Narrett, David The Cherokees in War & at Peace 1670-1840

For more than 150 years, from their first encounters with the English in the 1670s to their forced relocation along the Trail of Tears, the Cherokee had to cope with mounting pressures. As their world was shaken by the spread of European diseases, competition for guns, furs and deerskins, and the imperial powers' relentless pursuit of savage allies, Cherokee communities responded by creating new solidarities. At the beginning of the 18th century, the thought of unity among the widely dispersed Cherokee would hardly have occurred to their leaders. A century later, the chiefs declared unequivocally that they stood for the entire Cherokee Nation. The moves toward national unity were in part a response to the exigencies of war. But although armed conflict was common, David Narrett shows that the bonds of the Cherokee people were forged primarily through efforts to maintain peace and secure a livelihood. The Cherokee - both men and women - were remarkably skilful diplomats who practised peacemaking as a particular spiritual art in which adversaries could reconcile through mutual and symbolic forgetting of the wrongs done to them. Pragmatic and determined, the Cherokee skilfully managed their relationships with colonial rulers and indigenous rivals to preserve their independence and habitat and maximise the benefits of trade. Rich in detail and insight, the book tells a portrait of the perseverance that built a nation through compelling personal stories. Amidst an onslaught of struggle and change, the Cherokee became a people who survived against all odds.