Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Introduction. An Earnest Invitation
Chapter 1. Opportunists in the Borderlands
Chapter 2. The Imaginary Kingdom
Chapter 3. Collaboration and Community
Chapter 4. A Dangerous Settlement
Chapter 5. Collaborators: Indians and Empire
Chapter 6. Creolization and Collaboration
Chapter 7. Strains on Collaboration in French Illinois
Chapter 8. Demanding Collaboration in British Illinois
Conclusion. The End of Collaboration
List of Abbreviations
Notes
Index

Promotional Information

Empire by Collaboration explores the remarkable collaborative culture of colonial Illinois Country, where settlers, natives, and imperial officials negotiated local and imperial priorities and gave rise to new economies and forms of social life.

About the Author

Robert Michael Morrissey teaches history at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Reviews

"Drawing on an astounding array of documentary, linguistic, and material evidence, Robert Morrissey illuminates the fascinating world of the evolving Illinois Indian and French colonial towns that survived and thrived by partnering with one another and with a succession of empires-French, Spanish, and British. In explaining these innovative, flexible, pragmatic, and ambitious people, Empire by Collaboration dashes the old stereotypes of lazy French and dependent Indians." (Kathleen DuVal, University of North Carolina) "Empire by Collaboration makes an important and sophisticated argument about colonial Illinois Country. Morrissey shows how the fluid, intercultural relations that characterized initial settlement gave way within a generation to distinctly bordered communities of Francophone Christians and traditional Illinois. But these borders were not imposed from the imperial center; rather, the French community that emerged on this frontier was self-defined by culture, not ethnic origin, and as such, it is a fascinating case study of assimilation." (Leslie Choquette, Assumption College) "Empire by Collaboration is a superb contribution to Illinois Country studies. Painting on a broad canvas, Morrissey brings together Indians, French colonists, and European imperial rivalries in unprecedented fashion. Indispensable reading for anyone interested in eighteenth-century America, this book boldly pushes an often marginalized region into the mainstream of colonial history." (Carl J. Ekberg, author of French Roots in the Illinois Country)