Gina M. Martino. Women at War in the Borderlands of the Early American Northeast

In this modern era of the #MeToo movement, commentators seem to be constantly struggling to understand the place of women in society. Since the 1970s, historical women have garnered similar attention. As for colonial women, general knowledge finds their place to be both questionable and complex. Studies of women in New England tend to focus on the Salem Witch Trials, arguing that women were expected to stay silent and serve as god-fearing helpmates to their husbands. Their primary role in life was to serve as mothers. Ideally, they were not supposed to venture outside of these socially prescribed roles. Gina M. Martino brings these general assumptions into question in Women at War in the Borderlands of the Early American Northeast. Martino does not limit her study to the British New England colonies, including New France and Native nations to provide a comprehensive study of women’s places in these societies. Women participated, often brutally, in defending their homes, communities, and families. Focusing primarily on the earliest years of colonization, Martino does not find that women were challenging society in any way. Instead, it was accepted and even expected that women would contribute (even martially) to their communities. Of course, this was mostly limited to frontier communities, not necessarily metropolitan areas. Unlike the English, the French found themselves slightly more conflicted about female wartime participation. This was not because officials questioned their abilities or motivation; rather, there was general concern about the behavior of mixed-sex garrisons perpetuating immoral behavior. Martino is clear that as time wore on, women’s military prowess fell out of favor with leaders, particularly those in the home country.

Archaeology · Colonialism · Ethnology · Frontier · Metropolitan area · Political science · Sociology · Communism, Protests, Social Movements · Gender Studies · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · History · Law · Vietnamese History and Culture Studies