Professor Peter Mancall on Understanding Colonial America
Summary
Host Patrick Wyman interviews historian Peter C. Mancall about his new Oxford History of the United States volume, *Contested Continent*. They discuss the 19-year writing process and the challenge of crafting a grand narrative for general readers. Mancall emphasizes centering Indigenous agency, debunking myths of European inevitability, and highlighting the sophistication of pre-contact North American societies.
Topics discussed
Introduction and guest Peter C. Mancall
Joining the Oxford History of the US series
Writing for a general audience vs. academics
Navigating shifting historical trends during writing
Using primary sources and narrative techniques
The challenge of capturing reader attention
Grounding the narrative in physical places like Cahokia
Indigenous agency and the evolution of landscapes
Comparing Cortez and failed Spanish colonies
Reinterpreting Pocahontas and Powhatan politics
Colonist survival and reliance on Native knowledge
Challenging the myth of inevitable European conquest
The precarious state of colonies in 1680
Anecdotes: The Nun of New Mexico and colonial doubt
Conclusion and book details
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