Wars for Empire

Janne Lahti, who teaches history at the University of Helsinki, writes in the introduction that it is “the strands and shapes of violence comprising this splintered and intricate encounter between the United States and the Apaches that this book sets (out) to chart” (p. 6). He argues that the Apache wars were only a part of the United States’ ongoing drive for a continental empire and just one act in the growth of worldwide colonialism. Part I, “Cultures of War,” describes the differences in preparation for, and goals of, conflict by the Apaches and the United States. Their life-long training for war, use of small, rapidly moving units and hit-and-run tactics enabled the vastly outnumbered Apaches to stave off defeat from 1846 to 1886 when Geronimo surrendered. The United States’ regular army was handicapped by poor training, difficult logistics and, often, mediocre leadership. The army was also divided by differences about the best way to resolve the problem of Native Americans in the path of White settlement.

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