The Ordeal of the Longhouse - (Published by the Omohundro Institute of Early American Histo) by Daniel K Richter (Paperback)

About the Book

Ordeal of the Longhouse: The Peoples of the Iroquois League in the Era of European Colonization

Book Synopsis

Richter examines a wide range of primary documents to survey the responses of the peoples of the Iroquois League -- the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Senecas, and Tuscaroras -- to the challenges of the European colonialization of North America. He demonstrates that by the early eighteenth century a series of creative adaptations in politics and diplomacy allowed the peoples of the Longhouse to preserve their cultural autonomy in a land now dominated by foreign powers.

From the Back Cover

My primary audience is neither the scholarly specialists on the Five Nations nor the Iroquois themselves, although I trust each will find something worthwhile here. Instead, I hope to reach historians, students, and interested readers who still too often exclude native peoples from the narrative mainstream of North American development. This is a story of European colonization viewed from the Indian side of the frontier.

Review Quotes

"An outstanding contribution to the study of Iroquois history and culture and that of cross-cultural relations in North America during the colonial period."--American Indian Culture and Research Journal

"Richter has made a major contribution to the literature on the Iroquois; it will confirm and enhance his reputation as a leading scholar in the field."--Journal of American History

"Richter's analysis rests upon impressive documentation, a clear awareness of existing historical literature on the Iroquois, and recent trends in ethnohistorical research. . . . This book succeeded in giving a solid basis for understanding the cultural and economic changes in Indian societies that resulted from the European invasion of America."--Journal of American Ethnic History

"The careful research, the wealth of details on sources, and the many insights into Iroquois history in the early colonial period make it an important book for scholars of Native history and colonial American history."--American Indian Quarterly

"This is a detailed, accurate, and convincing study of the Iroquois before 1720."--William and Mary Quarterly