Chiricahua and Janos: Communities of Violence in the Southwestern Borderlands, 1680-1880

by Lance R. Blyth

Overview

Borderlands violence, so explosive in our own time, has deep roots in history. Lance R. Blyth’s study of Chiricahua Apaches and the presidio of Janos in the U.S.-Mexican borderlands reveals how no single entity had a monopoly on coercion, and how violence became the primary means by which relations were established, maintained, or altered both within and between communities.

 
 
For more than two centuries, violence was at the center of the relationships by which Janos and Chiricahua formed their communities. Violence created families by turning boys into men through campaigns and raids, which ultimately led to marriage and also determined the provisioning and security of these families; acts of revenge and retaliation similarly governed their attempts to secure themselves even as trade and exchange continued sporadically. This revisionist work reveals how during the Spanish, Mexican, and American eras, elements of both conflict and accommodation constituted these two communities, which previous historians have often treated as separate and antagonistic. By showing not only the negative aspects of violence but also its potentially positive outcomes, Chiricahua and Janos helps us to understand violence not only in the southwestern borderlands but in borderland regions generally around the world.

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780803237667
Publisher:	Nebraska
Publication date:	07/01/2012
Series:	Borderlands and Transcultural Studies
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Lance R. Blyth is the command historian at U.S. Northern Command and a research associate in the Latin American and Iberian Institute at the University of New Mexico.
 
 

Table of Contents

List of Maps viii

Preface ix

1 Communities of Violence: Apaches and Hispanics in the Southwestern Borderlands 1

2 Refugees and Migrants: Making Hispanic-Apache Communities, 1680-1750 23

3 Fierce Dancing and the Muster Roll: Campaigns, Raids, and Wives, 1750-1785 55

4 A Vigilant Peace: Families, Rations, and Status, 1786-1830 87

5 War, Peace, War: Revenge and Retaliation, 1831-1850 123

6 Border Dilemmas: Security and Survival, 1850-1875 155

7 Communities' End: Persecution and Imprisonment, 1875-1910 187

Conclusion: Borderland Communities of Violence 211

Acknowledgments 219

Notes 223

Glossary 249

Bibliography 253

Index 269

Editorial Reviews

"Blyth's argument, as well as his narrative and use of traditional and non-traditional sources, is impressive and provides a framework for understanding the permeating role of violence in two borderlands communities."—Brandon Jett, Southwestern American Literature

Southwestern American Literature - Brandon Jett

"Chiricahua and Janos represents a valuable addition to the growing literature examining violence in zones of intercultural contact, both in the Americas and around the globe."—Paul Conrad, Journal of Interdisciplinary History

Journal of Interdisciplinary History - Paul Conrad

"Thoroughly researched and clearly and concisely written. . . . This book is recommended for anyone, even the more casual reader, interested in the earlier frontier history of the Greater Southwest."—Dennis Reinhartz, Terrae Incognitae

Terrae Incognitae - Dennis Reinhartz

“This inaugural contribution to a new borderlands and transcultural series from the University of Nebraska Press provides a compelling microhistory while addressing big-picture questions about the region.”—Carla Gerona, Western Historical Quarterly
 

Western Historical Quarterly - Carla Gerona

“At a time when western historians have rediscovered the borderlands to great effect, Chiricahua and Janos presents a valuable new framework for thinking about Spanish-Indian relations in the American Southwest. It is a substantial contribution to the fields of Borderlands and Native American history.”—Karl Jacoby, author of Shadows at Dawn: A Borderlands Massacre and the Violence of History
 

Karl Jacoby

“This revisionist approach is applicable to border areas around the world, as well as any place where violence is endemic.”—J. A. Stuntz, Choice

Choice - J. A. Stuntz

“A thesis driven book backed by detailed narratives.”—Wayne E. Lee, America Historical Review 
 

American Historical Review - Wayne E. Lee

"Built on solid archival research and making good use early on of Chiricahua oral tradition, Chiricahua and Janos adds to the growing body of United States– Mexico border lands studies focused on indigenous autonomy of action."—Jesús F. De La Teja, Hispanic American Historical Review

Hispanic American Historical Review - Jesús F. De La Teja

"This is an intriguing and welcome addition to the literature on the conflict between Apaches, Spaniards, Mexicans, and Americans."—Robert K. Watt, Journal of Arizona History

Journal of Arizona History - Robert K. Watt

“[An] example of the violent peace that cultural differences and local goals can produce.”—Robert C. Galgano, The Journal of American History
 

The Journal of American History - Robert C. Galgano

"Built on solid archival research and making good use early on of Chiricahua oral tradition, Chiricahua and Janos adds to the growing body of United States– Mexico border lands studies focused on indigenous autonomy of action."—Jesús F. De La Teja, Hispanic American Historical Review

Hispanic American Historical Review - Jesus F. De La Teja

The story this book has to tell will prove important and compelling. Chiricahua and Janos reflects trends in a burgeoning historiography of the Spanish-Indian borderlands, especially with its scholarly attention to Indian communities as independent political actors in larger narratives of imperial, national, and international expansion and conflict.”—Juliana Barr, author of Peace Came in the Form of a Woman: Indians and Spaniards in the Texas Borderlands

Juliana Barr