Beyond Nations: Evolving Homelands in the North Atlantic World, 1400–2000

Beyond Nations traces the evolution of 'peripheral' ethnic homelands around the North Atlantic, from before transoceanic contact to their current standing in the world political system. For example, 'Megumaage', homeland of the Micmac is transformed into the French colony of Acadia, then into the British colony of Nova Scotia, and subsequently into the present Canadian province. Centrally, Professor Chávez tracks the role of colonialism in the transformation of such lands, but especially the part played by federalism in moving beyond the ethnic and racial conflicts resulting from imperialism. Significantly, Chávez gives attention to the effects of these processes on the individual mind, arguing that historically federalism has permitted the individual to sustain and balance varying ethnic loyalties regionally, nationally, and globally. Beyond Nations concludes with a discussion of an evolving global imagination that takes into account migrations, borderlands, and transnational communities in an increasingly postcolonial and postnational world.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: images of concentric community; 1. Native American images of community - evolving homelands; 2. Visions of homeland in Europe and Africa - changing communities; 3. Designs for transatlantic empire - the colonial era, 1400–1700; 4. Envisioning nations - incorporation of independences, 1700–1820; 5. Conceiving federations - national development, 1820-1880; 6. Imperial designs revived - the second colonial era, 1880–1945; 7. Postcolonial visions - internationalism and decolonization, 1945–1975; 8. Supranational conceptions - continental confederations, 1975–2000; Conclusion: postnational visions - imagined federalisms.

About the Author :
John R. Chávez is currently Professor of History at Southern Methodist University. He is the author of The Lost Land: The Chicano Image of the Southwest (1984), which earned him a Pulitzer Prize nomination. Among his other works are Memories and Migrations: Mapping Boricua and Chicana Histories, (2008), which he co-edited with Vicki Ruiz, and Eastside Landmark: A History of the East Los Angeles Community Union (1998).

Review :
'Beyond Nations is an important contribution to historical, sociological, political, and economic literatures on the Atlantic economy, on trade, colonialism, decolonization, neocolonialism, and internal colonialism. As the title suggests, it adds dimensions beyond individual states and beyond empires. Thus, this lucidly written book is a valuable addition to the burgeoning literature on global and world history.' Thomas D. Hall, DePauw University 'Beyond Nations is a fascinating, important, and original work of history. Chavez's book is a remarkable piece of pan-Atlantic history – grounded in French and Spanish as well as Anglophone scholarship – which provides, at times in great detail, the histories of less familiar islands and regions. After reading his work, many scholars will find that the world looks different and that traditional narratives of Atlantic history have begun to look rather stale and insufficiently complex. This will be a major book in the field.' Colin Kidd, University of Glasgow 'John Chavez's book is an enormously ambitious treatment of native homelands around the Atlantic Ocean written by a uniquely qualified scholar who has wrestled with the issue of the origins and evolution of homelands for perhaps two decades. This book builds on his previous work and constitutes a grand new distillation and synthesis. The result is impressive in its scope and the ambition of the scholarship behind it.' Andres Resendez, University of California, Davis