Empire of the Summer Moon from the author’s web page.

Empire of the Summer Moon is a sad and heartbreaking story of inevitable fate. The tragedy of Anna Parker’s three deaths—first kidnapped by Comanches, then by European Americans, and finally losing her children and people—is profoundly sorrowful. The way of life for Quanah Parker and his people once enjoyed, living freely on the plains, hunting buffalo, raiding under the summer moon, and escaping through the prairies, was lost forever to a new world. A world where they had to learn to own property, pay taxes, and queued up to receive beef from the ‘Great Father in Washington’.

The book highlights the roles of Mackenzie, the Texan Rangers, and Tonkawa guides in bringing down the Comanche. However, I believe the real reason for their downfall was technological advancement. Samuel Colt’s invention of the revolver was a true game-changer. With it, a handful of untrained individuals could overpower an entire tribe armed with bows and arrows. People often overlook the impact of technology on history, preferring to attribute change to cultural traits or heroic figures. Yet, technology has always been transformative [1]. The early Spanish settlers brought horses to the continent, revolutionizing mobility with Iberian mustangs and execlusive horsemanship, making it impossible for the natives to win. In the same way, the six-shot revolver tipped the balance of power against the Comanche and ensured their defeat.

The true game-changer was not the exceptional skill of Mackenzie or the Texan Rangers but the introduction of the revolver. With constant waves of settlers moving west, the fate of the western tribes was sealed. They would eventually be overrun by buffalo hunters armed with revolvers. Or starve to death as Buffalos were going extinct. The only way to avoid this fate might have been to adopt modern ways of living, something Quanah realized too late. Yet, it seemed one couldn’t escape total defeat, even through assimilation. The natives were also victims of their own actions; besides constantly raiding fellow tribes, they fell prey to the worst aspects of the new world, such as alcohol consumption and owning slaves.

Even surrendering wasn’t a solution; peaceful tribes like the Cherokee were also annihilated. Despite their peaceful and adaptive ways, President Lamar of the Texas Republic made it his mission to remove all Native Americans from Texas, including the peaceful ones. Later, the federal government continued this policy through the Dawes Act of 1887, allowing the U.S. President to break down reservation lands.

In his reservation years, Quanah showed a profound understanding of the changing world. He was shockingly optimistic and actively tried to do good for his people.

[1] the invention waterproof cement turned New York City into the greatest city in the US through the Erie Canal, otherwise Philadelphia or Boston would have been the greatest cities.