The Saltwater Frontier: Indians and the Contest for the American Coast

by Andrew Lipman

Andrew Lipman’s eye-opening first book is the previously untold story of how the ocean became a “frontier” between colonists and Indians. When the English and Dutch empires both tried to claim the same patch of coast between the Hudson River and Cape Cod, the sea itself became the arena of contact and conflict. During the violent European invasions, the region’s Algonquian-speaking Natives were navigators, boatbuilders, fishermen, pirates, and merchants who became active players in the emergence of the Atlantic World. Drawing from a wide range of English, Dutch, and archeological sources, Lipman uncovers a new geography of Native America that incorporates seawater as well as soil. Looking past Europeans’ arbitrary land boundaries, he reveals unseen links between local episodes and global events on distant shores.
 
Lipman’s book “successfully redirects the way we look at a familiar history” (Neal Salisbury, Smith College). Extensively researched and elegantly written, this latest addition to Yale’s seventeenth-century American history list brings the early years of New England and New York vividly to life.

Genres: History, American History, Nonfiction, Native American, Native American History, School, Native Americans

339 pages, Hardcover

First published October 27, 2015

About the author

Andrew Lipman is an assistant professor of history at Barnard College, Columbia University and lives in New York City. His first book, The Saltwater Frontier: Indians and the Contest for the American Coast, was published by Yale University Press in 2015.

Reviews

[Deb M · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Saltwater Frontier stands out for several unique aspects that set it apart from other books:

Unexplored Topic: The book delves into a lesser-known aspect of history that is often overlooked. By focusing on this niche topic, it offers readers a fresh and unique perspective on these maritime regions and colonialism.

Thoughtful Research: The author's meticulous research is evident throughout the book. The depth and breadth of historical information and anecdotes demonstrate a thoughtful approach to presenting a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter.

Balanced Approach: The book strikes a careful balance between storytelling and informative content. It avoids excessive embellishments or hyperbole, allowing readers to engage with the material in a thoughtful manner.

Captivating Narratives: The author's skillful storytelling brings the saltwater frontier to life.

Historical Significance: The Saltwater Frontier sheds light on the historical significance of these maritime regions and the indigenous people of the area.

[Jake Knox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lipman reproduces a history that challenges many of the prominent ideas around indigenous history in the 17th and 18th centuries. He argues that the shores and waters from Cape Cod and the Manhattan sound were in and of themselves a “Saltwater Frontier”. In this thesis is the central idea that Dutch, English, Munsee, and Algonquin speaking peoples had to adapt to each other’s maritime cultures. Furthermore, Lipman prioritizes the existence of Indigenous agency and ability to have “cultural buoyancy”

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid work, though (as others have pointed out) Indigenous-centered methodologies and paradigms could be more visible and central. I thought the epilogue was the strongest section, in large part because it zooms in on Wm. Apess and Paul Cuffe, and I appreciated the clear overview of slavery's entanglements with Indigenous New England.

[Sophie Maselli · Rating 3 out of 5]

He needs to use a lot more commas

[Jennevieve Culver · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read too much about boats

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absorbing book that reframes our typical conception of New England-Native American history as land-based. Because I have deep ancestral roots in colonial New England, I had wanted to know much more about the indigenous groups and their history. This book was a great addition to my quest. The writing was excellent - very enjoyable to read, with a good balance of details and overall conceptual flow. He tells a story of indigenous and colonial Dutch and English interaction that is divided into eras delineated by changing economic, cultural, and political emphases, and framed as a dynamic mixing of cultures and shifting boundaries defined by the coastal environments that connected them all and even extended into the oceans beyond.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

To understand this history from a Native point of view, I recommend "An Indigenous People's History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, and Evan Pritchard's "Native New Yorkers." Pritchard, who is Mi'kmaq, said his sources included many elders of the Native nations around New York - unlike most historians who may only consider written documents. Not surprising, therefore, that "Native New Yorkers contains a lot of information not uncovered by Lippman. Another fascinating book not to be missed is "The Many-Headed Hydra: Sailors, Slaves, Commoners and the Hidden History of the Revolutionary Atlantic." These are all excellent books.

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not my period nor my locale so I really couldn't tell you if Lipman's thesis is as astounding as all the reviews seem to think it is. I did find the evidence pretty compelling, and I enjoyed the writing style and particularly the personal account of the author's experience of Hurricane Sandy in the preface.

I am glad to know that there are still some Pequot around, and I'm stoked to have learned about a fantastic digital history project, The Indian Mariners Project: https://indianmarinersproject.com/maps/

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic history of early New England, New Netherland, and the Native ethnic groups of the region. There was both intense competition and intimate cooperation between all sides. A highlight of the book was learning about the critical role Algonquians played in creating the global whaling industry.

