On Savage Shores
How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe
1 of 1 copy available
"On Savage Shores not only changes how we think about the first contact between America and Europe but also sets the methodological standard for a new way of understanding the origin of the modern world." —New York Review of Books
We have long been taught to presume that modern global history began when the "Old World" encountered the "New", when Christopher Columbus “discovered” America in 1492. But, as Caroline Dodds Pennock conclusively shows in this groundbreaking book, for tens of thousands of Aztecs, Maya, Totonacs, Inuit and others—enslaved people, diplomats, explorers, servants, traders—the reverse was true: they discovered Europe.
For them, Europe comprised savage shores, a land of riches and marvels, yet perplexing for its brutal disparities of wealth and quality of life, and its baffling beliefs. The story of these Indigenous Americans abroad is a story of abduction, loss, cultural appropriation, and, as they saw it, of apocalypse—a story that has largely been absent from our collective imagination of the times.
From the Brazilian king who met Henry VIII to the Aztecs who mocked up human sacrifice at the court of Charles V; from the Inuk baby who was put on show in a London pub to the mestizo children of Spaniards who returned “home” with their fathers; from the Inuit who harpooned ducks on the Avon river to the many servants employed by Europeans of every rank: here are a people who were rendered exotic, demeaned, and marginalized, but whose worldviews and cultures had a profound impact on European civilization.
Drawing on their surviving literature and poetry and subtly layering European eyewitness accounts against the grain, Pennock gives us a sweeping account of the Indigenous American presence in, and impact on, early modern Europe.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
January 24, 2023 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780593628058
- File size: 289678 KB
- Duration: 10:03:29
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Starred review from November 21, 2022
In this fascinating and fluidly written revisionist history, Dodds Pennock (Bonds of Blood), a senior lecturer in international history at the University of Sheffield, pieces together a “mosaic of glimmering fragments” to explore how Indigenous people encountered and perceived European colonizers. Despite the lack of Native perspectives in the historical record, Dodds Pennock unearths the stories of Malintzin, a Nahua woman enslaved by the Mayans who became the “primary translator and aide” to conquistador Hernando Cortés during his invasion of Mexico; Essomericq, the son of a Brazilian chief who traveled to France and became “an active member of the local community, a successful businessman, and the father of a large and prosperous family” in the early 16th century; and other “go-betweens,” many of whom were kidnapped and brought to Europe, where they learned new languages, customs, and other valuable information, including “the accurate value of European goods.” Diligently and creatively mining primary source material, Dodds Pennock illuminates the Indigenous impact on European culture, including the introduction of chocolate, potatoes, and other now favorite foods, and the invaluable, if often unacknowledged, role Native peoples served in helping Europeans navigate the diverse cultures and geographies of colonized lands. This innovative and powerful account breaks down long-standing historical assumptions. -
Starred review from April 1, 2023
Pennock (history, Univ. of Sheffield; Bonds of Blood) shatters the Eurocentric understanding of the Age of Discovery with this insightful analysis of the experiences of Indigenous Americans who traveled across the Atlantic to Europe after 1492. In this eye-opening history, Pennock explains how tens of thousands of Aztecs, Mayans, Totonac, Inuit, and others from North America, Mesoamerica, Central America, and South America influenced the development of Europe. She provides a time line of key dates when Indigenous people influenced European expansion with their cultures, history, religions, science, and more. Her refreshing approach serves as a reminder that countless Indigenous peoples have been explorers, nobles, pioneers, artists, diplomats, and pathfinders for their people. Today's movement to find the remains of Indigenous peoples buried in unmarked graves in European lands for return to their native lands provides hope for humanity. Pennock explains how European xenophobia motivated her to reveal the genuine attitudes of Indigenous people about the Europeans, although her meticulous research was frustrated by accounts written by Europeans who filtered Indigenous voices. VERDICT Author Pennock offers a bright narration, in a British accent, of her own prestigious, impressive book, which might surprise laypersons and even professional historians. An essential addition to academic and large public library collections.--Dale Farris
Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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