a very very famous fountain that originally was placed here by congress and also made its way two blocks south in the 20th century. we are open 355 days a year, 356 on leap years, free of charge. and so we get the only americans from every corner of the country but visitors from all over the world. we aim to delight people in the wonders of plants and put a smile on your face. and then, with that smile, we believe we can educate about some of the wonders and services the plant kingdom provides to human beings.

>> is sunday, david brooks, on writing an article for "the times," and the award she gives out. >> they are given for the best essay of the year. we can be in journals or literary magazines. -- they can lead in journals or literary magazine. we take a week to step back and the even -- and not even read newspaper articles read something deeper and longer and celebrate the longer pieces. i do believe that magazines changes 300 "the news republic," the magazine's change things. "the new republic" sunday night

at eastern and pacific -- 8:00 eastern and pacific. >> each week, american history tv sits in on a lecture. you can watch the classes here every saturday. next, william and mary professor paul mapp talks about the interactions between european colonial powers and native american tribes on the great plains during the 1700s. he describes the importance of owning horses and guns, and how the tribes had the upper hand on trade and more. this class is about one hour and 10 minutes. >> let's go into this lecture about the great plains. and as you know, unlike some of the classic american history courses, we have a more expansive view. over early america. and that includes the great plains. this is fun material to look at so i think we will enjoy this.

we have a couple of starting anecdotes. the first one has to do with an expedition. the year is 1720, the spanish in new mexico are hearing more and more about french activity coming out of louisiana and canada. in particular, they are hearing these rumors that french traders are moving west. towards new mexico. that they are aligned with the indians on the great plains. providing them with weapons. in 1720, the governor of new mexico sends an expedition to investigate. about 45 spaniards and 60 pueblo indians go out. they probably reach -- everything is uncertain, but they probably get into what is now western nebraska, and they encounter a large group of indians who were probably pawnees. as far as we can tell. the initially set up camps and negotiate, there are no initial efforts to cause trouble but the

next morning they attacked the spanish with both arrows and muskets. they are heavily armed. unusually armed. about two thirds of the spanish are killed in the battle. the survivors, it is estimated that a half-dozen get back. it is basically a bit of a disaster for the spanish. and we are here, under the hot lights. the survivors contribute to a painting of the expedition. this is kind of hard to see. it was difficult to get a good resolution copy. if you look closely it is by an , unknown artist. there is a group of spanish and pueblo indians, circled by a lot of pueblo indians. allegedly some french people that were probably not there. some of the indians have bows, and some of them have guns. they doubt -- actually -- they don't, actually there is one , thing they don't seem to have come and what might you guess that is? exactly. it is interesting.

in 1720, the spanish are on the plains, attacked by indians who don't seem to have horses. . -- that is significant. well, the implications of this expedition, one, you can see spanish fear of the french presence and expansion, and particularly guns and french alliances with indians. you can see the absence of horses. in western nebraska at this time you also noticed that a group of plains indians can defeat a spanish expedition easily. they don't have any particular military advantage. in fact, in the aftermath, the spanish have no desire to venture onto the planes and have a repeat of this experience. that is her first outing point. -- starting point. the second starting point has to do with a group of explorers. and we will take them -- by the way, that is a village that gives you a sense of the applications that some of the

best habitations that some of the -- habitations that some of the spanish encountered. our next starting point is in the early 1740's, to french brothers, sons of the explorer whose document we red for today, go out into south dakota, north dakota, it is uncertain but generally this area around the black hills. they are looking for a number of things, but in particular, they are looking for the headwaters of some kind of western river that will lead the pacific. that is their ultimate objective of this exploration. they are probably in the vicinity of the black hills in south dakota. and they think the report back that if they could have climbed to the black hills, they could've seen the pacific from the top. if you know anything about the geography, that's not the case. unless you can jump really high. their guides, who they know as the bow indians, received reports of rates by another group of indians that they call the snakes, probably shoshones.

