Indians' New South: Cultural Change in the Colonial Southeast

With The Indians' New South, James Axtell presents a brief, but intricate analysis of the impact imposed on Native culture by European contact. The Indians' New South is the product of the Walter Lynwood Fleming Lectures in Southern History at Louisiana State University. As such, it is relatively short (about 70 pages of story), but one should not expect a quick read. Each sentence is a comprehensive concept and is likely to provoke substantial reflection by the reader. Axtell examines evolution of Native life during colonial development of the lands of the Creeks, Cherokee, et al. Axtell's discussion goes well beyond the impact of guns, germs and steel; he identifies the transition from a subsistence economy to a Native form of consumerism. When he discusses European products that impacted Native culture, he includes mirrors with firearms and alcohol. Axtell also provides a secondary analysis of the differences among Spanish, French and English colonialism. As an example of the depth of Axtell's analysis, he closes with a notion that the American Revolution substantially reduced the market for deerskins, the primary exchange commodity for the Natives of the southeast.