University of Arkansas, Fayetteville ScholarWorks@UARK Theses and Dissertations 5-2012 Intimate Frontiers: Indians, French, and Africans in Colonial Mississippi Valley Sonia Toudji University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd Part of the African American Studies Commons, Indigenous Studies Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Toudji, Sonia, "Intimate Frontiers: Indians, French, and Africans in Colonial Mississippi Valley" (2012). Theses and Dissertations. 344. http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/344 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact
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[email protected]. INTIMATE FRONTIERS: INDIANS, FRENCH, AND AFRICANS IN COLONIAL MISSISSIPPI VALLEY INTIMATE FRONTIERS: INDIANS, FRENCH, AND AFRICANS IN COLONIAL MISSISSIPPI VALLEY A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History By Sonia Toudji Université de Tizi Ouzou Licence of English Language, Literature, and Civilization, 2004 Université du Maine Master of English Language, Literature, and Civilization, 2006 May 2012 University of Arkansas ABSTRACT Historians have agreed that the French were more successful than their competitors in developing cordial relations with Native Americans during the conquest of North America. French diplomatic savoir faire and their skill at trading with Indians are usually cited to explain this success, but the Spaniards relied upon similar policies of trade and gift giving, while enjoying considerably less success with the Indians. Intimate Frontiers proposes an alternative model to understand the relative success of French Colonization in North America.