m so the dutch and so the -- and so the bow indians want to go back and protect it from raiders. the exploration has to be abandoned as the bow indians go back to their home. interestingly, at this time, all of the indians have horses. this is two decades later, a little bit farther north. at this time, the indians that the french explorers encountered to have horses. one thing -- one way we know about the location of some of these explorations is -- this is a great map -- these french guys are optimistic that maybe they can see the pacific from the black hills. it is because there are some french views of north america that are a little bit different than the views we have today. in particular, there are persistent rumors in the first half of the 18th century that

there is some kind of in land sea in western north america. this is the leading geographer in france who put together the speculative image of what western north america would look like. dust from idaho and me from oregon, a little nervous. you see that your state is underwater. europeans at this time don't really know very much about the geography of western north america. it is still plausible that french explorers are thinking they can reach the waters of the pacific or some inland extension of it relatively easily. any ideas what might give rise to this kind of image? anybody been to utah? you have got that big salt lake that looks really big. if you been out there, you can easily imagine how the stories of salt lake could be magnified. puget sound is something that seems like an inland body water. oh there are some basis for

these rumors, but the conclusion that french geographers come to are far-fetched. this is a lead plate, which was left by the expedition, which was found by some schoolkids during recess and dr, south dakota -- and here, south dakota -- in the air, so dakota -- in pierre, south dakota in 1913. that's back in the days when everything was totally cool. you can find western exploration when you're playing tag or something. everybody has the idea that virginia has all these historical sites. you can see that as late as the middle of the 18th century, the french are pretty confused about western north america. you can also see that the french presence out west is meager. and dependent three of -- and dependent. you have two french explorers dependent on the indians they

are working with. this is not the imposition of french power. this is a few scouts trying to figure out what's going on out there. horses have moved north by the 1740's, and there seems to be indications of quite a bit of warfare in the northwestern plains by this time. with these anecdotes in view, we can address some questions. all right? one question we might ask is why -- when did the study of the spanish start? when was the expedition? the first half of the course. [laughter] 1520's, 1530's, the coronado expedition, early 1540's. so one question, the spanish have been in western north america for over two centuries. or at least close to two centuries. why are they still largely confined to places like new mexico, and taxes, which we will talk about in a second area of -- second.

why isn't there more of a spanish presence as you go into other areas. that is one question. the other question is why are the french moving west? and what of the consequences of these movement that they're pushing west into the planes from canada and louisiana? the final question is the most interesting. what is the relationship between what happens in the 18th century on the planes and the iconic image of north american indians that most americans have, which is something like a sioux warrior on a horse. what is the relationship between what were going to talk about today, developments of the 1700s, and that big image? so we will start by talking about the spanish. why is the spanish presence so tentative? why is it only reaching into new mexico and texas? let me give you a couple of images to orient you. and then i will turn this thing off. this is a man dan indian village. one representation of it. that will be something you can have in mind when we're talking about that document.

it would have looked something like that. this is just a quick image of sort of spanish expansion in texas in the late 17th century. the early 18th century. it is moving along the coastal plains. some key places that we will talk about. the missions around san antonio right there. those are the most significant ones. get the sense of this expansion of spanish missions into texas the alamo from an attractive historical postcards -- i'm not sure it looked like this in the 1740's. it certainly looked nice when they did the postcard. this is a representation of the movement of horses north. you get the idea of horses start ing \up here in the southern parts of north america, mexico north america, but you can see this movement of horses north along the planes through the great basin into the northwest. we will talk about that as one

of the developments of the 18th century. i want you to have a sense of what that looks like physically. not the best map of hudson bay but something we haven't talked about too much in class, but there is this great inland body of water in canada, hudson day. -- hudson bay. there are these british writing post in the late 17th century and 18th century. i want you to get a feel for those. and the final image i will show you is basically i want you to have a sense of new mexico moving up into southwestern north america. a colony surrounded by a lot of areas that are not in anyway controlled by the spanish. that will help to situate our discussion. that should be all we need for the moment. let's talk a little bit about -- why the spanish presence is somewhat holding. one thing you have to consider, if you look at the spanish empire as a whole. what is the top priority for an

imperial official in someplace like madrid. or mexico city or lima? protect the minds of places like mexico and peru. -- mines of places like mexico and peru. other lucrative mines? that's later on. not in the 17th century and 18th century. if you think about the spanish empire, it is enormous. it extends down to the southern portions of south america, peru, bolivia, chile. this fringe we are talking about is a long way from the center of the empire and it tends not to be the priority. in that sense it's not that , surprising that it takes a while for the spanish to begin launching these forays into the planes. there are other ways they can allocate their resources. if you recall, for example the coronado expedition onto the planesains back in 16th century --

