Manteo's World: Native American Life in Carolina's Sound Country before and after the Lost Colony

by Helen C. Rountree

Roanoke. Manteo. Wanchese. Chicamacomico. These place names along today's Outer Banks are a testament to the Indigenous communities that thrived for generations along the Carolina coast. Though most sources for understanding these communities were written by European settlers who began to arrive in the late sixteenth century, those sources nevertheless offer a fascinating record of the region's Algonquian-speaking people. Here, drawing on decades of experience researching the ethnohistory of the coastal mid-Atlantic, Helen Rountree reconstructs the Indigenous world the Roanoke colonists encountered in the 1580s. Blending authoritative research with accessible narrative, Rountree reveals in rich detail the social, political, and religious lives of Native Americans before European colonization. Then narrating the story of the famed Lost Colony from the Indigenous vantage point, Rountree reconstructs what it may have been like for both sides as stranded English settlers sought to merge with existing local communities. Finally, drawing on the work of other scholars, Rountree brings the story of the Native people forward as far as possible toward the present.

Featuring maps and original illustrations, Rountree offers a much needed introduction to the history and culture of the region's Native American people before, during, and after the founding of the Roanoke colony.

Genres: History, Native Americans, Native American

200 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Ceallaigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Carolina Algonquian speakers and their way of life went back many centuries in the sounds region, and as long as they could stand up against depredations from other Indians, they expected, in the 1580s, to go on living there as they always had. They did not live in a “golden age,” though later generations may have idealized the past to that extent. There were plenty of hazards and insecurities around before the Europeans began visiting, and people did not live for a hundred years, free from diseases. But their world really was their world, not someone else’s, and they met the English would-be colonists with a self-confidence that impressed the newcomers.”

A fascinating, informative, & thoughtful overview of the history of the Algonquian, Siouan-Catawban, & Iroquoian languages speaking peoples of the Outer Banks, Carolina borderlands, Albemarle, Currituck, & Pamlico Sounds, & source rivers with a focus on Indigenous experiences & perspectives.

I was particularly interested in the tone & format of the book which was very cognizant of the effects of white supremacy, colonialism, & u.s. propaganda efforts to erase & corrupt the history with which the book was dealing & so there was a lot of clarification & explanation as to why the author was doing this or that with an intent to counter previous misinformation that has been circulated about these histories.

Click here to read my full review of MANTEO’S WORLD complete with my full thoughts, further reading suggestions, & more of my favorite quotes, notes, & annotations!

★ ★ ★ ★ .75

CW // colonialism, racism, genocide, ethnocide

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed and appreciate the author's writing style. Direct and without excuse or rationalization, we receive a dispassionate yet human view of the collision of two distinct cultures under stress. Deeds, good and bad, are presented without agenda, as historical record describes, with context provided when necessary. An absolutely fascinating and refreshing read.

[C. Meade · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fantastic and a MUST READ for fans of Native American history. I love how the author used multi-faceted, interconnecting themes to paint a complete picture. Customs. Trade. Religion. Communities. Warfare. Outstanding book!!

[Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for work, while researching for a museum exhibit. Informative about the American Indian way of life here along the Carolina sound.