POSTS – Page 29 – Atlantic History

Scapegoat for American Colonial War

September 25, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

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Andrew Lipman does a great job of remaining impartial throughout his article, “Murder on the Saltwater Frontier.” He does however, paint a solid portrait of the colonial exploitation of the internal deceit within Native American society. It is easy to lump North American natives into one category when examining European colonization in the 17th and 18th centuries. Lipman highlights Native American rivalry and the role it played in the murder of John Oldham. “As the two largest powers in the region, the Pequots and the Narragansetts looked to expand their respective orbits of subordinate villages” (Lipman, 285). Clearly, this rivalry played a role in Oldham’s murder considering he used both tribes to expand trade. Additionally, Lipman lays a solid foundation for his article by examining the little known oceanic prowess of the East Coast Native American tribes. They had been navigating those seas and that coastline for decades prior to European colonization. Inter-tribal trade was so ingrained in coastal Native American society that an intervention by John Oldham cost him his life. Lipman allows for alternate reasoning behind the start of the Pequot War. With this, I disagree with Diana and Viktoriya’s summation of the War being in consequence to the killing of Oldham. The murder of John Oldham was not the sole reason behind the outset of war. It would be irresponsible of an historian to say so. It may have been the spark that lit the powder keg, as the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand was in the Balkans almost three hundred years later, but underlying factors, such as trade and land disputes, were definitely at the forefront of the ensuing conflict. Moreover, Lipman is quick to point out the murder was carried out by members of the Narragansett tribe, not the Pequot.

In closing, Lipman’s article was captivating. Not only did he display the Native American maritime expertise, but he was able to squeeze in a captivating, dateline-esque murder mystery. I was pleasantly surprised with the content of his article. It was a breath of fresh air following Vieira’s bore fest.

Murder on the Saltwater Frontier

September 25, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

Lipman begins his article describing the incident where John Gallop discovers a European ship taken over by Indians and the conflict that followed when he gave chase. This massacre that Lipman describes is one apparently done out of pure intense reaction. Lipman describes the horror that swept over John Gallop: “But relief soon turned to dread as Gallop realized that the vessel’s deck was swarming with Indians, while a canoe paddled away ‘full of Indians and goods.’”(Lipman, 269). Lipman goes on to state that after the discovery of Oldham’s body was used as a motivation for Puritan governors as they launched attacks on Indians near Long Island.

We can make the connection that due to previous European encounters with native peoples, hostility towards Europeans was not uncommon. Miscommunication and violence in early periods of contact set the precedent for instability for the time going forward. Viktoriya Shalunova references this within her post, arguing that it would seem natural to attack those who have harmed your people and way of life.

This article does not simply imply that there was only violence before this incident though, as Lipman states that these colonial and Indian mariners needed each others specialized skills and technology (Lipman, 274). Colonists needed the cartographic, linguistic, and cultural knowledge of the “seagoing Indians” and in some cases even needed their vessels in order to travel near shore.

This article shows us both the perilous environment that the native mariners and colonial mariners engaged in and the types of cultural exchange that occurred within these spaces. Frontiers are places of extremes, with which we find various unique moments of interaction throughout history. Lipman uses the term “saltwater frontier” in his description of the zones that these people inhabited together, which I believe fits perfectly.

Murder on the Saltwater Frontier

September 25, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

Andrew C. Lipman introduces his article with the discovery of the murder of John Oldham. My classmate, Viktoriya Shalunova, stated, “in consequence to the murder of Oldham, colonist’s started a two year war with the Indians that included the killing, dismembering, and enslaving of Indians.” I agree with Viktoriya’s following reaction to the war. It seems ridiculous to start a war over the case of one murder, especially when Indians have been constantly targeted ever since their discovery. The article continues with information on the cultural and technological exchanges between the Natives and the English on the Atlantic. Like Matthew Liivoja, I was also surprised with the mention that Natives conducted trade by sea. Throughout history, Natives were constantly painted as barbarians or non-advanced people. I often forget that they too were involved in the exploration for new land and resources. However, Lipman started, “the exchange of maritime information and technologies did not always lead to calm intercultural seas” (283). I believe that the tension between Natives and Europeans have never depleted. Since their discovery and cruel treatment by the Spanish, it would be no surprise to me that Natives viewed all Europeans in a negative manner.

