Abstract
Historical narratives have often been used in various ways in the discussion of Missis-sippian economic and political structures. Recently, those especially concerned with “power” and its relationships use these sources to suggest the complexity of prehistoric systems (e.g., Barker and Pauketat 1992). This chapter will introduce the issue of the use of historical sources in a general way Following that, I shall reexamine the character of chiefly authority in selected historical Eastern societies.
He will not fail to exaggerate everything. He speaks more in keeping with what he wishes than with what he knows.
LaSalle’s comment on Hennepin
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Postan presents a predominantly demographic model of Medieval society. A critique of this approach has spurred a considerable debate over the relative roles of demography and class (presented in Aston and Philpin 1988). In any case, classes cannot reasonably be postulated in eastern North America before the European invasions.
A French league was approximately 2 English miles or 3.2 km (OED), but leagues are as much an indication of time to a location as of distance. The distance by river is certainly greater than by air, but the number of leagues here would indicate an “empire” some 1500 km long. There is, of course, not the slightest archaeological or historical evidence that the area from the Wickliffe site (near the mouth of the Ohio) to the Fatherland site (at Natchez) was ever united in a single Native American political entity.
I wish to thank Dr. Margaret Winters of SIU’s Foreign Languages and Literatures Department for confirming my alternative translation as reasonable for late-17th-century French.
For example, “Les chefs ne sont pas plus maistres de leurs gens, que ne le sont les chefs des autres nations du costé du Canada. J’ay remarqué seulement parmi ceux-cy plus de civilité” (LeMoyne d’Iberville 1700, in Margry 4:184). Bossu speaks of considerable power: “You ask me if the Indians have captains and a king who governs them. Thanks to the time I have spent among them, I can satisfy your curiosity. You know that they are divided into tribes or nations, each of which is governed by a chief or a minor king, who is given his power by the Great Spirit or the Supreme Being. Although these chiefs are despotic rulers, their authority is not resented because they know how to gain love and respect. They have the great satisfaction of knowing that their subjects consider them demigods, born to make them happy in this world. The chiefs consider themselves the fathers of their people and are prouder of this than is the ostentatious Great Mogul of his pompous titles”; but he goes on to talk of elected war chiefs and the functions of the council as well (Bossu 1768[1962:113]). The simple fact is that neither the British nor the French accounts can be read simply as statements of objective reality. In each case, one must analyze the actual behaviors described as well as considering the authors’ interpretations!
Worth translates this as “vassal,” which is not really implied by this term, and even Bourne’s “vagabond” (1904:70) does not quite bring out the sense that person was of low rank.
Harm’s note suggests that aspa may mean an “X,” rather than a vertical cross (in Clayton et al. 1993:96). Probably this is a white cross on a black field (in heraldic, “sable, a cross argent” or “sable, a saltire argent”). See also the description of Ranjel, below. However, note that in Ranjel’s description of a cross made by an arrow piercing a lance, the term aspa was also used (Oviedo 1547–1549 [1959:11:175]), and it seems less likely to be a saltire, or St. Andrew’s cross, in that case.
Although this might be taken to mean the shape of the cross was the eight-pointed cross of the Knights of St. John—like that of Malta—almost certainly what is referred to here is the tincture of the heraldic marking, not the form of the cross itself.
Este Talimeco era pueblo de gran auctoridad, y aquel su oratorio en un cerro alto y muy auctorizado; el caney o casa del cacique muy grande y muy alto e ancho, todo esterado, alto y bajo, con muy primas y hermosas esteras, y por tan buen arte asentadas, que parescia que todas las esteras eran una sola estera.
“y el cacique de él malicioso, e púsose en resistirles el paso; pero en efeto pasaron el río eon trabajo, e matáronles dos cristianos, e fuéronse los principales que accompanaban al cacique” (Oviedo 1547–1549 [1959:II:174]).
This is asserted, for what it is worth, in Garcilaso: “Este pueblo Talise no obedecía bien a su señor Coza, por trato doble de otro señor llamado Tascaluza, cuyo estado confinaba con el de Coza y le hacía vecin-dad no segura ni amistad verdadera, y, aunque los dos no traïan guerra descubierta, el Tascaluza era hombre soberbio y belicoso, de muchas cautelas y astucias, como adelante veremos, y, como tal, tenia desasosegado este pueblo para que no obedeciese bien a su señor” [1956:243].
The Senora was Southern, after all.
Or perhaps the senhora was the niece of the Lady of Cutifachiqui, since the Portuguese is ambiguous (see John H. Hann’s note on this).
Spanish troops had fought in the Italian wars, participating with Imperial troops in the sack of Rome in 1527.
“Pero no se marauille V.S. no satisfazer A los frailes la trra pues son Amigos de su propia boluntad y no cunplir con mas porq ellos son los q mas descontentos Estan no creo yo por falta de naturales syno por ser el suelo de la trra Ruin y no partiçipar de los socorros q de la nueba españa pueden” (Priestley 1928:I:220).
A stone column in the plaza formerly used as a pillory and indicating local authority.
En ella Ansi q Para la determinaçion Dello se terna cuidado de buscar y enquirir si ay cosa q Conbenga al serui° de dios y de Su mag1 buscar sea de manera q se cunpla lo q .V.S. manda estos yndios berdadera-mente les somos A cargo en lo q hemos bisto asta agora porq si son menester Veinte yndios o treinta o diez Pà hazer algun Rancho o casa los dan y muestran en esto bua boluntad/pareçe ser çiertos yndios hauerles Entrado En sus trra y en pedirselas y husurparselas y sobre Esto hazerles molestias y bexaçio-nes y ocuparles los caminos y quitarles la comunicaçion de sus propios naturales y estorbarles el con-tratarse y comunicarse y sobre esto saltarles En los caminos y otras muchas molestias pidieronnos q pues ellos heran nf o s Amigos y nosdauan de lo q tenian y se hauian puesto debaxo del anparo del Rey don felipe nf o señor les diesemos fauor y hayuda para que aquellos yndios no les ynpidiesen la comunicaçion y trato y el con\232\bersarse ansi con su propio señor natural como por estas causas dexauan ni mas ni menos de uenirnos a seruir y ha contratarnos q les Asegurasemos los caminos y pasos y que En esto querian conoçer sy tratabamos con ellos amistad y berdad asi q Para esto y para lo demas nos Jun-tasemos a dar a .V. señoria Relaçion de todo a nos pareçido es Justo darles fauor y hayuda y en esta determinaçion estamos Resumidos por muchas causas que a ello nos mu eben y V. señoria Entendera mejor (Priestley 1928:1:230–232).
I would, however, call the reader’s attention to the Cherokee uses of Muskogean place names and indicate that I suspect the Cherokee movement into areas formerly occupied by Muskogean speakers was underway by the mid-16th century, based on my interpretation of what happened in shell gorget man-facture in the region. Such problems considerably complicate the interpretation of locations, especially given that an old place can keep the name of a town, still called by that name somewhere else.
In any case, balcāo should not be taken to require multiple stories (cf. Hann’s note, Clayton et al. 1993:95), since it may simply mean a platform or scaffold projecting from the wall of a structure (It. balco or palco + -one).
See also comparative discussion in Jennings 1975:Appendix, especially 333–335, where Jennings talks about the character of “chartered conquest” and the parallels to the conquest of Ireland, in relation to English expansion.
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Muller, J. (1997). Historical Southeastern Chiefs. In: Mississippian Political Economy. Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1846-8_2
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