we did not talk about that much -- you recall how this went? not great. the spanish went out there and discovered thousands of pretty formidable plains indians who were not necessarily going to welcome the spanish onto the plains. they found the plains were an area of meager rewards and significant danger. that is one factor that held spanish expansion back until the 18th century. texas -- it gets going in the early decades of the 18th century. the early decades of 1700s. but what do you think is the impetus for the expansion of spanish missions into coastal texas? what is happening east of texas that might inspire you? courts louisiana -- >> louisiana. >> that is it. the french began a colony in 1699. there is some french exploration down the mississippi before

that. so the spanish are nervous about the presence of these french guys, the presence of a french colony that might conceivably be a threat to mexico and new mexico. and that, i think, is the primary reason. the spanish expansion into texas is generally a few missions with a small number of soldiers to go with them. a good day to remember is the founding of san antonio and 1718, that's the most significant example of spanish expansion. it is a site that -- well, what do the spanish look for before they found a mission or settlement? if you recall from new mexico, for example. >> and established settlement already. >> yes. that's exactly what they find. san antonio is a place with irrigated fields that has been established by local indian communities. so these spanish, in keeping with their pattern, are trying to move into an area that seems compatible with their style of life and also a place with a can grow food to support the

mission. the hope again is also that the spanish are looking for settled agricultural indians. that's what they would really like to find. because they think they are the most compatible with the spanish way of life and christianity. -- and to christianization. it is easier to establish a church that can work them in one place. in fact, the way the spanish mission in texas work, they're not a great success. generally speaking, only the most desperate indians go there. they don't have any choice. they go to the missions for lack of anything better. the population does not increase. by 1760's, san antonio only has about a thousand people. any idea of what would bring texas indians to spanish missions? what would make it an appealing site? that is a big factor. for reasons we will talk about texas is a dangerous place in the 1700s.

the spanish missions are one potential place of refuge. there are fortifications there are spanish soldiers with guns, there is an alliance with the spanish empire. we have indians that are looking for a place where they can take refuge from some of the other indians in the 18th century. another thing that historians have talked about recently is that for a lot of indians who went to these texas missions they did not see it as that major of a step in the way they were living. reviewed it -- -- very viewed it -- they viewed it, if you recall, there was that season of migration groups from one place to another, nuts from one particular grove of trees, moving inland, moving to the coast. there is evidence that the texas indians a few the spanish missions as another stop and their seasonal migration. you could show up and there would be food, a place of refuge. they viewed them as an adaptation of their lifestyle rather than a total change.

you do get some of these spanish missions, but they were not a great success. they don't generate wealth, they don't get a lot of people, they are highly vulnerable to indian raids. they don't establish a dominating spanish presence. they are pretty precarious and they are vulnerable to indians in that area. one way you can get a sense of over that vulnerability is to look at something we call san saba fiasco. it is a spanish effort to move north well beyond san antonio. what happens is that at the request of some local apache indians, in 1757, the spanish build a mission. at san saba, where i showed you on the map. you get a spanish mission. in 1758, one year later, a group

of indians, most likely an alliance of amenities and -- apache's and wichita indians, annihilate the mission. that is a bad way to start out. it is an indication of a vulnerability, even a spanish fortified position in texas. so viewing that as unacceptable, the spanish pursue the comanches and their indian allies north. what they find as they go north is a well fortified indian camp, a kind of stockade with a ditch and walls. it is flying a french flag on the top. it is not quite clear where that came from. these spanish that attacked this fortification claimed there are all kinds of guns and ammunition. they also claim a substantial french presence. although there is not evidence that is the case. they claim that there are people caring french flags and wearing french uniforms. the spanish are repelled with 52 people killed or wounded. the key point is again, the weakness of the spanish in texas, and also the fact the indians in texas are formidable. they have fortifications, mobile striking power on forces.

-- on horses. and they can repel a spanish attack. the spanish don't have a clear military advantage in places like texas. that helps explain why there is sort of a spanish movement to texas, and why it's relatively limited. new mexico is also an interesting case, the other key spanish salient in north america. at this time of our course. we will talk about california on wednesday. new mexico remains, as you see from that map, relatively similar to what it's been throughout the course. it does not have a massive expansion in the 1700s. new mexico, as was the case, is never a big revenue generator for the spanish empire. the french are convinced it is and they're trying to get to it. but it never is. new mexico is a poor frontier colony at the end of a long supply route for them. they don't find the silver mines , for example, that the spanish were hoping for.

