The Red Atlantic - by Jace Weaver (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

From the earliest moments of European contact, Native Americans have played a pivotal role in the Atlantic experience, yet they often have been relegated to the margins of the region's historical record. The Red Atlantic, Jace Weaver's sweeping and highly readable survey of history and literature, synthesizes scholarship to place indigenous people of the Americas at the center of our understanding of the Atlantic world. Weaver illuminates their willing and unwilling travels through the region, revealing how they changed the course of world history.

Indigenous Americans, Weaver shows, crossed the Atlantic as royal dignitaries, diplomats, slaves, laborers, soldiers, performers, and tourists. And they carried resources and knowledge that shaped world civilization -- from chocolate, tobacco, and potatoes to terrace farming and suspension bridges. Weaver makes clear that indigenous travelers were cosmopolitan agents of international change whose engagement with other societies gave them the tools to advocate for their own sovereignty even as it was challenged by colonialism.

Review Quotes

"A helpful platform to discuss this engaging topic." -- Library Journal

"A much-needed treatment of indigenous intellectuals who adapted to the vicissitudes of colonialism without forsaking themselves or the larger communities they represented." -- The Historian

"A valuable contribution to the growing literature that stands in opposition to the traditionalist 'White Atlantic'." -- Journal of American Ethnic History

"A valuable resource for students." -- Transmotion

"A wide-ranging exploration of American Indian's engagement with the Atlantic world across roughly a millennium of time. . . . Rich in both anecdote and reflection, this is a capacious, thought-provoking, and engaging book." -- Studies in American Indian Literatures

"Engrossing." -- Journal of American History

"Essential for scholars of American Indian studies and Atlantic studies, especially those working at the intersections of literature and history. It is also highly readable, even entertaining at times." -- American Indian Quarterly

"Highly readable and engaging . . . will prove of interest to specialists, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates." -- Journal of Southern History

"In this fascinating, well-written account that places Native people at the center of Atlantic world history, Weaver positions the Atlantic as a conduit not only for the physical movement of people and ideas, but also as a highway for connections between cultures. . . . Highly recommended." -- CHOICE

"Manages to bring together players and stories in ways that make reading his book an engaging and . . . gratifying experience." -- American Studies

About the Author