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Comanche Empire
Comanche Empire
The Comanche Empire was formed by nomadic pastoralists indigenous to North America. They connected large territories into a thriving trade network—but was it really an empire?
As this video progresses, key ideas will be introduced to invoke discussion.
Think about the following questions as you watch the video
What do the Comanche and the Mongols have in common?
What was unique about Comanche leadership, and how did it help them build their empire?
Why were horses so important to the Comanche Empire?
How did the Spanish colonizers relate to the Comanche?
What was production and distribution like in Comanche territory?
How did the Comanche form broader networks and communities with other indigenous groups?
: (music playing)
: ROBERT KEITH COLLINS: This is a map of North America
: around 1800.
: According to some historians, this map is a fiction.
: Why?
: Because it leaves out what has been described
: as the Comanche Empire.
: The Comanche were an indigenous nation
: and they exerted a lot of power in the center of the continent.
: They had a massive economic influence
: in the land described as Comancheria,
: controlling border markets and long-distance trade.
: But was the Comanche Empire actually an empire?
: It did have some imperial characteristics,
: like power over a large territory,
: hierarchies between the core and periphery,
: areas where resources were extracted,
: cultural domination,
: and assimilation of multiple ethnic groups.
: But it didn't have other ingredients common to empires,
: like firm geographical boundaries,
: a central political authority,
: a unifying belief system,
: or a large subjugated population.
: And they didn't build huge monuments.
: The thing is, these ideas about what makes something an empire
: are loaded with assumptions.
: Our own checklists can underestimate
: the diversity and innovation of human societies-–
: including those that don't build their empires in stone.
: It may sound like a contradiction,
: but empires can be built by people on the move.
: Historically, there are plenty of examples.
: From the plains of Central Asia, to the West African Sahel,
: and in North America,
: pastoral and nomadic people have indeed built empires.
: One of the most well-known was the Mongol Empire,
: created by pastoralists in the 14th century.
: And just like the Mongol Empire,
: the Comanche Empire was made up of nomadic, independent bands.
: Today, one thing most people know about the Comanche
: is that they could ride horses better than anyone.
: Known as Numunuu or "The People" in their language,
: the Comanche changed from hunters, gatherers,
: and small farmers
: to masters of horse husbandry and bison hunting
: between 1600 and 1725.
: It was their advanced horsemanship
: that earned the Comanche the nickname
: "Horse Lords of the Plains."
: This story also tells us how community, trade networks,
: and economics enabled this great nation
: to dominate the Southern Plains
: in the land that became the United States.
: Yes, the Comanche were great horse riders,
: but there is so much more to understand about their history.
: Their society can challenge our perception
: of what makes an empire,
: and overturn some of our ingrained misunderstandings
: about indigenous Americans of the Southern Plains.
: So, the Comanche lived in this area,
: though most maps don't give you a sense of their presence.
: Their community wasn't always in the Southern Plains.
: According to a Comanche medicine woman named Sanapia,
: there was a large indigenous community
: that lived in what is now Wyoming,
: and they ultimately split into two groups:
: the Comanche and Shoshoni.
: The Comanche migrated south and east
: and set up new communities.
: What did Comanche communities look like?
: Communities around the world are organized in different ways.
: Often, the primary social organization is kinship,
: and for the Comanche, family and identity
: followed the line of the father,
: which is called patrilineal kinship.
: In many empires, patrilineal kinship meant
: a centralized political authority,
: like a king or an emperor.
: But the Comanche didn't have one single leader.
: There's some debate about how centralized
: the political organization of the Comanche was.
: They did have captive populations,
: and they subjugated people
: who were not quite members of the center.
: But the center itself seemed pretty spread out.
: That's because there were many independent Comanche bands,
: and the Comanche had many leaders
: who were democratically chosen.
: Together, these leaders made decisions
: about hunting, trade, warfare, and alliances.
: With leadership so spread out,
: the Comanche's many independent bands
: could cover vast, diverse areas of the southern Midwest.
: These areas were largely dominated
: by what looked like seas of grass.
: These tall grasses were leveled seasonally by bison.
: Valley streams were lined with trees.
: This fruitful environment
: provided the early Comanche
: with many diverse foods they could hunt and gather.
: Each Comanche band had its own way of life,
: and the bands eventually had names
: to represent their uniqueness,
: such as the "root eaters,"
: the "buffalo eaters,"
: and even the "loud talkers."
: They hunted bison and elk using the bow and arrow
: as well as a kind of spear-thrower
: called the atlatl.
