Cultures in Conflict : Encounters Between European and Non-European Cultures, 1492 - 1800

ISBN-13: 9780745611570 / Angielski / Miękka / 1993 / 224 str.

Urs Bitterli

Opis

Many histories of exploration are written from the viewpoint of the explorers. This book focuses instead on the cultural encounters between European explorers and non-European people, reconstructing the experiences of both sides. The result is a work of comparative cultural history, ranging from North America to the South Pacific, and from the voyages of Columbus to those of Captain Cook.

Recenzje

′A delight to read ... a major contribution to colonial history ... it is a book that should influence the research and writing of others, for years to come.′ Journal of Historical Geography

′This book deserves a place on the shelf of any scholar interested in the way cultures, cosmologies, and economic systems interact.′ The Historian

′Uniquely readable.′ Phoblacht / Republican News

′This book will serve for many readers as an English language introduction to the work of the Swiss historian, Urs Bitterli. Besides its interesting interpretations, the book will be valued for its introduction to a large body of documentary sources....′ AJPH

Spis treści

Introduction.

1. Types of Cultural Encounter:.

Contacts, Collisions, and Relationships.

2. The System of Limited Contacts:.

The Portuguese in Africa and Asia.

3. Cultural Collision:.

The Spaniards on Hispaniola.

4. Missionary Work as a Cultural Relationship:.

The French in Canada.

5. Cultural Relationship as ′Holy Experiment′:.

The English in Pennsylvania.

6. The `Controlled Relationship′:.

The Europeans in China.

7. Cultural Contact as a Scientific Challenge:.

The English and French in the South Seas.

Notes.

Index.

O autorze

Urs Bitterli is the author of numerous works on the cultural history of colonization, including Die `Wilden′ und die `Zivilizierten′.

Blurb

Most histories of exploration are written from the viewpoint of the explorers. This book, now available in paperback, focuses instead on the cultural encounters between European explorers and non–European people, reconstructing the experiences of both sides. The result is a remarkable work of comparative cultural history, ranging from North America to the South Pacific and from the voyages of Columbus to those of Captain Cook.

Bitterli distinguishes three basic forms of cultural encounter: superficial contact, as in the early relations between Europe and China; a prolonged relationship, like that between missionaries and the North American Indians; and collision, leading to the destruction of the weaker partner, as happened in the Spanish Conquest of the West Indies and of Mexico. In a series of case studies Bitterli examines these types of cultural encounter, drawing on a wide range of primary sources.