it is a poor salient in the north. in 1765, there's only about 10,000 people of spanish dissent -- spanish descent and 10,000 pueblo indians in new mexico. it is relatively poor and small in terms of population. isolated at the end of a long supply route for mexico city. it still does not have any big earning commodities. there is some trade. any idea of how new mexico as a colony would make some money or what it's economic basis would be? there's some production of local crops, but that is not a great export commodity. there is a small for trade, but again, not lucrative. there is a slave trade in new mexico, sending indian slaves taken in raids around mexico down into mexico itself. in that sense, from the sort of brutal logic of an early modern colony, the fact that mexico is

up there with indians who are not part of the spanish system does mean that there are more indian groups that they can rate -- raid for slaves. that is part of new mexico's economy. the biggest problem new mexico has in addition to the fact that economically it is relatively meager economically, is what would you guess? just looking at the map. >> it's a long way away from the center. if it's a long way from the spanish power, what is a close to? courts also very angry indians. -- >> lots of very angry indians. >> that is exactly right. there are a lot of indian peoples surrounding new mexico who become more and more formidable as the 1700s go on. and so new mexico has to worry about the ute to the north and the comanches to the west, the apaches all over the place, the navajos, who are to the northwest.

there are a lot of people a lot , of indian groups. the governor of new mexico is concerned. it is a highly vulnerable colony. it is surrounded. and what it is particularly concerned that some of these indians surrounding it are increasingly caring french -- carrying french weapons. one big difference between the spanish colonies in new mexico and texas and the french colonies in places like louisiana is the spanish discourage the trade in guns with the indians because they think they will be a threat to the colonies. the french encourage the trade in guns. that makes the spanish very nervous. it means the potential enemy are much better armed. all right, let's talk now about -- let's shift from the spanish colonies and talk about these indians out the planes -- out on the plains themselves. you can see that we've had a little hint of a very interesting story that's going on. let's first go back in time of little bit and talk about some of the developments that lead up to what happens in the 1700s.

the first thing to talk about is that when we are talking about the 1700s, there are a lot of indian communities on the great plains who are growing crops, agricultural, horticultural, big town s surrounded by fields growing things like corn. this development really starts about going way back, there is a movement of the growing of corn kind of moving up the mississippi and moving west along the tributaries of the mississippi to the point where a river like the missouri has these significant villages that are growing a lot of cornbread -- corn right around them. these mandan villages are surrounded by cornfields. the pawnees are another example of these communities. what typically happens to communities that grow a lot of food?

thanksgiving is the perfect preparation for this. they are very sluggish. cap -- they can't move quickly. the population grows. one thing you get is that these towns are often really big, hundreds or thousands of people living in fortified substantial villages or towns along the tributaries of the mississippi and missouri. it is a formation of a new style of life, at least from what had been there in the region before 700. the villages are not just growing corn. they are also hunting buffalo. you have to supplement a diet with protein. buffalo provided a lot of that read they are often -- a lot of that. they are often making things. they are often involved in handicrafts and basic production. by the 18th century, they start getting horses. the spanish see some of these, and the spanish and french see them in the 17th century and

18th century. that's one big feature of the plains at this time. there's another big feature of the plains, and this is what makes the planes and exciting place and a dramatic place. and that is let's go back to your iconic image of the north american indian, which is a guy on a horse. the question is, when does that start? when the spanish arrived, when the french arrive, when the europeans arrive in north america, are their horses in north america? no there are not. they used to be there but they went extinct in that big wave of extinction. what would you happen, what would you guess. what would you suspect that cap do some of those horses in the normal run of events with spanish settlements and new mexico? >> they will escape. >> horses can move.

they will escape. that is part of the appeal area they can be stolen. that's another possibility. even by the middle of the 17th century, some horses are getting away from the spanish. in some cases, they are getting into the possession of some of these indian peoples, some of the apaches seem to have horses before the pueblo revolt. that is one thing. there is that other thing, a pueblo revolt of 1680. when the spanish kind of get driven out of new mexico. in addition to the spanish being temporarily driven out, lots of horses. get away from spanish control in 1680 and end up dispersing into the regions around new mexico. for a few moments, i want you to think of yourself as a horse ok? it's always constructive. so you get away from the spanish , you are feeling good. you cross that range of mountains and take a good look

over the plains. what you think? this is my lucky day. i just found one of the best places in the world to be a horse. because what is there on the plains? lots and lots of grass, and not a lot of horses. there are those buffalo things, but you can deal with them. they are funny looking. when the horses get away from new mexico, especially those who get onto the plains, this is a great place to be a horse. and consequently horses multiply quickly on the plains. as you would expect. that is the horse side of the story, which is important. but there is this other side of the story as well. so if you're one of these indian groups around mexico, nor the -- north of new mexico, maybe moving on to the plains yourself. suddenly you see these big animals. you have some knowledge they can be domesticated. with a little bit of experimentation, you pick up a horse for yourself. all of a sudden you have peoples