: These meaty meals were supplemented
: with fruits and vegetables they either grew on small farms
: or got from trading with other societies.
: Over time, their communities grew,
: and they expanded into new territories
: to look for more resources.
: By 1725, Comanche expansion brought them into contact
: with many of their neighbors.
: And it was through these neighbors
: that they would first meet the animal
: that would eventually define the image of the Comanche-–
: the mustang.
: They were already excellent horse riders,
: but the mustang was quite an upgrade.
: If you think the car that borrowed its name is cool,
: you should see the one with legs instead of wheels.
: The mustang quickly became important to the Comanche
: and was soon the main focus of trade.
: The Comanche even raided neighboring communities
: to get more horses.
: One neighboring indigenous group called the Comanche
: "Numunuu Komat,"
: which means "those who like to fight" or "enemy."
: And the word "Komat" is where the term Comanche comes from.
: Why were horses worth the fight?
: Well, before the Comanche had horses,
: their hunting territories and trade networks
: were limited to a day's walk.
: On horseback, a Comanche rider
: could seem to "ride the wind,"
: covering vast areas of the Southern Plains.
: Even young children took advantage.
: This new mode of transportation
: allowed a young Comanche boy,
: who grew up shooting at birds
: with a bow and arrow for practice,
: to become a highly skilled bowman on horseback,
: deadly to the buffalo he hunted, and the enemies he confronted.
: Horse riding brought the Comanche
: into contact with other indigenous groups,
: like the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Kiowa,
: whose livelihoods also revolved around bison hunting.
: The Comanche also interacted with European settlers,
: and not always in a friendly way.
: Spanish settlers viewed the Comanche as a constant problem
: and they used military force to fend them off.
: But the Comanche also helped the Spanish,
: because they created a barrier between them and other settlers
: like the French and the English.
: Despite some hostilities,
: the Comanche created and exploited
: a robust trade network,
: that included indigenous groups
: as well as European settlers.
: Again, horses were the new technology
: that made these trade pathways work.
: Stories and artwork about the Comanche
: usually paint them as raiders.
: It's true that raiding supplemented
: the daily needs of their people,
: but the Comanche's production and distribution of goods
: involved other methods.
: Thanks to their hunting skills,
: they continued to trade prized buffalo and elk hides
: with the French for guns.
: The perfection of Comanche horse husbandry
: made the mustang highly prized by other nations.
: American and European demand for swift Comanche mustangs
: created a thriving trade market
: in the animal that most shaped the Wild West.
: In exchange for horses,
: the Comanche received glass beads, iron kettles,
: guns, wool, and German silver, which is still worn
: by Southern Straight Dancers today at pow wows.
: The Comanche traded according to their aims and values.
: Many Comanche bands made treaties with tribes,
: such as the Wichita,
: as long as those tribes reported good relations
: with the French traders.
: By 1790, the Comanche had acquired
: enough guns and ammunition from the French
: to make the Spanish pretty nervous.
: These weapons, plus their unequalled ability on horseback,
: provoked a ferocious response by the Spanish.
: Even the powerful Comanche realized they needed
: more numbers to hold their ground,
: so they formed an alliance with the Kiowa.
: By 1840, this alliance grew even further
: to create an empire that posed
: a formidable threat to Spanish and American settlers.
: To this day, the alliance between the Comanche
: and the Kiowa has never been broken.
: Some historians classify the Comanche society
: as an empire partially because it expanded,
: facilitated trade and had a broad cultural influence.
: It had a core and a periphery,
: and it exploited resources on its borderlands.
: These are all qualities of an empire, right?
: Well, others say that's not the case
: because of the many ways it differs from most empires.
: Whatever you call it,
: this was a highly complex society
: with a great deal of political, cultural,
: and economic influence.
: It's clear that community organization,
: networks of communication and trade,
: and the economic life created by the Comanche
: enabled them to become
: the Horse Lords of the Plains.
: This history debunks the idea that pastoralists
: and hunters-gatherers can't form complex societies.
: And while we're debunking ideas,
: some stories, especially in movies,
: sell us the false image of the Comanche as savages.
: This narrow stereotype serves the idea that indigenous people
: need to be civilized
: by the colonial powers invading their home.
: It has been an enduring misrepresentation
: that has always plagued the Comanche
: and shaped the views of many who attempted
: to understand their lives.
: As we take time to learn about their lives
: and how their resilience and self-determination
: created a highly influential commonwealth,
: this cartoon notion of the savage can be replaced
: with their true legacy.