About the Book
Table of Contents:
I. Beginnings 1. European Ambitions and Early Contacts: Diverse Styles of Colonization, 1492-1700, Timothy Walker Document 1: Treaty between Spain and Portugal concluded at Tordesillas: June 7, 1494, Spain and Portugal make their claims to the "New" World Document 2: "The Requirement," The Spanish way of announcing their intention to take control, 1512 Document 3: Letters Patent to Sir Humfrey Gylberte: June 11, 1578, Queen Elizabeth issues a patent to Humphrey Gilbert Document 4: Charter to Sir Wawlter Raleigh: 1584, Sir Walter Raleigh receives the Roanoke patent Document 5: Charter of the Dutch West India Company: 1621, The States General of the Netherlands establishes the Dutch West India Company, 2. Tentative Testimonies: Indigenous and Spanish Accounts of the Conquest and Colonization of new Spain, 1100-1650, Heather McCrea Document 1: A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies by Bartolome de las Casas,1542 Document 2: The New Laws of the Indies, Spain enrages colonists with "new laws" that protect Indians, 1542 Document 3: Bernal Diaz remembers the Conquest Document 4: Florentine Codex account of the Massacre at Cholula 3. Indians of North America: First Encounters, Michael Oberg Document 1: "Of the Nature and manners of the People," Thomas Harriot reports on the native people at Roanoke, 1588 Document 2: Henry Hudson arrives at Manhattan, 1609 Document 3: Excerpts from Of Plimoth Plantation, William Bradford comments on an epidemic among native peoples of New England, 1634 II. Regions 4. The Chesapeake Bay, L.H. Roper Document 1: Letter of John Rolfe, 1614, A Jamestown planter asks permission to marry a native woman Document 2: Letter of John Rolfe, 1620, An Englishman writes the Virginia Company with news of Jamestown, 1620 Document 3: Letter from Charles I to Governor and Council of Virginia, Charles I takes the Governor and Council of Virginia to task, 1637 Document 4: Virginians complain about the founding of Maryland and the actions of their governor, 1635 Document 5: The Declaration of the People against Sir William Berkeley, and present Governors of Virginia, A rebellious colonist denounces royal governor William Berkeley, 1676 Document 6: Laws on Slave Code, Virginians develop laws on slavery, 1661-1705 5. New England, Richard Gildrie Document 1: Excerpt from A Model of Christian Charity,John Winthrop encourages and instructs colonists traveling to New England on "Christian Charitie," 1630 Document 2: Excerpt from The Simple Cobbler of Aggawam, A minister warns against the dangers of religious toleration, 1647 Document 3: Letter from Israel Stoughton to John Winthrop, Militia officer Israel Stoughton envisions Pequot women captured in war as servants, 1637 Document 4: Excerpt from Lion Gardner's Relation of the Pequot Warres, Miantonomi's Speech, The Narragansett sachem Miantonomi tries to create a pan-Indian union, early 1640s Document 5: Excerpt from The Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson,An English war captive recalls her suffering and the workings of providence during King Philip's War, 1682 Document 6: Passage from the Records of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, The Massachusetts General Court legislates against the immoral behaviors thought to have "provoked" God to allow New Englanders to suffer Indian violence, 1675 Document 7: Excerpt from Gookin's History of Christian Indians, An Englishman voices sympathy for the suffering of Indians during King Philip's War, 1677 6. The Caribbean Islands: British Trade, Settlement and Colonization, James Robertson Document 1: Barbadians discover and punish a plotted slave rebellion, 1675 Document 2: Report of Rear Admiral Sir Charles Steward, A ship master complains of being robbed by Spanish sloops, 1730 Document 3: Selection from the Minutes of the Provincial Council, A patriot planter from Georgia advises his son to leave Jamaica, 1776 Document 4: Letter from Sir Basil Keith, Governor of Jamaica to Lord Dunmore, Governor of Virginia, The governor of Jamaica sympathizes with the plight of his counterpart in Virginia, 1776 7. Middle Colonies, Wayne Bodle