Masters of Empire: Great Lakes Indians and the Making of America

McDonnell . . . deploys impeccable research skills to challenge the 'middle grounds' historical interpretation of Native American-European encounters . . . With a fascinating reexamination of the political, military, and economic details of the war, as well as a stunning final chapter on the American Revolution and the meaning of (in)dependence, McDonnell admirably expands readers' understanding of 'Indian country on its own terms.' --Publishers Weekly

McDonnell skillfully captures the history of the [Anishinaabeg] from the 17th century through the early 19th century, restoring the nation's legacy and filling in a vital historical link in the timeline of the Americas. --Kirkus Reviews

In clear and compelling prose Michael A. McDonnell renders a complicated world accessible, a marginalized region central, and a neglected history essential. Rethinking pivotal events from indigenous centers like Michilimackinac rather than from colonial capitals like Boston or Williamsburg, Masters of Empire provides an important perspective for a richer understanding of early American history. --Collin G. Calloway, John Kimball Jr. 1943 professor of history, Dartmouth College

In recent years scholars have begun to argue that the center of America's historical gravity should shift from the East Coast to the heart of the continent. Michael A. McDonnell's Masters of Empire makes an important contribution to that reorientation. Piecing together the story of the Anishinaabeg in general and the Odawa of Michilimackinac in particular, McDonnell offers a new perch from which to view 'the course of human events' during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, thereby making a powerful case for Michilimackinac's joining Boston, Philadelphia, and other, better-known capitals vital to understanding America's past. --James H. Merrell, Lucy Maynard Salmon Professor of History, Vassar College

This is a sweeping and majestic analysis of the colonial Great Lakes, which places the Odawa people at the heart of a new understanding about how the French and later, the British were thwarted in their attempts to shape and control this region. --Susan Sleeper-Smith, professor of history, Michigan State University

With elegant prose and a keen eye for detail, Michael A. McDonnell brings to life the dynamic world of Great Lakes Indians in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This is native-centered history at its best, revealing how the Odawa and their neighbors not only controlled their own destinies in the face of colonialism, but also shaped the fabric of American life for many generations. A powerful story expertly told. --Brett Rushforth, author of Bonds of Alliance: Indigenous and Atlantic Slaveries in New France

Insightful and evocative, Masters of Empire compels us to rethink colonial America by restoring native peoples to the center of the story. Along vast waterways in the heart of a continent, natives controlled the intrusive but weak officials and traders of distant empires. Michael A. McDonnell brilliantly recovers and deftly narrates a tale of resourceful persistence by the Anishinaabeg. --Alan Taylor, author of The Civil War of 1812: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, and Indian Allies

With lively prose and page-turning action, Michael McDonnell introduces readers to a whole new world. Everyone interested in American history should read this magisterial tale of how the Anishinaabe Odawa lived through and shaped the history of North America and the early modern world. --Kathleen DuVal, professor of history, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Michael A. McDonnell shows that for much longer than anyone has dared to imagine, Great Lakes Indians stood firm as the masters of their own destiny--and powerfully influenced events as iconic as the American Revolution. --Woody Holton, author of Abigail Adams

In this tour de force, Michael A. McDonnell brilliantly shows how the Anishinaabeg of the Upper Great Lakes played a crucial role in the run-up to the American Revolution. This 'native-driven' history will send historians scurrying to revise their interpretation of imperial and native rivalries in the mid-continent west of the Appalachians. --Gary Nash, professor of history, University of California, Los Angeles