Empire by Collaboration

Robert Michael Morrissey teaches history at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

• List of IllustrationsIntroduction. An Earnest InvitationChapter 1. Opportunists in the BorderlandsChapter 2. The Imaginary KingdomChapter 3. Collaboration and CommunityChapter 4. A Dangerous SettlementChapter 5. Collaborators: Indians and EmpireChapter 6. Creolization and CollaborationChapter 7. Strains on Collaboration in French IllinoisChapter 8. Demanding Collaboration in British IllinoisConclusion. The End of CollaborationList of AbbreviationsNotesIndex

"Drawing on an astounding array of documentary, linguistic, and material evidence, Robert Morrissey illuminates the fascinating world of the evolving Illinois Indian and French colonial towns that survived and thrived by partnering with one another and with a succession of empires-French, Spanish, and British. In explaining these innovative, flexible, pragmatic, and ambitious people, Empire by Collaboration dashes the old stereotypes of lazy French and dependent Indians." (Kathleen DuVal, University of North Carolina) "Empire by Collaboration makes an important and sophisticated argument about colonial Illinois Country. Morrissey shows how the fluid, intercultural relations that characterized initial settlement gave way within a generation to distinctly bordered communities of Francophone Christians and traditional Illinois. But these borders were not imposed from the imperial center; rather, the French community that emerged on this frontier was self-defined by culture, not ethnic origin, and as such, it is a fascinating case study of assimilation." (Leslie Choquette, Assumption College) "Empire by Collaboration is a superb contribution to Illinois Country studies. Painting on a broad canvas, Morrissey brings together Indians, French colonists, and European imperial rivalries in unprecedented fashion. Indispensable reading for anyone interested in eighteenth-century America, this book boldly pushes an often marginalized region into the mainstream of colonial history." (Carl J. Ekberg, author of French Roots in the Illinois Country)