Amazon.com description: Product Description: In this examination of British colonial practices, Robin Fabel investigates the reactions of native populations to British imperialism in the two decades before the American Revolution. Specifically, he looks at the Cherokees, the small tribes of the Mississippi, and the Black Caribs of the Windward Islands - all groups whose territories bordered on British settlements, all groups who first cooperated with and later resisted British diplomatic and military instrusions. Fabel reveals the flaws in British imperial policies. Had they learned certain lessons from their experiences with native populations, he argues, they might have been more successful in their dealings with American colonists. He describes, too, how even small tribes could diplomatically - and successfully - play British and French imperial rivals against each other. On two significant occasions diplomacy failed and the result was war. In the Cherokee War of 1759-61, that tribe took on but failed to defeat the British and colonial military. In the Carib War of 1772-73, however, the Black Caribs compelled the British to retreat. This rare glimpse into the military behaviour of the Mississippi small tribes and Fabel's analysis of the ways of war and details of Indian leadership benefits greatly from his use of the Ballindalloch archives. His focus on the crucial naval dimension of the Carib War is also a unique feature of the work. This study should have great appeal for readers of military narratives and will be useful reading for students of Native American diplomacy.