who for millennia have hunted on foot, all of a sudden they have one of the more formidable creatures of the early modern world. if you wanted to have a good example of a people who profit from the presence of spanish horses, the comanches are good one. the comanches are a people who are linguistically and culturally related to the shoshone's. they get to the planes by the 1700s. they had been living in the great basin. they move into the plains at a time when horses are already there. the comanches relatively quickly in the 1700s adopt horses for themselves. they make it a critical part of their lifestyle. they essentially become a mounted people. now, what is the advantage of being a mounted people on the plains in the 1700s? what can you do if you have horses? >> [indiscernible] >> you can hunt buffalo when you have horses. what are some of the advantages of hunting buffalo?

besides that it is exciting. yeah? >> [indiscernible] >> absolutely. you have a great source of protein. which is critical. and you have all kinds of items that you can sell to other people. for example, buffalo hides that you can sell to pueblo indians. they give them the ability to hunt at a greater distance, more efficiently. the plains are a good place. former basic quadruped -- for your basic quadruped grass eaters. that's one thing. what else? you can hunt buffalo. that's good. what else can you do with your horses? >> [indiscernible] >> that is kind of neutral language. you can expand your control. what would that expansion of control feel like? >> [indiscernible]

>> you could get on your horse and you configure lands or maybe trade with the french in louisiana and get a gun and move quickly. all of a sudden, you have a big military advantage over the folks you had a quarrel with for the past two decades. one thing that happens is the comanches kind of one group moves over into west texas, one group hangs on the plains near new mexico, but these comanches are now -- and there are other groups like this -- militarily an extremely formidable group of people. even without rivals, but certainly when they get guns from the french. they can move fast. they can attack isolated spanish settlements. they can hit an outlying ranch. they can take what they want and disappear before the spanish can get them. they can choose the point at which they attack. they can also, for example attack the apache settlements. prior to the movement of the comanches on the southern plains, the apaches have been the dominant group.

after the comanches get horses the apaches are no longer the dominant group in the southern plains. in fact, they disperse off the southern plains. some of them look for refuge with the spanish in texas. some of them move into the mountainous areas in southern and western new mexico. but they are driven away by the comanches, who become the dominant force on the southern plains over the course of the 1700s. it is important to know that comanches can raid other peoples. that treating point is important as well. we will show up at a fair -- some years they will show up at a fair and it will be peaceful, they will exchange buffalo items for various things. other years, they will raid the spanish. it depends on a variety of factors. there is an alternation between violent interaction and peaceful economic interaction. that is true on the plains as a whole. one of the great ironies of all

this -- and these comanche developments extend to a number of different plains people over the course of the 1700s. if you recall the amount i showed you, as the horse moves north, different people adopt horses. the sioux will adopt horses. the cheyenne will adopt horses. different groups see the horse as a potential advantage, and you get a lot of groups -- a lot of trouble on the claims as some groups profit and others are terrified. that example i gave you, you can see some of the consequences of people beginning to move easily across the plains and raid one another. one of the great ironies is this, i do not know if you have studied the long-term history of eurasia, but what's the best way to get at this? who are the bad as people in -- who are the baddest people in history? [indiscernible] i think they are a contender.

when you get to the 20th century, there's a lot of competition. the monguls, genghis khan, you can argue he's the baddest dude in history. you could argue of attila and the huns are the baddest. what characterizes these classic baddies? i'm just suggesting. if you took a poll. i think they are pumped about this in mongolia. anyways, what characterizes them? >> [indiscernible] >> absolutely. one of the great continuities of eurasian history is you have these guys who live on the steepes of eurasia. they get horses and that enables them to be these formidable mounted people. they don't have guns, but they have compound bows. which are these weapons. they will have 12 horses at a time. you see these alternations and eurasian history between the power of the steepe nomads, and

the settled people who always have to deal with this. any idea when the steepe nomads are done as a feature of eurasian history? when they're no longer a threat? go ahead. >> [indiscernible] >> even earlier, actually, the 18th century. where china launches an expansion to the west. and basically kind of destroys the major steepe, nomad empires. this goes beyond the course. the point i want to get across is this feature of you raise in the 1700s. china is not worried about the steepe nomads after the 1800s. what is ironic if you look at this in the broadest perspective, it is exactly the moment that a certain kind of lifestyle, certain military technology or tactics, exactly the moment when it's over finished, antiquated in eurasia. it suddenly appears on the plains of north america.

