Stolen Continents: 500 Years of Conquest and Resistance in the Americas

This is a great book, make no mistake. It is very easy to follow without dumbing down at all.The book looks at the histories of five peoples of North and South America since Columbus landed in 1492: these are the Aztec, Inca, Maya, Iroquois and Cherokee. The book is divided into three parts, namely 'Invasion', 'Resistance' and 'Rebellion'. Each part is then divided into five chapters, each detailing the role of each indigenous nation in each aspect (Invasion etc).Ronald wright has uncovered a variety of sources that are barely known, most probably because wherever possible he tried to cite native sources rather than European ones. His very valid point of view is that the people of European descent have been telling the stories for long enough and it's time the indigenous peoples should tell their own histories.The books covers ground most people are familiar with in terms of the history of the Americas; the 'conquests' of Mexico and Peru by Cortez and Pizarro in particular: but we hear it from the side of the Aztecs and Incas wherever possible. The fall of Tenochtitlan is particularly moving in the same way that the resistance of Manco Inca is particularly rousing. Where the book detracts from most other histories is that it openly states that the 'conquests' were and still are ongoing to varying degrees - it didn't all end after a few battles.The 'Resistance' part of the book is very interesting as it deals with the current day: how if Guatemala were truly democratic it would be a Mayan republic (no the Mayans didn't disappear); modern Peru is a shoddy European infrastructure built upon an abiding native base. The politics of contemporary USA and even more remarkably Canada leave a lot to be desired given the history of very recent rebellion (1990) of the Mohawk (part of the Iroquois Confederacy).This book is a very good introduction to someone wanting an alternative and perhaps more honest version of the history of parts of the Western Hemisphere over the last 500-odd years.

As someone having absolutely zero knowledge about this tragic history, this book was extremely enlightening and insightful. The author makes it clear from the outset that he intends to present the history from the perspective of native Amerindians, and then proceeds to discuss, describe and analyse the invasion, conquest, occupation and resistence of 5 separate native american peoples, after the arrival of Europeans from the early 16th centuary.The book is split into 3 sections, dealing with the initial contact between "old world and new" and the subesequent conquest, the occupation and native resitance to it, and the rebirth of the native peoples after occupation and colonisation, i.e its' effects on culture, livelihood, the landscape, enviroment and population numbers and so on. Learning about the origins and developments that has lead to the existence of modern America and Latin America has been truly insightful and engaging; it has given context to the present; to the birth and existence of what is now the most powerful nation on the planet, allowing me to consider the contradiction of its self-proclaimed title as "empire of liberty" and the sheer aggression, greed, violence, lies and cultural intolerance that made such an empire possible, and the implications that has today. It has also shown me the struggle faced by a native population whose world had been litterally raped, ransacked and turned upside down by the white man, their reactions, thoughts and feelings toward the invader, and how they responded to the situation initially and over many centuaries.While the book has given me a basic but firm understanding of this paticular area of history, it has also given me something I feel is much more valueable. Throughout each section of the book (especially part 1, Conquest) the author describes the 5 native american peoples in the book. He delves into their cultures; their religions; their social stuctures and forms of government; their knowledge, acheivements and inventions; their ideas and intellectual technology; and much, much more. Reading about these peoples and their civilisations, and then reflecting on that, has been the MOST REWARDING thing I have gained from this book! I was fascinated with descriptions of the Aztec Empire, their cities, religion, government and myths. The incas' social structure and form of rule and government was so effect that no people went hungry, and the governed gave full consent to the governing, people were happy. The concept of a central government in charge of a confederacy of states was borrowed by America from the Iroquois, as was the idea of Thanksgiving. The Maya conception of time is cyclical, not unilinear. These are a few examples of the uniqness of native American civilisation, how advanced it was and the ideas they had developed by the time Europeans arrived. The fact that early reports of Amerindian societies influenced Thomas Mores' Utopia is incredible, and gives credence to those societies and their civilisations. I fully intend to study some of these societies more closely and, thankfully, the athor has provided and exceedingly excellent selection of primary and secondary sources, which I will be using as a guidepost in my future studies.The book is styled as a challenge to the supposedly axiomatic American myth that America was founded on liberty and freedom, and was for the most part a "virgin land". Because this book was my first exposure to this subject, this book does not present an alternative history to me, as I have no conception of the "mainstream narrative". However, after reading this, I would be interesting in looking at the other side, the history "written by the winners" that supposedly champions the conquest of the "New World" and its consequences.

I agree wholeheartedly with the previous reviewer. Wonderful book written in such a clear style. Very very sad but a history that everyone should read.

This is an eye-opening, scholarly rebuttal to common perceptions about native American society before and after the European invasion. Ronald Wright makes no secret of his bias in favor of the people who were here first; in fact, he enhances the impact of what for many will be new information by presenting this extraordinary history from the point of view of the conquered. He also makes clear how large a part of the conquest was due to immune system rather than military deficiencies: if smallpox and other diseases had not done killed most of the native population, the facts recounted here suggest that history, particularly in South America, may have evolved quite differently.In undertaking the massive task of recounting the invasion of all of the Americas, some selectivity is inevitable. Wright has chosen to focus on the story of five distinct native groups: Aztec, Maya, Inca, Cherokee and Iroquois. He then arbitrarily subdivides the story into three consecutive time periods: Conquest, Resistance and Rebirth. After the physical and political annihilation recounted in the first two sections, the title of the third may seem overly optimistic, particularly for the Guatemalan Maya. However, the concluding tone is more conciliatory and hopeful than mournful, particularly in the Afterword that updates matters to 2005, 13 years after the original publication date. The astounding amount of research involved in producing this admittedly selective overview is well-indexed and annotated.My only quibble is that Wright, obviously an expert in the field of native culture, sometimes borders on the compulsive in matters of linguistic authenticity. I did not buy this book to learn ancient native languages, let alone their pronunciation, and at times I found the inclusion of such trivia distracted from rather than enhanced the otherwise convincing scholarship. This obsession with accuracy is commendable, but after getting it out of his system in the Author's note, his amazing narrative would have been no less compelling if he stuck to the language of his contemporary audience. Also, for an author who has settled in British Columbia, it is strangely disappointing that the rich history of the Pacific Northwest coastal natives was not among those he chose to examine.I had read Charles Mann's "1491" prior to this book and found it primed my interest in the subject; both are excellent introductions to the reality of pre-Columbian American societies, but Stolen Continents provides more of a historical context for what has become of them.

Tells the other side of the story you didn't get in U.S. History class. Good read.

lots of true things that really went on to know very great book

I ordered this book to use for a college paper I was writing and found it fascinating. I enjoyed the content and learned much from it.The history is written in a manner that for those people that either don't read much or don't like to read (yes, there are a few people out there), it will draw you in and make you question the history lessons we suffered through in high school.

Excellent book.