Dominion and Civility

English Imperialism and Native America, 1585-1685

by Michael Leroy Oberg

Michael Leroy Oberg considers the history of Anglo-Indian relations in transatlantic context while viewing the frontier as a zone where neither party had the upper hand. He tells how the English pursued three sets of policies in America -- securing profit for their sponsors, making lands safe from both European and native enemies, and "civilizing" the Indians -- and explains why the British settlers found it impossible to achieve all of these goals.

Oberg places the history of Anglo-Indian relations in the early Chesapeake and New England in a broad transatlantic context while drawing parallels with subsequent efforts by England as well as its imperial rivals -- the French, Dutch, and Spanish -- to plant colonies in America. Dominion and Civility promises to broaden our understanding of the exchange between Europeans and Indians and makes an important contribution to the emerging history of the English Atlantic world.

240 pp ~ illustrated — ©1999