it is almost like it is a balancing mechanism in the world where horses crop up and they have their heyday in north america well into the 19th century. all right let's take a -- should we take a break? pardon me? >> [indiscernible] >> i did not think about that. i did not think about that. all right, let me give you a few more points, and then we will take a break. where do the french fit into this whole story? the french are trying to expand west in the 18th century from louisiana and canada. they have a number of objectives. finishing up that discussion of the spread of horses onto the plains, it leads to people rising and falling quickly. so to give you a good example, the shoshone indians were so frightened in the 18th century. when lewis and clark go west in the first decade of the 19th

century the shoshones are hiding in the rockies trying to survive. people who have a brief moment of dominance on the plains, that moment is often brief. because the acquisition of horses and rifles leads to a lot of conflict on the plains and that leads to instability. that will be one feature of the plains into the 19th century. the other factor, when i talked about how if you're a horse imagine that you go out of the mountains on to the plains, this is totally excellent. assuming there are two horses, what happens relatively quickly after these horses get onto the plains and start eating grass? you have three horses, four horses, indian groups breeding horses, all of a sudden you have a lot of horses on the plains. there are ready a lot of buffalo on the plains. the plains are big. they seem infinite.

but they in fact do have an end area -- an end. and the climate is unstable. you have wet periods, dry periods, hot. yeah? by the 19th century, you have an eco crisis on the plains when there's too many grass eating animals out there eating lots of grass. there are only so many animals that the plains can sustain. that really goes a bit the on the course but -- the all the course but -- the island the course -- beyond the course but gives you a sense of introducing a horse into a new environment. the consequences are endless. ecologically, militarily culture, big change in many ways. let's talk about the french and then we will go for discussion. the french are expanding west from louisiana and canada. it is a little bit different

than what you saw in the 17th century. there are still missionaries involved, but there is more of an emphasis on trade, furs human beings, but less of an emphasis on missionaries conversion of indians. the french, as i mentioned earlier, are quite happy to trade guns to western indians. that does give them an advantage when they're competing with the spanish. what do you figure, what are the french looking for as they go west into north america? why would they bother to go at all? >> the pacific? >> they are still hoping that there will be some relatively easy water route leading to the pacific. if this seems far-fetched remember that jefferson in the first decade of the 19th century, they are still thinking that lewis and clark will still find a gentle auto in the center of the -- gentle plateau in the middle of the continent that

they will just amble up. there will be this nice navigable river. instead, this is your moment. when lewis and clark get west of the rockies, what did they discover? idaho. one range of mountains after another. the french don't know that. they are still hoping for a relatively easy way to get to the pacific. i will talk more about that on wednesday, but they're hoping for a route for a rude to the -- for a route to the pacific and trade with asia. they are also hoping with new trading partners. they have heard rumors that there might be elaborate civilizations on the pacific coast. from what they've heard from second and third and hand fourth accounts, they think maybe japan and china have outpost. they think maybe there is some kind of indian civilization in the northwest. it gives rise to that kind of story, places to the farther east. anybody from british columbia or washington state? you do have in the northwest big , sophisticated indian towns in the pacific northwest with monumental architecture, big

oceangoing canoes, fantastic sculpture, living in fantastic wealth because all they have to do is dip their hands into the water and they find two salmon. when you're talking about information traveling hundreds and hundreds of miles, it could set up stories or even the two -- lead to rumors of other peoples in the northwest. the french are very curious about this. they have heard rumors that there might be europeans in the west, they are not sure who. spanish, russians. they are trying to figure this kind of stuff out. the french are moving to the west. the big limitations on the french, there's not a lot of them. they are really beyond the range of french power. these are very small parties. as we know from earlier in the 17th century, what do the french do to compensate for the fact that there are not many of them? >> allied themselves with the indians. >> exactly. they try to make friends with the different indian groups.

what is the same problem. in the 17th century, the french ally themselves with indian groups, the hurons for example and that makes them the enemies of the iroquois. they tried to work with all of these groups and who do they antagonize? the sioux. bad call. in any case, the french, in certain ways, are among the less lucky adventures of the 18th century. the enemies they make are quite formidable enemies. there is a family exploration that is killed by a sioux war party. as a part of this exploration. even if the sioux make certain allies, they also antagonize of the groups. -- other groups. if we wanted to summarize the take away points from this particular set of material, i think the first thing is regional dynamism. the plains are not static in the

