University of Galway History Research Seminar: How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe

University of Galway History Research Seminar

Dr Caroline Dodds Pennock

(University of Sheffield)

Abstract

Despite growing scholarly work to the contrary, the popular image of early modern Europe remains an extraordinarily white, ruffed and cod-pieced Tudor fantasy, where Indigenous, African and Asian people existed only as curiosities from distant lands. But, in reality, tens of thousands of Indigenous people – Maya, Totonac, Tupí, Aztec-Mexica, Inuit, Taíno and others – travelled to Europe from the moment of first encounter, many unwillingly, but some by choice.

From the Brazilian ‘king’ who met Henry VIII to the Aztecs who mocked up human sacrifice at the court of Charles V; from the Inuk baby who was put on show in a London pub to the mestizo children of Spaniards who returned ‘home’ with their fathers; from the Inuit who harpooned ducks on the Avon river to the many servants and enslaved people employed by Europeans of every rank: here are people who were rendered exotic, demeaned, and marginalised, but whose worldviews and cultures had a profound impact on European civilisation.

In this talk, Caroline Dodds Pennock will introduce her new book, On Savage Shores: How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe, reflecting on some of the earliest Indigenous travellers, and explaining why it is so important to challenge popular perceptions of the early modern period and write an Indigenous-centred history of the Atlantic world.

Speaker Biography

Dr Caroline Dodds Pennock is Senior Lecturer in International History at the University of Sheffield. Her first trade book On Savage Shores: How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe was published in January 2023 and has been warmly received, being selected as one of the best history books of the year by Smithsonian Magazine, The Economist, BBC History Magazine and others. Caroline is probably best known as the only British Aztec historian, and her first book, Bonds of Blood: Gender, Lifecycle and Sacrifice in Aztec Culture (2008, PB: 2011) won the Royal Historical Society’s Gladstone Prize for 2008. As well as pestering people on twitter @carolinepennock, Caroline also works as a popular history writer, consultant, and ‘talking head’ expert for TV and radio, having appeared on programmes for broadcasters including the BBC, Channel 4, Sky and Netflix.

Registration

This is an online only event, streamed via Zoom: https://universityofgalway-ie.zoom.us/j/95635528755.

To attend via Zoom, please register at: https://forms.office.com/e/Ji5c8Q3UQJ

This talk is part of the University of Galway History Seminar series.

All are welcome!