QUESTIONS
ON ALAN TAYLOR’S “CANADA AND IROQUOIA, 1500 –
1650”
(assignment 10)
Readings
available on electronic reserves
1) This assignment,
like ALL assignments in this class, must be typed. See handout on
class expectations
2)
You MUST use blackboards digital dropbox (details here)
to submit this homework
3) BE
SURE TO FOLLOW THE FILE-NAMING CONVENTIONS FOR THIS COURSE.
All files should be named as: your last name, followed by an underscore
("_"), followed by a your first initial, followed
by an underscore ("_"), followed by the
assignment number. So if a student named Saddam Hussein were to
submit assignment number 10, the file name would be:
hussein_s_10.doc
THIS
IS ASSIGNMENT 10
Answer
the following questions in your own words. If you find yourself
tempted to use the author’s words, you may not yet understand
the material. Moreover, if you use the author’s words you
will receive no credit.
Question 1, 3, and 10 require synthesizing information from several
pages; moreover, these questions should be considered "long
answer" questions and will require more writing.
1) Ethno-centric French traders in the 17th century, as Taylor notes,
often liked to think of the Native Americans they encountered as
“perpetual children.” Today, romantic visions of the
Native American past often portray Indians as equally helpless.
How? Such visions of Indians suggest that they could not control
their desires for the material goods and alcohol that came with
the Europeans.
What evidence does Taylor present that debunks (that is,
proves wrong) both of these remarkably similar conceptions of helpless
native peoples? Be specific and provide examples.
2) How did Native and French visions of the relationship between
trade and diplomacy differ?USE YOUR OWN WORDS
3) (3 part question)Taylor writes on p. 98 that for many
native groups, “market incentives overwhelmed the inhibitions
of animism.”
Carefully
explain what Taylor means by
(A) “inhibitions
of animism” USE YOUR OWN WORDS
(B) “market
incentives” USE YOUR OWN WORDS
(C) Carefully
explain how (B) overwhelmed (A). Be specific and provide examples.
USE YOUR OWN WORDS
4) Why did the Huron abandon hunting to become middle-men in the
fur trade? USE YOUR OWN WORDS
5 ) What
role did torture play in group cohesion among the Five Nations?USE
YOUR OWN WORDS
6) In the mid-17th century the Iroquois attacked their neighbors
with warfare -- as Taylor notes -- of "nearly genocidal
proportions." Taylor, in contrast to some historians, doesn't
think these wars are best described as "Beaver Wars,"
but rather prefers the term "Mourning Wars." Why? Be specific
and provide examples. USE YOUR OWN WORDS
7) Why did commercial incentives mean that both the French and the
Iroquois were unwilling to make peace with each other? USE
YOUR OWN WORDS
8) Is it accurate to describe Europeans of this period as racist?
Why or Why not? USE YOUR OWN WORDS
9) Why did the particular form Christianity practiced by the Jesuits
make it easier for the “Black Robes” to integrate themselves
into Native society than it was for Protestant Ministers?
READ CAREFULLY!!! USE YOUR OWN WORDS
10) The
Jesuits demands of "cultural concessions" (such as ending
the torture rituals) from the Hurons undermined unity in Huronia;
why didn't the Hurons simply expel the troublesome French? (A
helpful hint: pay close attention to the readings on the topic of
threats to cultural unity in Hurania; this information will help
you in your upcoming paper) USE YOUR OWN
WORDS