Lipman continues to pursue the truth and motive behind the murder of Oldham. However, a lot of his reasoning for the murder are just speculations with no concrete evidence. For every part of the murder, Lipman offers multiple possibilities of the scenario. For example, Lipman mentioned that Oldham’s body was found naked. He stated that this lead one colonist to “speculate that the Manisses had killed him to ‘cloth[e] their bloody flesh with his lawful garmets’” (Lipman, 288). Then there were others who believed that the act was a final humiliation to their religion and masculinity.

Murder of John Oldham: The Saltwater Frontier

September 25, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

Author Andrew C. Lipman writes about the discovery of John Oldman who had been murdered by the hands of the Narragansett, the Eastern Niantic, and Manisses Indians. He also writes that Oldham’s murder, along with Captain John Stone’s murder in 1634, led to the Pequot War (Lipman, 270). But how did they get to the point of fighting one another? Lipman points out that historians have mistakenly divided colonial and Native territories when it comes to land, and rather historians should note that both colonists and Natives lived on shared land as well as shared waterways (Lipman, 270). The use of the waterways along the coast proved beneficial when it came down to trading, where colonists would use it to connect to the Connecticut and Hudson rivers and the Algonquians lived close to the coast due to trade as well (Lipman, 271). Naturally, two competing forces move towards one another would cause friction, eventually leading to deteriorated relations.

Another great point brought up was that the Natives were not waiting for the colonists on land, rather they were as Lipman puts it, “people in motion” (Lipman, 273). Again, this idea of two competing groups wanting the same space for themselves naturally would have poor relations. Viktoriya wrote on her blog that “it is possible that the Indians were also competing for power on the sea.” Europeans found the Native Americans to be knowledgeable as they were great guides, translators and rescuers on the water which leads us to believe that they had just as much experience on water as did the Europeans and could compete for power on the water if they chose to (Lipman, 274). However, Europeans felt and acted that they had the power, which brings up the point of European superiority over the Natives. Lipman writes that the English and Dutch believed that since they were experts on the water, they were superior to the Natives and thus, controlled the land and waterways (Lipman, 274). This power struggle for a shared space led to the murders of both colonists and Native Americans as well as the Pequot War, where the outcome would favor the English in the end.

Lipman, Andrew C. “Murder on the Saltwater Frontier: The Death of John Oldman.” Early American Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal 9, no. 2 (2011): 268-294. https://muse.jhu.edu (accessed on September 25, 2016).

Supremacy of the Seas

September 25, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

An important argument in “Murder on the Saltwater Frontier” attempts to refute the Eurocentric view that Europeans held naval and navigational supremacy over Native Americans (Lipman, 273). Is the author’s argument well-founded? Certainly, he makes a sound point in articulating how a complex matrix of material interdependence caused the English, French, and Dutch to adopt Indian naval designs and vice versa (Lipman, 282). This assertion weakens the idea that Europeans held a technological advantage in terms of seafaring, considering they openly utilized indigenous canoes as a way to traverse smaller inlets and brooks.

Furthermore, the author also mentions how lack of navigation ability and structural designs in European seafaring vessels left them vulnerable to Native American attacks (Lipman, 283 and 284). While lauding the navigable and expedient canoes Native Americans possessed, he does note the stark advantages afforded by shallops of European extraction and their burgeoning popularity among coastal Indians (Lipman, 282). This supports the notion that naval supremacy did not exist, but rather, a plethora of diverse and equally practical seafaring technology was popular among both Natives and Europeans. It should be noted that the English and French did not have much experience designing more expedient, compact vessels due to Northwestern Europe’s unique topography. This may explain the technological gap they found themselves bridging across the Atlantic.

To expound upon a Viktoriya’s earlier post, Natives proved themselves as sea worthy as their European counterparts. By noting the swimming abilities the Natives had and Europeans lacked, as well as the heavy reliance Europeans had on Native guides, we are painted a clearer picture of who was more competent at navigating North America’s multitude of corollaries and estuaries. One caveat to this assertion, of course, is that Europeans were far better at longer-distance travel across sea than Natives were.

To summarize, Europeans did not possess any sort of overwhelming advantage in terms of naval or navigational abilities. Naval and navigational supremacy was relative: in some circumstances and environments, Native Americans were better suited at naval engagement and navigation. Similarly, Europeans held their own strengths when it came to the range and stability of their vessels (Lipman, 281).