[Everett F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andrew Lipman's "The Saltwater Frontier: Indians and the Contest for the American Coast," provides readers with an interesting history of the "saltwater frontier" of early America in the colonial period—especially in its beginning stages. Lipman argues that the American frontier was more than just land—especially when what became the United States (which he rather anachronistically calls the United Colonies) was a constellation of loosely organized settlements and trading posts along the Atlantic coast. For Lipman, colonial boundaries were never truly fixed, and in the more northerly areas around New Netherland and the Delaware valley (part of which was once home to the short-lived colony of New Sweden), rivalries between the various European nations—particularly the English and Dutch—animated goings-on in a region already hotly contested between the many indigenous nations or state units resident therein. Some of these Native leaders saw the white newcomers as pawns to be used for their pleasure, and many took advantage of porous, meaningless boundaries as they saw fit.


With the progression of time, European involvement became much more formalized as the assortment of trading posts and military bases grew into more colonial settlements. As whites advanced further, Natives found ways to resist the onslaught with varying degrees of success, ultimately culminating in the destructing Metacom War (King Phillip's War) in the later seventeenth century between Pequot braves and English troops. Lipman argues that each of these conflicts were the result of the changing situation of the landscape, and in some ways were outgrowths of rivalries between the Dutch and English at home (such as in the Anglo-Dutch wars). With New Netherland's capture in 1674, English (and later British) authority became firmly entrenched in the area. Native polities now had to contend with the English for lucrative trade and other opportunities after losing their chance at playing sides. Overall, Lipman's demonstration that colonial boundaries in the eastern seaboard colonies were not as set-in-stone as is normally thought sends a good challenge to many traditional historiographic representations of the European colonies as having always been formalized units. As the book shows, colonial boundaries were often nothing more than figments of the white imagination—utterly meaningless in the face of more powerful indigenes playing sides and taking advantage of white infighting, derring-do, and double-dealing. Only once the English assumed full control did the tribes slowly lose their power and influence. Lipman also shows how Natives made sense of their new world after losing control to the English and their later American descendants after the Revolution, portraying them as fighters in the face of mounting pressure on all fronts. A good book overall, with the only real problems being that he could have expanded a bit more on the Native sources if there were any more. Additionally, although his portrayal of the impact of Christian mission on the indigenes is overall positive, he at times criticizes missionaries and ministers (white and Native alike) for adhering to European cultural norms at the expense of Native ones, and his description of Crispus Attucks is likewise strange. After all, what proof does he have that Attucks let out a "war-whoop" to Boston police and British soldiers on the day of the Boston Massacre (the grandest tragedy or scandal in British Imperial history until the Boer camps over a century later)? He should have explained that in the end or footnotes. In spite of its at times strange portrayals of its characters, Lipman nevertheless offers a new, valuable perspective on Native history and their interactions with colonizers. A good book for those interested in early American and British and Dutch colonial history.

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this reframing of Munsee and Pequot history to include coastal waters and estuaries. This book helped me understand the relationships among the native tribes in the 17th century in a way that past readings have not. I also finally understand how the Dutch and English colonists were relating and taking inspiration from each other during that time. It all makes sense!

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prose is excellent for a book with an academic audience.

[Why-why · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting subject matter; well researched; poor story crafting. It would be 2 stars if it wasn't for the subject matter.

[Mariana]

Reading this book is like shopping in a different section for clothing.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Kelly McLoughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

100% recommend for history curious people!!!! Very accessible, at times comically dry, and overall a great book that gives agency and power where deserved!!!!

[Sarah Lehn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grad school read

[That Chick · Rating 4 out of 5]

iykyk

too short, honestly...

[William James · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is dull, its argument is a no-brainer (no academic would write this book claiming to be an academic), and the information in the text is what you'd expect an undergraduate to know. Overall, if you want something to put you to sleep at night, this is up your alley. If you are looking for something intellectually stimulating, go elsewhere.

[James Bechtel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly, this book was fascinating in its study of the 1600s contest between the New England colonies, the New Netherland colonies, and the Native Americans. Much of this conflict depended upon warfare and control of the sea...the water. All three peoples were highly skilled in watercraft (if that is a word) and learned from each other.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little draggy in parts, particularly when relating the complicated details of Anglo-Dutch relations and some of the specifics of some colonial wars, but a lot of it is very interesting, particularly the material culture aspects of boating, wampum, etc., and the accounts of native whaling at the end--it seemed to me to be pointing the way to a future book, as did his periodic mention of native writers.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

By focusing our attention on the sea, Andrew Lipman does a remarkable job of expanding our understanding of the many frontiers (or borderlands) that existed between European immigrants and Native communities in southern New England and New York. If we look at Native spaces from the bow of a ship in the ocean, looking toward the New England coasts, Native territories become bigger, Native resources more expansive, Native know-how more critical, and Native war maneuvers more inventive. The lands and resources over which Puritans and New Netherland colonists alike claimed authority were only part of the world in which they or Native people lived - access to the sea, to the food there, to trade, to alliances with other Native groups, all were centrally important to the fortunes of what occurred after Europeans arrived in the region.

