Peace Came in the Form of a Woman

Indians and Spaniards in the Texas Borderlands

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, Native American Studies, Anthropology, History, Americas, United States
Cover of the book Peace Came in the Form of a Woman by Juliana Barr, The University of North Carolina Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Juliana Barr ISBN: 9780807867730
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press Publication: November 30, 2009
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press Language: English
Author: Juliana Barr
ISBN: 9780807867730
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Publication: November 30, 2009
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Language: English

Revising the standard narrative of European-Indian relations in America, Juliana Barr reconstructs a world in which Indians were the dominant power and Europeans were the ones forced to accommodate, resist, and persevere. She demonstrates that between the 1690s and 1780s, Indian peoples including Caddos, Apaches, Payayas, Karankawas, Wichitas, and Comanches formed relationships with Spaniards in Texas that refuted European claims of imperial control.

Barr argues that Indians not only retained control over their territories but also imposed control over Spaniards. Instead of being defined in racial terms, as was often the case with European constructions of power, diplomatic relations between the Indians and Spaniards in the region were dictated by Indian expressions of power, grounded in gendered terms of kinship. By examining six realms of encounter--first contact, settlement and intermarriage, mission life, warfare, diplomacy, and captivity--Barr shows that native categories of gender provided the political structure of Indian-Spanish relations by defining people's identity, status, and obligations vis-a-vis others. Because native systems of kin-based social and political order predominated, argues Barr, Indian concepts of gender cut across European perceptions of racial difference.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Revising the standard narrative of European-Indian relations in America, Juliana Barr reconstructs a world in which Indians were the dominant power and Europeans were the ones forced to accommodate, resist, and persevere. She demonstrates that between the 1690s and 1780s, Indian peoples including Caddos, Apaches, Payayas, Karankawas, Wichitas, and Comanches formed relationships with Spaniards in Texas that refuted European claims of imperial control.

Barr argues that Indians not only retained control over their territories but also imposed control over Spaniards. Instead of being defined in racial terms, as was often the case with European constructions of power, diplomatic relations between the Indians and Spaniards in the region were dictated by Indian expressions of power, grounded in gendered terms of kinship. By examining six realms of encounter--first contact, settlement and intermarriage, mission life, warfare, diplomacy, and captivity--Barr shows that native categories of gender provided the political structure of Indian-Spanish relations by defining people's identity, status, and obligations vis-a-vis others. Because native systems of kin-based social and political order predominated, argues Barr, Indian concepts of gender cut across European perceptions of racial difference.

More books from The University of North Carolina Press

Cover of the book Stephen Dodson Ramseur by Juliana Barr
Cover of the book Presenting Japanese Buddhism to the West by Juliana Barr
Cover of the book Sounds of Change by Juliana Barr
Cover of the book American Tropics by Juliana Barr
Cover of the book Washington Brotherhood by Juliana Barr
Cover of the book The Ordeal of the Reunion by Juliana Barr
Cover of the book Southern Cultures by Juliana Barr
Cover of the book Beans and Field Peas by Juliana Barr
Cover of the book Old and Sick in America by Juliana Barr
Cover of the book Journal of the Civil War Era by Juliana Barr
Cover of the book Choice and Coercion by Juliana Barr
Cover of the book Rivers of Gold, Lives of Bondage by Juliana Barr
Cover of the book The Mediating Nation by Juliana Barr
Cover of the book The War for the Common Soldier by Juliana Barr
Cover of the book The Business of Genocide by Juliana Barr
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy