Book Review of Pioneers of Drance in the New World by Francis Parkman Jr.

In his book, Pioneers of France in the New World, Francis Parkman Jr., mentions a historical account of early Spanish including accounts of French. In essence the book is broken up into two main parts the Spanish (chapter I-X) French (Chapters I – XVII). “The story of New France opens with a tragedy”[1 pp 3], blood and fury would soon break out over Europe, with political and religious enmities and would soon travel over the Atlantic and concentrate in the vast new lands of Florida. Contact between the Huguenots (members of the protestant reformed church of France) and Spanish was not a pretty one, with two religions and egocentrism being th main causes of the conflict. The beginning of the Pioneers of France in the New World first few chapter (Spanish section) state the typical cruelties between Spaniards and the Indians, as well as the fight of two countries and religions of France and Spain; the French may have treated the native better but by no means were saints. 1520’s Spain would be receiving reports of heroic tales of how Cortez conquered a civilazation, and stuck great riches, every Spaniard and their mother wanted to come over and stick it big in this immense, mysterious land.

The French section of Pioneers of France in the New World laps into and continues from the Spanish sections into their own chapters, telling immense tales and accurate accounts of the time. Informing the reader of the traditions of French, famous explorers like Champlain, discoveries of Indian towns, and lakes of vast size. The French were a culturally different group of individuals, one key note would be the better treatment of the natives compared to the Spanish, when Samuel de Champlain passed away in Quebec, Canada 1635 there were counts of I...

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...l telling’s of early Spanish explorations leading up to French arrival include the countries exploration. Pioneers is not just one book, but the first book in a volume of seven written by Francis Parkman in 1865. Francis Parkman Jr., although in recent years Parkman has been heavily criticized over his works and not documenting his records; his books are still seen as a historical reference. Pioneers is an extraordinary book that doesn’t just focus on the French in the Western Hemisphere, but also the Spanish in their early exploration.

Works Cited

Parkman, Francis. Pioneers of France in the New World. Boston: Little, Brown, 1905. Print.[1]

"Members of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences: 1780-2012." Http://www.amacad.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.

C. Vann Woodward, Forward to 1984 edition of Parkman's Montcalm and Wolfe: The French and Indian War [3]