History at the University of Colorado at Boulder as a Colonial and Revolutionary historian. Her previous publications include New England's Generation and co-author of the textbook The American Journey: A History of the United States ([...]). In Creatures of Empire, Anderson works in the guise of folktales in order to convey her central theme of the importance of livestock in the shaping of native-settler relations, primarily in the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions. Each folktale is explained in a well-written and well-documented light, which makes this book both accessible to Anderson's colleagues and to persons who have no background in either Colonial America or animal husbandry. The retail value of $[...] is a reasonable asking price for this book, particularly since there are only a few, minor illustrations and the bulk of the book is text. Although it is mostly text, Anderson paints a marvelously clear picture of events with her words. This book is a gem that should be examined by those investigating the middle ground between Native Americans and European settlers, or just those who enjoy a fascinating, yet authentic read. The author makes heavy use of letters and original journals from settlers in the colonial period, such as The Complete Works of Captain John Smith (1580-1631) and The Pynchon Papers, a collection of correspondence between John Pynchon and John Winthrop, Jr., dated mid to late 1600s. With the aid of historical commentary and supplementary scholarshi

Fascinating theme

The underlying premise that Virginia Dejohn Anderson's terrific book makes is that animals have been key driving forces in human history; that argument has been used in other books such as Jeffrey Lockwood's LOCUST: THE DEVASTATING RISE AND MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF THE INSECT THAT SHAPED THE AMERICAN FRONTIER and GRASSHOPPER DREAMING. Ms. Anderson provides an intriguing and entertaining case that farm animals (cattle, pigs, and sheep) are as critical to American History as apple pie, Pilgrims, and Founding Fathers. CREATURES OF THE EMPIRE argues using historical references and interesting anecdotal examples that livestock changed the landscape especially the relationships between people. She concentrates on Colonial America as she makes the point that domestic farm animals in New England and Virginia were key segments of shaping society and led to conflict over land ownership between the settlers and the Indians. Besides making a strong case in support of her theory, Ms. Anderson's book is a well written easy to pick up and put down thought provoking volume that history buffs will appraise and then argue the fascinating premise over the water cooler. Harriet Klausner