Not Stolen

The Truth About European Colonialism in the New World

De: Jeff Fynn-Paul

Narrado por: Paul Maitrejean

A renowned historian debunks current distortion and myths about European colonialism in the New World and restores much needed balance to our understanding of the past.

Was America really “stolen” from the Indians? Was Columbus a racist? Were Indians really peace-loving, communistic environmentalists? Did Europeans commit “genocide” in the New World? It seems that almost everyone—from CNN to the New York Times to angry students pulling down statues of our founders—believes that America’s history is a shameful tale of racism, exploitation, and cruelty.

In Not Stolen, renowned historian Jeff Fynn-Paul systematically dismantles this relentlessly negative view of U.S. history, arguing that it is based on shoddy methods, misinformation, and outright lies about the past. America was not “stolen” from the Indians but fairly purchased piece by piece in a thriving land market. Nor did European settlers cheat, steal, murder, rape or purposely infect them with smallpox to the extent that most people believe. No genocide occurred—either literal or cultural—and the decline of Native populations over time is not due to violence but to assimilation and natural demographic processes.

Fynn Paul not only debunks these toxic myths, but provides a balanced portrait of this complex historical process over 500 years. The real history of Native and European relations will surprise you. Not only is this not a tale of shameful sins and crimes against humanity—it is more inspiring than you ever dared to imagine.

©2023 Bombardier Books An Imprint of Post Hill Press (P)2024 Ascend Audio LLC

Food objective read

It was nice to read a book that is balanced and grounded in facts in regards to the European settlement of the new world.

Fasts Don’t Care about Your Feelings

All hail reason and objectivity! Thank God someone had the courage to Write this book. Thankyou!

Reasoned balanced history

Nice to see clear dispassionate history in an age of rage. The radicals need a check on their incitement have truths. I hope this is a sign of the pendulum is moving back to reason and moderation.

Tarnished By Its Polemical Tone

Jeff Fynn-Paul is indeed an historian, not a conservative pundit. He could have written a serious academic work on this subject. Much of this book is exactly that. But serious academic works do not engage in political argument or employ invective and name calling to characterize other points of view.

Yes, a prevailing morality of pity has greatly distorted the historical record. Preposterous historical claims have been popularly embraced and advanced ruthlessly across media both social and mainstream. At its core is a horror at what humanity is, the way it’s behaved throughout recorded history and probably before. It seeks villains and victims. It tolerates no debate, ruins the lives and careers of anyone who even attempts debate, all in the belief that doing so will somehow repair human nature. It's become what it’s beheld – humanity at its worst – and is confident that it’s doing righteous work.

The ultimate undoing of these movements that have long been advanced and have become periodically popular is their egregious distortions of facts. That’s the purpose of this book – to deliver facts on this subject. It does. But it could have been far more effective in my view by taking the high road rather than an emotional, combative tone, reinforced in this case by the narrator.