In The Comanche Empire, Pekka H\u00e4m\u00e4l\u00e4ine provides a new perspective on imperialism in the Southwest and Plains of the United States. The Comanche Nation\u2019s ability to adjust to changes, both politically and culturally, allowed them to not just survive, but thrive and eventually become a power to be reckoned with. The Comanche used strength and fear to essentially limit the ability of the Spanish government in their quest for territorial expansion. It is this power and ability to have the Spanish government change their tactics in dealing with the Comanche nation that lends credibility to H\u00e4m\u00e4l\u00e4ine\u2019s claim of the Comanche being an Imperial power.
\nThe ethnohistorical approach taken by H\u00e4m\u00e4l\u00e4ine in the research of this subject is fascinating. I was wary of his use of Atlantic history techniques but further reading showed that this technique is indeed valid. The way H\u00e4m\u00e4l\u00e4ine worked his documents gave him an ability to show the agency of the Comanche nation in their dealings with the Spanish, French and other Native American Nations. H\u00e4m\u00e4l\u00e4ine\u2019s use of Spanish documents and letters written by settlers and missionaries helps in proving much of his claim. The Comanche were a forceful power that provoked anxiety among government officials.
\nI found myself intrigued by how H\u00e4m\u00e4l\u00e4ine went about proving his claims. Using the documentation from outside the Comanche Nation to prove his points strikes home. In researching pre-colonial and colonial period history, I am often striving to find just an ounce of documentation that may help provide information into my subject. By stepping out of the box in his research, H\u00e4m\u00e4l\u00e4ine gains the ability to step out of the box in his research style.
\nThe breadth of area covered stood out to me. The mobility of the Comanche in striving to widen their territory really shocked me. The breadth of their empire and the ability to have other nations and territories maneuver around their area really embraces H\u00e4m\u00e4l\u00e4ine\u2019s claim to a Comanche Imperial West.
\nThe focus of the Spanish government also lends credibility to H\u00e4m\u00e4l\u00e4ine\u2019s claim. That the government and missionaries took the time to mention their dealings with the Comanche time and again shows how powerful the Comanche Nation had become. What really struck me in the reading was the care taken by the New Mexico governor Tom\u00e1s V\u00e9lez Cachup\u00edn. The care he took in explaining protocol to his successor speaks volumes in regards to the respect that the Comanche commanded.
\nI believe this new focus in history is exciting and makes me remember history classes in junior high and high school. The lack of Native Americans mentioned in my history books or the teacher\u2019s lectures brings home how much this new research avenue is necessary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In The Comanche Empire, Pekka H\u00e4m\u00e4l\u00e4ine provides a new perspective on imperialism in the Southwest and Plains of the United States. The Comanche Nation\u2019s ability to adjust to changes, both politically and culturally, allowed them to not just survive, but thrive and eventually become a power to be reckoned with. The Comanche used strength and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.shroutdocs.org\/hist571-fall2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.shroutdocs.org\/hist571-fall2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.shroutdocs.org\/hist571-fall2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.shroutdocs.org\/hist571-fall2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.shroutdocs.org\/hist571-fall2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/courses.shroutdocs.org\/hist571-fall2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45,"href":"https:\/\/courses.shroutdocs.org\/hist571-fall2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38\/revisions\/45"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.shroutdocs.org\/hist571-fall2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.shroutdocs.org\/hist571-fall2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.shroutdocs.org\/hist571-fall2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}