October. The month when
Americans observe Columbus Day. Or Indigenous
Peoples' Day. Or both. Or neither.
There’s plenty
of controversy over Columbus's legacy and which holiday should be celebrated
on
the second Monday in October—controversy that is not easily contained in either
our national mythology or general history courses about European mass
immigration to the North American continent which was already peopled by
somewhere between 8 million and 115 million.
This month there are two books on the docket: Mayflower which I’ve finished
and The Barbarous Years which I am still in the middle of.
Mayflower: A Story of
Courage, Community, and War (2006) by Nathaniel Philbrick
Philbrick tackles the truth behind about
the voyage of the Mayflower and the settlement of Plymouth Colony with its challenging first winter for which the settlers
were utterly prepared. After
initial attempts between indigenous Wampanoag people and the English to co-exist
peacefully, relations collapse, culminating in King Philip’s War (1675–1678) which
nearly wiped out both English colonists and Native Americans. Plymouth Colony lost close to 8% of its adult
male population (and a smaller percentage of women and children) and many towns were burnt down and destroyed–while the
Native American population of southern New England was reduced by somewhere
between 60% to 80%. Philbrick’s final
chapter section, "Conscience," attempts to examine the conflict from
an ethical perspective and grapple with its legacy for United States history.
The Barbarous Years: The Peopling of British North America—The Conflict
of Civilizations, 1600-1675 (2013) by Bernard Bailyn
I am still in the middle of The
Barbarous Years, and to be honest it is a difficult read. Bailyn could benefit from a good editor. As one reader commented: the
author definitely does not hold back on naming thousands of settlers across the
colonies; it is difficult to slog through all of that. The book does seem a
little scattershot in its organization and subject matter.
It’s not an easy read, but I’m learning a lot, and the more-than-occasional
awkward sentence structure and tendency to be over-detailed has been worth
putting up with so far. Examining Virginia, the Chesapeake area, New York, and
New England, Bailyn makes no effort to sugarcoat the Europeans’ experience in America
in the 17th century and their relationships with Native Americans. About halfway through, it has been a less-than-flattering picture of the early leaders and settlers.
About Me: Kevin P. Dincher
I have a 40-year track record that includes organization and strategic consulting with non-profits, both big and small, as well as small family-owned business and Fortune 500 global technology companies. Currently, the primary focus of my work is on nonprofit organizations through a partnership with Professionals in Philanthropy.
My experience also includes work in, counseling psychology and crisis management, program and operations management, nonprofit management, human resources, and education.
One of the things that energizes me is learning new things and sharing what I learn. In addition to providing professional development, I create exciting and enriching educational opportunities for adults that incorporate psychology, philosophy, history, historical anthropology and more—with a perspective that “everything’s related.” My broad background in psychology, philosophy and theology along with my deep interest in history, sociology, politics and organizational systems have given me the perspective that nothing ever really happens in isolation. Ideas, decisions, actions and events all occur in a web of other interrelated ideas, decisions, actions and events. I enjoy pulling connecting threads to see where they lead – and if you don’t come away from my classes and lectures asking more questions than you started with, I haven’t done my job!
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