Comanche Empire

Resumen del libro

In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, at the high tide of imperial struggles in North America, an indigenous empire rose to dominate the fiercely contested lands of the American Southwest, the southern Great Plains, and northern Mexico. This powerful empire, built by the Comanche Indians, eclipsed its various European rivals in military prowess, political prestige, economic power, commercial reach, and cultural influence. Yet, until now, the Comanche empire has gone unrecognized in historical accounts.



This compelling and original book uncovers the lost story of the Comanches. It is a story that challenges the idea of indigenous peoples as victims of European expansion and offers a new model for the history of colonial expansion, colonial frontiers, and Native-European relations in North America and elsewhere. Pekka Hämäläinen shows in vivid detail how the Comanches built their unique empire and resisted European colonization, and why they fell to defeat in 1875. With extensive knowledge and deep insight, the author brings into clear relief the Comanches' remarkable impact on the trajectory of history.

Biografía del autor

Pekka Hämäläinen (Helsinki, 1967) es doctor en Historia por la Universidad de Helsinki. Es especialista en la Norteamérica del siglo xix y se ha centrado en el estudio de las sociedades indígenas y nómadas. Ha dictado cursos en la Universidad de Texas Ax{0026}amp;M y ha sido profesor asociado en la Universidad de California. En la actualidad es profesor de Historia Americana en la Universidad de Oxford. Colabora con las principales revistas de historia de Estados Unidos. El imperio comanche, su obra de más éxito, ha recibido una docena de premios en todo el mundo.