Andrew Lipman does a great job of remaining impartial throughout his article, \u201cMurder on the Saltwater Frontier.\u201d 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. \u201cAs the two largest powers in the region, the Pequots and the Narragansetts looked to expand their respective orbits of subordinate villages\u201d (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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n