Struggle and Survival in Colonial America

Bys: David G. Sweet and Gary B. Nash

Book Overview

Here are the fascinating stories of twenty-three little-known but remarkable inhabitants of the Spanish, English, and Portuguese colonies of the New World between the 16th and the 19th centuries. Women and men of all the races and classes of colonial society may be seen here dealing creatively and pragmatically (if often not successfully) with the challenges of a harsh social environment.

Such extraordinary "ordinary" people as the native priest Diego Vasicuio; the millwright Thomas Peters; the rebellious slave Gertrudis de Escobar; Squanto, the last of the Patuxets; and Micaela Angela Carillo, the pulque dealer, are presented in original essays. Works of serious scholarship, they are also written to catch the fancy and stimulate the historical imagination of readers. The stories should be of particular interest to students of the history of women, of Native Americans, and of Black people in the Americas.

The Editors' introduction points out the fundamental unities in the histories of colonial societies in the Americas, and the usefulness of examining ordinary individual human experiences as a means both of testing generalizations and of raising new questions for research.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520045017
• ISBN13: 9780520045019
• Release Date: January 1982
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 406 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.4" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Classic Collection Inspires Many Others

Most edited books draw little attention, and often very good chapters end up simply buried. Not so with Sweet & Nash, a landmark that stakes out the research agenda of a generation of scholars. The main innovation is its focus on humble men and women, mostly ignored earlier but historical actors nonetheless. Some names are familiar, most are not, and including nonwhites was also novel. Documentation is sparse but sufficient, and will not deter general readers or students, though the hemispheric scope is awkward for regular US or Latin America surveys. The writing is sprightly, and contributors' caliber is uniformly high: it is stocked with brilliant young historians and mid-career experts at the peak of their powers (Jennings, Karasch, Klor de Alva, Nash, Salisbury, etc). Don't be misled by the title and assume this is on the 13 British colonies; it's not. Most essays are on Mesoamerica and Peru, deservedly so since these were the main colonial population centers. Inspiring? The first derived work, E. Burke ed., "Struggle & Survival in the Modern Middle East," notes the debt in the title. All the "Human Tradition" series from Scholarly Resources are directly modeled after S & N. Nice work, everyone.

Incredible Insights

I first read this book many years ago but continue to refer to it. The insights are still fresh and original; the writing is clear and crisp. A wonderful picture of real people in colonial times. I have turned several friends and students on to it--to the point that it has "walked" several times--which is why I had to buy a new copy just now!