The Library
News, intelligence and 'little lies' : rumours between the Cherokees and the British 1740-1785
Tools
Vernon, Christopher D. (2012) News, intelligence and 'little lies' : rumours between the Cherokees and the British 1740-1785. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.
|
Text
WRAP_THESIS_Vernon_2012.pdf - Submitted Version Download (2182Kb) | Preview |
Official URL: http://webcat.warwick.ac.uk/record=b2683328~S1
Abstract
Rumour and information are one of the most fundamental ways in which people engage
with one another. Rumours can change the way that individuals and groups see each other
and the actions that they take. Sociologists and anthropologists have long used rumour as a
way to explore the experiences of their subjects. Historians of early America have, in recent
years, begun to make use of rumour as a way of examining the, often hidden, world of
interactions between American Indians and white Europeans. This thesis will expand upon
this work by exploring the changing role of rumour within an intercultural relationship over
several decades. This thesis will focus on rumour in the relationship between the Cherokee
Nation and the colonists of the British Empire. It will explore the ways that rumour
influenced these interactions and the impact of the rapidly changing backcountry
environment of the latter eighteenth century, both on rumour and on the wider Cherokee-
British relationship. This thesis will argue that rumour shifted in the course of the
eighteenth century from being a diplomatic tool which could be used- either to create
further panic and confusion or to calm and smooth over problems- to an uncontrollable
force which would deepen and exacerbate the divisions between Cherokees and the
British. Rumour played an important role in politics and society in the eighteenth century
backcountry and its changing function offers a way to better understand the shifting
currents of life in early America.
Item Type: | Thesis (PhD) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Subjects: | E History America > E151 United States (General) | ||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Cherokee Indians, Great Britain -- Colonies, Cherokee Indians -- Government relations -- History -- 18th century, Whites -- Relations with Indians, Rumor -- Political aspects -- United States -- History -- 18th century | ||||
Official Date: | October 2012 | ||||
Dates: |
|
||||
Institution: | University of Warwick | ||||
Theses Department: | Department of History | ||||
Thesis Type: | PhD | ||||
Publication Status: | Unpublished | ||||
Supervisor(s)/Advisor: | Burnard, Trevor G. (Trevor Graeme); Lockley, Timothy James, 1971- | ||||
Sponsors: | Callum McDonald Memorial Bursary | ||||
Extent: | 295 leaves. | ||||
Language: | eng |
Request changes or add full text files to a record
Repository staff actions (login required)
View Item |
Downloads
Downloads per month over past year