Even though the way in which Cynthia J. Van Zandt “Brothers among Nations” has structured her article is a bit frustrating, the insights that she makes are quite fascinating. The topic of her essay is centered in the mid 1600s when “Cheaspeake became the center of an extraordinary intercultural alliance” (Madaras and SoRelle, p. 61). Although Zandt moves and flows away from the line of interpretation, but I find the important thesis statement that emerges in her essay quite compelling. Van Zandt’s thesis revolves around “the ideas of liberty that flourished during the 1640s and 1650s” (Foner, p. 84) in America were influenced by the work of intercultural brokers, namely English emigrants.
I find Van Zandt’s essay more compelling because her essay seems more believable, especially that her essay alludes to the fact conflict between Europeans and Native Americans was not inevitable. Van Zandt is very convincing in her argument about the intercultural relations between the Europeans and Native Americans. In fact, the more she stretches her claim, the more believable it seems. She individually examines the Indian-colonial relationships, which further strengthens her thesis. Even though Kevin Kenny claims that “the eventual outcome [of the relation between Europeans and Native Americans) was everywhere same: expropriation, conquest, and extermination” (Madaras and SoRelle, p. 56), Van Zandt is more factual with her claim that diplomatic innovation was raised for the early Americans by social desperation.
The way in which Van Zandt engages historical facts in her essay is quite strong. It becomes very hard to believe that the conflict between the Europeans and Native was indeed inevitable as Kenny claims. The topic sentences and introductory paragraphs of her essay also lend to strengthening her thesis statement as well. Moreover, Van Zandt has integrated Indian and colonial history quite widely into her essay. Thus, her thesis seems more fresh and therefore, more compelling.
Works Cited
Foner, Eric. Give me Liberty! an American History. Seagull Third. 1. New York: W.W Norton & Company, Inc., 2008. Print.
Kenny, K. Peaceable kingdom lost: The paxton boys and the destruction of william penn\'s holy experiment. 1. Oxford University Press, 2009. Print.
Madaras, Larry , and James M. SoRelle. Taking Sides: Clashing Views in United States History, The Colonial Period to Reconstruction. 15th ed. 1. New York, New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013. Print.
Van Zandt, Cynthia J. Brothers Among Nations: The Pursuit of Intercultural Alliances in Early America, 1580-1660. Oxford University Press, 2008. Print.