Ultimately, the sea would be the locus of punishment for Native people after Metacom's war, sold into slavery in sugar-growing locales like the Caribbean. For the Native people who managed to stay in the region, the sea became the place where their indigenous knowledge provided skills needed by ship's captains, especially in a burgeoning whale industry. It was not a sea they controlled any longer, but it was a sea they knew.

A readable, thought-provoking, and perspective-changing book.

[Mike Freeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a solid exploration of how events proceeded among competing Native and European powers once first settlements were established. Most of the American imagination regarding Native-White affairs lies in the West, overlooking the more critical Atlantic seaboard. Lipman dives deep here, blending anthropology, first-person accounts, chronological events, and analysis with the right touch. The idea of the ocean as a frontier is a little odd, given that saltwater, while forever contested, can't be lived on, and it's never convincing that Indian mariners ever rebuffed European ones in any meaningful way. The only other minor criticism, if it's even that, is Lipman's probably unwitting favorable bias in describing certain Native rituals. He's critical, for instance, of long-standing European traditions of decapitation and dismemberment, but describes the same acts in Native culture as sacred. A chopped off head is a chopped off head. These complaints are trifling though. It's a terrific book on a sadly overlooked time period.

[Jack Carroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an in depth analysis of exactly how the waters off the coast of America in the area from New York through New England was gradually stolen from the Native Americans who inhabited the region by the English and the Dutch in their naval struggle to conquer the territory. Caught in between the two European invaders, the tribes did their best to play one side off the other but eventually ended up the true losers in this struggle for supremacy. Lipman digs deep into the first-hand accounts of the participants and the insightfully examines the outcomes of the various battles to put the wide ranging conflicts into a perspective that shows how these outcomes lead to the eventual ouster of Dutch authority and the forced exodus of the various tribes that had lived in that area for centuries. Occasionally getting bogged down in facts and figures, the book can be a bit academically dry reading, but if you are interested in having a better understanding of how the colonization of the region occurred, this book will be a valuable addition to your research.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Saltwater Frontier is a very admirably written piece of history. Andrew Lipman presents a history of the geopolitical situation in New Netherlands and New England in the 17th century, and in a surprising breakthrough which rightfully won him the prestigious Bancroft Prize, actually made use of BOTH Dutch and English primary sources to do his research. As such Lipman is actually able to triangulate and include the perspective of the indigenous peoples of the area as well. All told, the book, with its spectacular prose, gives a vivid picture of what life on the ground (and on the sea) might have been like in 1640s Connecticut. In a relatively short 300 or so pages Lipman opens the readers eyes to the ways that the waters of the American northeast functioned themselves as a frontier that were often dominated by the indigenous peoples of the area.

[Alec Lurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is such a thoughtful and engaging history of the eastern seaboard’s indigenous peoples. Lipman blends archaeology, traditional history, poetry, and folklore into a highly detailed portrait of Native life. For the most part, his use of the ocean as a constant and overlooked aspect of the Native world is so well thought out. His use of this same motif in discussing the Pequot, Kieft’s, Peach, and King Philip’s Wars is a little less convincing, as the major turning points (for King Philip’s especially) occurred deep inland or near bodies of water that are so unlike the open ocean. But in general, Lipman does a fantastic job with this book and other historians should take note!

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book through a goodreads giveaway and I'm not a historian. My tastes run more toward historical fiction. That being said, it was nice to read something out of my comfort zone. The Saltwater Frontier is well written and informative. I know way more about America during the 15th - 18th centuries, Native Americans, and the ocean than I did before. With thanksgiving around the corner, this book came to me with impeccable timing. I find myself well armed for the upcoming turkey induced discourse.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

This recent history of early colonial America turns things around for a fresh perspective. Instead of starting at the coast and looking west, it looks east toward the ocean and explores the arrival of Europeans as a meeting between two maritime peoples. We don't think of Native Americans in that way, but Lipman provides solid evidence that this flip is worth considering. I believe that he sometimes stretches the point, but it's a fascinating read. The geographic area that he focuses on is from the New York area to the Boston area.

[Josh Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed the reframing from a marine perspective -- appreciated the way Lipman pulls together the complexities of the Native-Dutch-English dynamics of the early colonial period.