In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World, early North America was a diverse place. It was a place that contained hundreds of distinct Indigenous nations and peoples who spoke at least 2,000 distinct languages prior to European contact.
Then, in the early sixteenth century, Spain began to establish colonies on mainland North America, and they were followed by the French, Dutch, and English, and the forced migration of enslaved Africans who represented at least 45 different ethnic and cultural groups. With such diversity, early North America was a place full of cross-cultural encounters.
What did it look like when people of different ethnicities, races, and cultures interacted with one another? How were the people involved in cross-cultural encounters able to understand and overcome their differences?
Nicole Eustace is a professor of history at New York University or NYU and teaches United States and Atlantic history. Her research interests include eighteenth-century North America in the Atlantic world, gender, culture, politics, and the history of emotion.
She is the author of several books, including Covered with Night: A Story of Murder and Indigenous Justice in Early America (Liveright, 2021), which won the Pulitzer Prize in History and was a National Book Award Finalist.
Using details from her book Covered with Night, Eustace reveals details of the murder of Seneca hunter Sawantaeny by English colonists Edmund and John Cartlidge; the political ramifications from the murder and the diplomatic efforts to avoid war; the differing definitions of justice between the English and Native Nations; and how the negotiations and resolution between these nations resulted in the Treaty of 1722, which was signed in Albany, New York by leaders of the Five Nations of Iroquois, Province of New York, Colony of Virginia, and Province of Pennsylvania. .
You can listen to the podcast here.
Ben Franklin’s World is an award-winning podcast. It’s for people who love history and for those who want to know more about the historical people and events that have impacted and shaped our world. Each episode features an interview with a historian who shares their unique insights into our early American past. It is a production of Colonial Williamsburg Innovation Studios.
For a full list of this week’s New York Almanack podcasts announcements click HERE.
Book Purchases made through this Amazon link support the New York Almanack’s mission to report new publications relevant to New York State.
See more new books HERE.
Leave a Reply