Although European empires sought to control Native people’s lands and lives in colonial North America, historians including Richard White and Pekka Hamalainen have demonstrated that Native societies were able to exercise considerable power in certain circumstances. For this essay, describe the middle ground in the pays d’en haut (as depicted by Richard White) and the Comanche Empire in the Southwest plains (as depicted by Pekka Hamalainen), making sure to discuss 1.) the conditions that allowed each system to emerge, 2.) how Native people exercised power in each system, and 3.) how European empires (New France and New Spain) attempted to exercise power in each system. Based on your analysis, what political, environmental, cultural, or other factors helped Native people to exercise power in the colonial era?
- Note: for this question, you may use only two readings—White and Hamalainen.