Tension on the Saltwater Frontier

September 25, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

From mutual trade to the murder of John Oldham, the white people and Native Americans involved developed and lessened relationships within an island setting. The notion of a saltwater frontier represented not only the interaction between colonists and indigenous populations, but also the spaces both groups occupied (Lipman, 272-273). Before Oldham was murdered, white sailors and indigenous groups participated in a “cultural exchange” (Lipman, 282). They traded goods, adapted each others’ maritime technology to their sailing vessels, and depended on another one’s skills to navigate the oceans (Lipman, 274). However, tensions surrounded whites and Native Americans in the form of taking prisoners and destroying ships. With Oldham’s death, the distribution of supplies and power began to blur. The Narragansett willed Chippaursett to the Oldham family, yet the Pequot engaged in a trade war questioning loyalty between colonists and natives (Lipman, 280). Oldham’s murder also damaged relations between indigenous populations and mariners. The accused were ordered to be killed by John Gallop based on little evidence. Oldham was said to be in Pequot country to collect gifts and put John Stone’s murder to rest (Lipman, 288). The discrepancies in Oldham’s murder account and his interactions with natives shifted blame to groups such as the Pequot, and such actions continued to lead to further hostilities. All of these events led to major disruption on the saltwater frontier and ultimately tarnished relations between whites and indigenous people.

David makes an interesting note about naval technology used by white mariners and Native Americans. It is something to consider that both groups were not above one another in terms of maritime resources. Each had their own effective developments in seafaring and applied them to their lifestyles as they saw fit. The article reminded me of John R. Gillis’ “Islands of the Mind” where outside colonists viewed islands as “barren land” to investigate without any knowledge of island peoples (Gillis, 23-24). Colonists viewed ocean lands as an opportunity to establish trade and construct their own spaces. Islands were viewed as places of wealth and seafarers began to overtake them, disrupting indigenous peoples’ environment and social structure.

Saltwater Frontier Battles

September 25, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

Can anyone imagine being greeted by people who want you dead? Lipman’s article “Murder on the Saltwater Frontier” is about the intense and often bloody rivalries between natives and explorers like John Gallop. Natives, like the Manisses, killed John Oldman when he and his crew were diverted to Block Island from a fateful wind of change. It comes as no surprise that the European “intruders” encroached upon native territory, making war over space almost inevitable for the native Americans. This war ultimately resulted in the death, dismemberment and enslavement of the Natives. It was, to a certain extent, a grisly culture clash as the Manisses and other tribes battled the Europeans for territory.

I like how Viktoriya’s response lends itself nicely to the fact that this was not just a “European discovery of the New World” but rather a dual discovery and mutual misunderstanding because they and the natives met each other and competed for land, even if they didn’t mean to cause harm to each other. Furthermore, I was amazed to hear they even competed out at sea because the natives had their own trade routes on the water. After reading this, I couldn`t believe the natives actually traded by sea, just like the Europeans. One excerpt from the article even talks about the Dutch and the English settling in the Northeast, reminding of Chapter 4 from The Atlantic World by Egerton et al. as they looked for new land to settle for trade and colonialism. Lipman even mentions Smallwood’s article on the slave trade played a role in this “saltwater frontier.” According to Lipman, the earliest explorers and natives actually “depended on each others skills and technology (Lipman, 274).” All in all, these saltwater frontiers of trade and cultural clash all became intertwined in creating new frontiers of Atlantic history.

Lipman, Andrew C. “Murder on the Saltwater Frontier: The Death of John Oldham.” Early American Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal 9, no. 2 (2011): 268-294. https://muse.jhu.edu/ (accessed September 24, 2016).

Possible Final Topics

September 25, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

Atlantic Piracy throughout time.
The evolution of slavery in the Atlantic
The impacts of imperialism on native peoples.

Possible Final Project Topics

September 24, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

The Protestant Reformation’s Influence on Europe and the Atlantic World.
First impressions and relationships that followed between native Americans and Europeans.
The evolution of slavery in the Atlantic World.

Three Possible Topics for the Final Project – HIST 410

September 24, 2016December 16, 2020Dr. Shrout

The scramble for Africa from the British point of view and an emphasis on the wars with the Zulus.
Atlantic trading during the American Civil War, North versus South.
The Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis.