Description
Berleth (communication arts, St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights, New York) presents a narrative history of the Mohawk Valley and region over eight decades of the 18th century--years encompassing the French and Indian Wars and battles of the American Revolution that were critical to the foundation of New York State and the creation of a new nation. Written for the general reader, the text documents this story through profiles of participants and events set against the defining influences of the land. Extensive footnotes augment the text, and recommended works are included in a bibliography for readers interested in further reading about specific events and individuals. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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In this narrative history of the Mohawk River Valley and surrounding region from 1713 to1794, Professor Richard Berleth charts the passage of the valley from a fast-growing agrarian region streaming with colonial traffic to a war-ravaged wasteland. The valley’s diverse cultural mix of Iroquois Indians, Palatine Germans, Scots-Irish, Dutch, English, and Highland Scots played as much of a role as its unique geography in the cataclysmic events of the 1700s—the French and Indian Wars and the battles of the American Revolution. Patriots eventually wrenched the valley from British interests and the Iroquois nations, but at fearsome cost. When the fighting was over, the valley lay in ruins and as much as two-thirds of its population lay dead or had been displaced. But by not holding this vital inland waterway—the gateway to the West, “the river between the mountains”—America might have lost the Revolution, as well as much or all of the then poorly defined province of New York.
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