BROTHERS among NATIONS This page intentionally left blank BROTHERS among NATIONS The Pursuit of Intercultural Alliances in Early America, 1580 1660 – Cynthia J. Van Zandt 1 2008 1 Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further Oxford University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education. Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offi ces in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Copyright © 2008 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Van Zandt, Cynthia J. Brothers among nations : the pursuit of intercultural alliances in early America, 1580–1660 / Cynthia J. Van Zandt. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN978-0-19-518124-1 1. Indians of North America—History—Colonial period, ca. 1600–1775.2. Indians of North America—First contact with Europeans. 3. Indians of North America—Colonization. 4. Cultural relations—United States—History. 5. United States—Ethnic relations. 6. United States—History—Colonial period, ca. 1600–1775. I. Title. E77.V252008 303.48'273009032—dc22 2007051112 987654321 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper For JIM and HANNAH This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgments I have incurred numerous debts in writing this book. Needless to say, any book that begins as a doctoral dissertation and then transforms into a rather dif- ferent work invariably takes several years and depends heavily upon people’s generosity in the process. Brothers among Nations has benefited particularly from the intellectual interest and assistance of many people, so many, indeed, that I fear it will be impossible to thank them all. A research support grant from the University of New Hampshire vice presi- dent for research and public service, as well as a grant of leave, helped to make it possible for me to conduct additional studies during a crucial period. I am grate- ful to Dean Marilyn Hoskin and to the History Department for the necessary leave time to carry out further research. In addition, the American Antiquarian Society granted a Stephen Botein Research Fellowship and made available the society’s expertise and resources as I delved deeply into seventeenth-century printed works on navigation, society, politics, and intercultural relations. Many colleagues read portions of the manuscript at various stages of the writing. I am particularly grateful to the anonymous readers for Oxford University Press, who provided a close reading of the manuscript and an extremely helpful critique. I have no doubt that this is a better book as a result of their suggestions. And if I have stubbornly failed to follow some of their very good advice, they are certainly not to blame. In addition, a number of other colleagues provided both tangible and i ntangible assistance. Brendan McConville, Walt Woodward, Karen Kupperman, Richard Johnson, and Daniel Richter offered helpful ideas along the way. acknowledgments Brendan McConville and Ruth Herndon lent support at a critical juncture. Charles Gehring and the New Netherland Institute were supportive of this proj- ect from start to finish, and I am very grateful for their help. Jim Rice made insightful suggestions over the years as we discussed our mutual interest in the Chesapeake and its native peoples. David Furlow and Lisa Pennington share my abiding interest in the extraordinary Isaac Allerton, and they have generously shared their own research with me. Karen Kupperman has given vital assistance and wise counsel throughout; I could not ask for a better mentor. I am indebted to my colleagues in the History Department at the University of New Hampshire. Their commitment to excellence in scholarship and teach- ing makes UNH a congenial place to work. All of them have helped with this project in one way or another. Several read portions of the manuscript with particular care and offered constructive suggestions; I extend my thanks to Bill Harris, Frank McCann, Eliga Gould, and Jan Golinski for reading parts of the manuscript and book proposal. Nicky Gullace and Lige Gould took time away from their own work to critique cover images. David Frankfurter has always been ready for a lively discussion of intercultural dynamics, and I have ben- efited a great deal from our conversations. In addition, Holly A. Rine provided useful research assistance at an early stage of this work. I am also grateful to my undergraduate and graduate students at the University of New Hampshire. I am a better scholar and writer because of them. The John Carter Brown Library reproduced the illustrations from their extraordinary holdings; I thank them for permission to use these materials. The members of the JCB’s imaging staff were extraordinarily helpful and respon- sive. In addition, Susan Danforth, who is always a model of professionalism and efficiency, responded to numerous queries for increasingly obscure images with enthusiasm and aplomb. The fact that some of them proved elusive is not due to any lack of searching on her part. Similarly, the Library of Congress, the Maryland Historical Society, and the Massachusetts Historical Society responded generously and quickly to requests for similarly obscure images. I thank them all for their assistance. I presented portions of chapters 1 and 2 to the New England Seminar in American History at the American Antiquarian Society; portions of chapters 1 and 3 to the “Changing and Exchanging” conference on Cultural Contact and Spiritual and Material Conversions at Princeton University; portions of chapter 6 at the Columbia Seminar in Early American History and to the Fulbright American Studies Conference at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand; and portions of chapter 7 at the Boston Area Early American History Seminar at the Massachusetts Historical Society. I am grateful to the partic- ipants at all of these venues for their feedback. A portion of chapter 1 was published in Early American Studies. viii acknowledgments Ultimately, I did not take the advice of everyone who generously offered suggestions, comments, and constructive criticisms, though I am grateful for their intellectual contributions. In the end, however, the responsibility for any errors or omissions is mine alone. Everyone at Oxford University Press has made publishing this book a plea- sure from start to finish. Susan Ferber has a long list of loyal authors for good reason, and she has been a steadfast model of professionalism. I am grateful for her suggestions and technical assistance and above all for her sound good sense and unwavering support for Brothers among Nations. To everyone who kept asking whether the book was done yet, I offer my thanks. Although it is not always a question one wants to answer, it is one that every writer ought to face from time to time. Thanks to my parents for their forbearance during a very long process and for assuming that some day they would really see an actual book. I cannot adequately express my indebtedness to Jim Rollins. He has been there every step of the way—for every eureka moment and roadblock—and he has faced it all with love and equanimity. And to Hannah, who has had to wait patiently too many times, thank you for deciding that chapter 5 was good enough, at least at the time. Some things should not have to wait; we had waited long enough. This book is dedicated to Jim and Hannah, with love and gratitude. ix