A BIG HISTORY OF NORTH AMERICA A BIG HISTORY OF NORTH AMERICA From Montezuma to Monroe Kevin Jon Fernlund UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI PRESS Columbia Copyright © 2022 by The Curators of the University of Missouri University of Missouri Press, Columbia, Missouri 65211 Printed and bound in the United States of America All rights reserved. First printing, 2022. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Fernlund, Kevin J., author. Title: A big history of North America : from Montezuma to Monroe / Kevin Jon Fernlund. Description: Columbia : The University of Missouri Press, [2022] | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2022013713 (print) | LCCN 2022013714 (ebook) | ISBN 9780826222657 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780826222749 (paperback) | ISBN 9780826274779 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Power (Social sciences)--North America. | North America--History. | North America--Civilization. | North America--Discovery and exploration. | North America--Historical geography. Classification: LCC E45 .F47 2022 (print) | LCC E45 (ebook) | DDC 970--dc23/eng/20220805 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022013713 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022013714 This paper meets the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, Z39.48, 1984. Typeface: Aktiv Grotesque and Minion Pro Cover image: Frans Floris, Geometry (allegory and personification of Geometry holding a compass above a globe), 1557. Oil on canvas, 59 ¼ x 68 1/8 in. (150.5 x 173 cm; origi- nally 125 x 173 cm). Private collection, Genoa. To Sharon the Best in the West and To Richard W. Etulain a Moderate in an Immoderate Time No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. John Donne Devotions Contents Acknowledgments ix Prologue Chapter 1: On Method 5 Chapter 2: On Asymmetry 25 Part I: North amerIcaN coNtours Chapter 3: The Renaissance Explores the East Coast 53 Chapter 4: The Enlightenment Explores the West Coast 93 INterlude Chapter 5: A Short History of Cultural Evolution 111 Part II: the hIsPaNo sPhere Chapter 6: The Two Mexicos 131 Chapter 7: Mexico’s Axial Age 157 Chapter 8: The Two Spains 179 vii viii Contents Part III: the aNglosPhere Chapter 9: Neo- Europes and Middle Grounds 203 Chapter 10: Transatlantic Wars and Transcontinental Treks 229 Chapter 11: The Thucydides Trap— and The Great Escape 261 ePIlogue Chapter 12: The Clinched Fist and the Invisible Hand 287 Notes 295 Bibliography 325 Index 365 Acknowledgments most hIstorIes of North amerIca either explicitly or implicitly divide the continent by geography and culture between British North America, i.e., Canada and the United States, on the one hand, and Mexico or Mexico and Latin America, on the other. As I have tried to demonstrate with this book, there are any number of reasons for integrating the histories of these two North Americas into a single narrative, even if doing so runs sharply counter to older Anglo and Hispanic historiographical traditions. For support in undertaking this admittedly unorthodox endeavor, as well as expertise and sage advice, I would very much like to salute the University of Missouri Press, especially Andrew J. Davidson, the Editor in Chief, and his colleagues Mary Conley, Drew Griffith, Rosie Williamson, Deanna M. Davis, Tracy Tritschler, and Robin Rennison. I would also like to thank Miranda Ottewell. Her copyediting and queries sharpened my writing and saved me from numerous errors. I would also like to express my gratitude to the historians, editors, and peer reviewers who helped guide me through the various stages of this proj- ect. These individuals include John R. Gillingham, Maris Gillette, Richard W. Etulain, Andrew J. Davidson, Samuel Brunk, Barry Rodrigue, Liping Zhu, Nikolaos Poulopoulos, Steve W. Rowan, Carlos A. Schwantes, Mark Burkholder, Priscilla A. Dowden- White, Minsoo Kang, and David Christian. I would also like to thank Molly Holz, the former editor of Montana The Magazine of Western History, Durwood Ball, the editor of the New Mexico Historical Review, and David Blanks, the editor of the Journal of Big History, for their support and encouragement in publishing exploratory articles on this subject. Of course, any mistakes or questionable interpretations are en- tirely my responsibility and mine alone. ix