Building the Devil’s Empire is the first comprehensive history of New Orleans’s early years; tracing the town’s development from its origins in 1718 to its revolt against Spanish rule in 1768. Shannon Lee Dawdy’s picaresque account of New Orleans’s wild youth features a cast of strong-willed captives; thin-skinned nobles; sharp-tongued women; and carousing travelers. But she also widens her lens to reveal the port city’s global significance; examining its role in the French Empire and the Caribbean; and she concludes that by exemplifying a kind of rogue colonialism—where governments; outlaws; and capitalism become entwined—New Orleans should prompt us to reconsider our notions of how colonialism works."[A] penetrating study of the colony's founding."—Nation “A brilliant and spirited reinterpretation of the emergence of French New Orleans. Dawdy leads us deep into the daily life of the city; and along the many paths that connected it to France; the North American interior; and the Greater Caribbean. A major contribution to our understanding of the history of the Americas and of the French Atlantic; the work is also a model of interdisciplinary research and analysis; skillfully bringing together archival research; archaeology; and literary analysis.â€â€”Laurent Dubois; Duke University
#1366338 in Books 2014-02-16Original language:EnglishPDF # 2 10.70 x .70 x 8.50l; 1.90 #File Name: 0205990800496 pageslooseleaf
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Not bad for an educative assignment.By OliviaGI am not a huge history buff; but when I got assigned to read this book for a college class; I was not too disappointed. Kind of interesting and puts a new perspective on history lessons.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Quality good; information ok.By Jeff WoodMy book was in pretty good shape. I rented it and it was everything I needed. As far as the information goes; I think the author was severely biased in some ways; especially towards the end; but its written in a engaging way.4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Pleasantly SuprisedBy John HickeySo this was the required text for my History class: US History from 1877. Its a survey class so we don't delve too deep into any one topic; neither does the text; which I appreciate because there is little to filter through and not a lot to skim over. I'm about 6 weeks into the course; and although I think having a really great professor has certainly influenced me; the text is not simply names and dates kind of text book. It appears a lot of time and effort was put into making this text a clear and honest telling of the story of America. As far as a text book goes; I'm impressed.
