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An earnest, well-meaning sort of book, well researched but the data is patchy. Reading it felt like being given a guided tour of the wrong side of a huge tapestry. Indigenous Americans generally appear only in the peripheral vision of those creating the historical records, and what exists is usually distorted, through ignorance, prejudice, or to suit agendas unrelated to those observed. This book is a brave attempt to navigate the considerable difficulties this presents.
Two things were impressed on my mind by reading On Savage Shores, the first being a much more nuanced image of Spanish colonial rule. There were loud voices in Spain arguing the case of conscience about colonial exploitation, and many indigenous Americans, generally the aristocrats of American nations that had sided with the Spanish, were treated with respect in Spain, often marrying into the Spanish aristocracy � there are still venerable Moctezuma-descended families in Spain today. The second thing was the omnipresence of indigenous Americans in Europe from the 16th century forward. They arrived as slaves, wives, petitioners seeking royal largesse, seekers of justice, explorers (or tourists), traders, and so on, and many stayed, blending into the population in a generation or two, their origins soon forgotten.
Not a book that will knock your socks off, but still a worthwhile read.