Daily Life on the Old Colonial Frontier

(Hardback)

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Explore daily life on the American frontier, where European colonial powers interacted, often violently, among native peoples and each other--with each side considering the land to be rightly theirs. The frontier region was the interface between the American wilderness and European-style civilization. To the Europeans, the frontier teemed with undomesticated and unfamiliar beasts, and even its indigenous peoples seemed perplexing, uninhibited, and violent. The frontier was both a place and a process. It was not a clear line along which contending cultures collided, but rather a disrupted region in which they interacted. On the frontier, explorers, traders, missionaries, colonists, and native peoples all came into contact. Everyday life was filled with the difficulties of trading, trapping, and farming, not to mention the threat of violence that seemed to be ever present. Examining the period from the perspective of both Europeans and Native Americans, and featuring more than 40 illustrations, photographs, and maps, this is the perfect book for everyone interested in how people lived in this fascinating region during this critical time. Starting with an overview of the time period and a description of the region and the peoples involved, the authors trace, in 15 chapters, the aspects of daily life from the southern colonies up into Canada. Along the way attention is paid to various competing religions and worldviews, intertribal trade and warfare, the fur trade, French colonies, English colonies, frontier homes, Indian raids, colonial reprisals, life as a captive, the militia, fortifications, and a world at war. Illustrations feature artifacts, clothes, locations, and maps, adding a visual element to enhance understanding. Finally, a bibliography and an index will aid researchers who want to know more about one of the most prominent collision of cultures in human history.

Reviews

Daily Life on the Colonial Frontier is a must-read for anyone getting started in reenacting from that time period and wants to be fully aware of the knowledge that an ordinary citizen would have during that time. Gaining the knowledge from this book should make for an easier interpretation on the interested public.-Smoke and Fire News
"Daily Life on the Colonial Frontier is a must-read for anyone getting started in reenacting from that time period and wants to be fully aware of the knowledge that an ordinary citizen would have during that time. Gaining the knowledge from this book should make for an easier interpretation on the interested public."-Smoke and Fire News

Author Bio

JAMES M. VOLO is a teacher, historian, and living history enthusiast. DOROTHY DENNEEN VOLO is a teacher and historian.