Discussion Questions
October 22, 2001


  1. What were the 'conventional' interpretations of frontier development to which Hofstra refers, and what were their weaknesses according to Hofstra?
  2. Hofstra argues that "In all cases...the English occupation of the North American interior, for the most part by non-English peoples, served the interests of the empire."  What specifically were those interests, and how specifically did that occupation serve those interests?
  3. What were the characteristics which defined the immigrants to that region?  In what manner did those characteristics help to solve the problems of the imperial authorities?