Engines of Diplomacy: Indian Trading Factories and the Negotiation of American Empire

by David Andrew Nichols

Overview

As a fledgling republic, the United States implemented a series of trading outposts to engage indigenous peoples and to expand American interests west of the Appalachian Mountains. Under the authority of the executive branch, this Indian factory system was designed to strengthen economic ties between Indian nations and the United States, while eliminating competition from unscrupulous fur traders. In this detailed history of the Indian factory system, David Andrew Nichols demonstrates how Native Americans and U.S. government authorities sought to exert their power in the trading posts by using them as sites for commerce, political maneuvering, and diplomatic action.

Using the factory system as a lens through which to study the material, political, and economic lives of Indian peoples, Nichols also sheds new light on the complexities of trade and diplomacy between whites and Native Americans. Though the system ultimately disintegrated following the War of 1812 and the Panic of 1819, Nichols shows that these factories nonetheless served as important centers of economic and political authority for an expanding inland empire.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781469628899
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	05/23/2016
Pages:	270
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

David Andrew Nichols is associate professor of history at Indiana State University.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

In this much-needed and fascinating look into the role of Indian trading factories in American history, David Nichols illustrates with nuance and detail the myriad ways that America's expansion hinged on Native dispossession.—Michael Witgen, University of Michigan

David Nichols's book shows that the Indian factories of the early republic cannot be understood simply as economic ventures. Rather, they performed far more important work as extensions of politics and diplomacy between the United States and Indigenous people. Astounding in its research, this book is bound to be an important contribution to the field.—Rebecca Kugel, University of California, Riverside

Editorial Reviews

Invaluable for those working on federal Indian policy in the early American republic for decades to come.—H-Net

From the Publisher