1700s, all kinds of changes are going on. the long-term dynamism, the adoptions of crops, corn-based agriculture, which you see in centuries preceding this, the horse coming out onto the plains in the late 17th century and 18th century. this is a very different place than it was before. so regional dynamism. i think a second point are the presence of these crop going peoples. which is different than the iconic image of the plains indians. it is worth noticing, if you think about the course as a whole, look at how many of these kinds of indian peoples we have seen. the folks that coronado met. the pueblo indians in new mexico. different groups in arizona area -- arizona. again and again, we are seeing these indians that are different than the classic stereotype that we see in american history. i think the third point is the formation of these horse peoples of the plains in the 1700s. because this really is a crucial

development. and it does set the stage for a lot of what you see in the 19th century. so that is enough of me talking. now i will make you guys perspire. now i will shift a little bit too discussion and we will see how much fun you had over thanksgiving. you have to admit, these documents were short. no extra essays and everything. they should be a pleasure. even if they are not, i can guide you through these. because these i quite enjoyed. do you want to start with the french or with new mexico? the french it is. all right then. so we have this account in the fall and early winter of 17 -- 1738, he is going out to visit the mandan villages. belongs that would be visited by

the lewis and clark expedition. if he is trying to establish what? what is he hoping for? what kind of relationship would he like to establish? what kind of the relationship do the french always want to establish? some kind of trading relationship. if you can, go ahead and raise your hand before asking a question. that will give time for the microphone to move to you. it is difficult because we are fast-paced. a microphone has difficulty keeping up with the rapidity of our thought. it is true. the discussion moves fast. some kind of trade relationship and alliance. all right? so if you're going to establish a french trading relationship with people like the mandan. native peoples like the cr5eeee

farther to the north. if you want to trade with the french, who do not want the mandans to trade with? so, you remember that map i showed you at the beginning of class? this class, not the beginning of the semester. stand clear for just one second. you have these big inland seas in northern north america called hudson's bay. on the edges of hudson bay, you have the british establishing these trading post along the edge of hudson's bay. and the british, what they try to do is encourage indians from inland to come to these posts along the edge of hudson's bay and give them what? what's the virtue of northern canada in terms of their

particular commodities? >> fur. >> absolutely. they want the indians to do all the work of getting the first -- fursa and then giving the furs. from the point of view of a french explorer? how does this make you feel? outmaneuvered. ok. if we look, for example, at page 295, the right-hand column, he talks about i got the two chiefs to come to my tent. i knew that they went every year to the english post. one of them received a present as an inducement. so what is the problem? you have these indians trading with the british. right? and you don't want that. if you are you -- if you are

him, what can you do to draw these western indians? draw them away from english? >> give them better gifts. >> exactly. so one thing, and it is true -- nice. better gifts and gifts. that is one interesting aspect of this. the french are trying to establish a trading relationship, but they have to get the trading relationship started by giving something away. there is a high initial investment of giving gifts to giving them to groups like the mandans and the cree. if the british rely in sitting in these forts and waiting for the indians to come to them, what can the french do? >> they go out to the indian forts and communicate directly. >> that's exactly what they do. so the french began moving west. there is this kind of chain of lakes extending west of the

great lakes that extend all the way to northern canada. the french are moving out into the western interior of north america. they are going directly to the trading partners rather than waiting for them to go to hudson bay. the french are working, in a certain sense, a lot harder. when are the western indians without a negotiating position? are they without leverage? what kind of thing do they say we would love to have a trading relationship with you if, for example, in recent years, the french abandoned us. as long as the french remain in our lands, we promise you not to go elsewhere. what is the upshot of that? >> the natives can move from

point a to point b. >> they can move from point a to point b and they can have demands on the french. you can't just come and go. you have to stay. they are asking for an ongoing relationship with the french that will be equal in value and equal in predictability for what they can do with the british and hudson bay. they are moving the french. we would love to be your friends, but here is what we expect from you. there is a negotiation going on. let's see, there is on 296 as were going down, we will keep quiet and let the sioux indians do the same. our heart is still sore on account of your son. that is just what i was talking about before. it is part of the french expansion into the interior, moving of these trade relationships. some french people don't come back. it is a dangerous operation. what -- let's see here, what

makes it great to be a mandan? what makes it great to visit the mandan? >> they seem to have impressive fortifications and they are expert traders. >> absolutely. as we talk about when you go to the mandan, and you don't find a bunch of tents. you don't find a paltry settlement. you see a big town with permanent buildings with fortifications, a big moat, but it sounds like some thing for -- formidable to deal with. it is impressive physically. what is the basis for this mandan town? what establishes its position on the northern plains? what does it have to offer?

you can kind of figure. if some people live by hunting buffalo for example, and other people spend time growing corn what might be a basis of exchange? >> buffalo for corn. >> yes, that's one. so you can imagine the exchange of agricultural products for animal products. which we saw back in new mexico. if you have a nice town with nice houses and you spent a lot of time in those houses, especially in winters in north dakota and south dakota, what can you do with your spare time in your rich agricultural village in the upper missouri? with your buffalo hides that you traded for? yes? >> you can work with it. you can create clothing.

>> absolutely. they are also a manufacturing town. they make baskets, clothing, all kinds of goods out of animal products and agricultural products which they can then trade with other plains people who are less secretary and move around. the mandans seemed quiet good at that. that is one thing they observe. the town is well fortified. what -- let's see. are you happy to have people visit? i think so. people trade with you. maybe you can establish a relationship with the french. when people do visit -- thanksgiving is a good time to talk about this. when people show up at your village, what do they want to do with your corn? what are your sort of obligations as a host? >> they need to feed them, but they don't want to sell it all. >> when they show up as guests they eat a lot of the mandan corn. does this remind you of anything?

from way, way back in the course. >> when they were going to the pueblo towns, eating pueblo corn. >> i am not entirely sure what to make about this but this is reminiscent, this idea of moving around on the plains while europeans serve as the center of attraction. that provides you an entree to village, where you can eat here that is a significant factor. so if rtthe mandan are worried that another group are eating too much of their corn, what do the mandan say? >> that the sioux are coming to attack. >> exactly. and then they decamp. on the one hand, i think the mandan looked down on another group. the french do as well. but they are truly worried about the sioux. what does that tell you about

these different things. we talked about about trade? that is one thing that makes the mandan a prosperous village. we also talked about the fact that all you do is say that the sioux are over there, and they -- your visitors will run away. what does this say about the tenor of life on the northern plains in the late 1730's. >> it shows that they are quite complex and there are different diplomatic relations and understandings going on between the different cultural groups. i want you to do this in exchange for this. a high level of interaction that you would not otherwise expect. >> i think that is right. there's economic relationships. there are relationships that seem to change regularly. but there is a lot going on. you can see how just trying to figure out how this works, who is afraid of whom, who is allied with whom is not so easy. and that is actually part of the difficulty that the french have when they get out into the northern plains. they are trying to understand

these relationships, many of which are changing rapidly. so if the french are interested in finding europeans, or what they would call civilized people in the west, do they find them? in their view? is that were there were looking for? he does not sound that excited. i mean, he is happy to meet the mandan, but he had heard rumors that there was a european people on the northern plains. he feels the disappointed. what reports does he get? do the mandan talk about the other groups on the plains? who might the european style? on page 301, left-hand column, the ponies -- on me -- pawnees

built their forts and lodges in the same way. they grew corn and tobacco down the river. the water was not drinkable. the land was inhabited by white people like ourselves. the word iron seems to be applied indiscriminately to all metals. you could not kill these men with arrows because they have iron armor. iron bucklers which they handled with great skill. our -- who are what we talking about? probably? most likely? it is most likely an account of the spanish in new mexico. or there may be some sort of mixing of categories. there are indians associated with new mexico who now have spanish weaponry and horses. pueblo indians, for example area -- for example. other groups are adopting horses, but the root of this is the spanish. what does that tell you about information networks on the northern plains?

is it everyone hides and never talks, is movement restricted? new mexico is a long way from south dakota and north dakota. so if information, if the mandan can talk about the spanish that would suggest that information seems to be moving on the plains. what would facilitate the spread of information on the plains in the 1700s? conceivably, horses are moving information more quickly. people are so terrified by horse peoples, information is moving less rapidly. it raises the question. i think it is most likely that people are moving information and trading goods longer distances. let's shift a little bit to new mexico governor in 1754. he is writing a report to his successor saying that if you want to be a governor new mexico, this is what you need to do.

so this flows from what we talked about earlier. what is the big problem for the governor new mexico? what keeps him up at night? it practically answers itself. yes?