Document 1: Excerpt from Robert Juet's Journal, The Half Moon crew explores the future New Netherland while seeking a route to Asia, 1609 Document 2: Excerpt from First Settlement of New-York by the Dutch, Early Colonists recall the geographical extent of Dutch holdings Document 3: Excerpt from The Livingston Indian Record, The Five Nations Iroquois and representatives from Maryland and Virginia engage in diplomacy under the Covenant chain, 1677-79 8. The Carolinas: Shaping of a Slave Society, Noeleen McIlvanna Document 1: Letter from John Urnston to the Society for the Propogation of the Gospel Creator, An Anglican missionary proclaims the evils of the Albemarle during Cary's Rebellion, 1711 Document 2: Passage from the Colonial Records of the State of Georgia, A South Carolina official describes the Stono Rebellion, 1739 Document 3: Excerpt from the Journal of Josiah Quincy Junior, Josiah Quincy of Massachusetts visits South Carolina, 1773 III. Themes 9. Transformations: Salem Witchcraft Tragedy, War and Empire, Louise Breen Document 1: Excerpt from The Wonders of the Invisible World, A Boston merchant denounces witchcraft beliefs and the Salem trials Document 2: Magistrates interrogate Tituba about covenants, familiars, and harms, 1692 -- two versions Document 3: A Boston sea captain and merchant recalls being accused of witchcraft, 1700 Document 4: Cotton Mather's advice to two witchcraft judges, 1692 10. Purgatory: Interpreting Christian Missions and North American Indians, David J. Silverman Document 1: "their forefathers did know," from Clear Sunshine of the Gospel Breaking forth upon the INDIANS in New England, Puritan Thomas Shepard describes the first encounter between Wampanoags and John Eliot 1647 Document 2: Excerpt from Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Jesuit missionary Paul LeJeune writes of the hardships of life with the Montagnais, mid 1630s 11. The Slave Trade and Slavery, Ty Reese Document 1: Excerpt from An Account of the Slave Trade on the Coast of Africa, A former slave ship surgeon reveals the horrors of the Middle Passage Document 2: An English traveler comments on the rape of a slave in Massachusetts, 1638 Document 3: Runaway Slave Advertisements from Virginia, 1761-66 12. Women, Family, and Gender, Linda Sturtz Document 1: Excerpt from Of Plimoth Plantation, William Bradford describes communal and church obligations using familial and gender metaphors, 1644 Document 2: "The Vengeful Women of Marblehead: Robert Roule's Deposition of 1677," A Marblehead Fisherman describes how a crowd of women killed his two Indian prisoners, 1677 Document 3: Excerpt from the Pennsylvania Gazette, A female African prophet and freedom fighter in Jamaica, 1732 Document 4: A slave woman pleads with the Archbishop of Canterbury for religious liberty and protests her sale to the West Indies, 1760 Document 5: Passage from The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia, Georgia's founder James Oglethorpe extols the importance of women in ensuring order and productivity during a time of chaos and war, 1742 Document 6: Excerpt from A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison, A war captive from Pennsylvania, Mary Jemison, recalls how she made a new life among the Indians Document 7: Advice from 18th century almanacs on family, women and marriage, 1736-1760 IV. Transformations 13. Backcountries, Warren Hofstra Document 1: Of the Manners and Customs of the Indians inhabiting the Western parts of Carolina and Virginia, German Explorer John Lederer reports on the Shenandoah Valley, 1669-70 Document 2: Excerpt from Moravian Diaries through Virginia, Moravian missionaries trek through western Virginia, 1749 Document 3: Excerpt from Annals of Southwest Virginia, Ohio Company agent Christopher Gist scouts for land and trade opportunities, early 1750s Document 4: An English traveler presents an idyllic view of the Shenandoah Valley, 1759-60 Document 5: Excerpt from the Papers of Benjamin Franklin, Ben Franklin condemns the "Paxton Boys" as barbaric, 1764 Document 6: Excerpt from the Papers of Benjamin Franklin, The "Paxton Boys" defend their actions and express their frustrations, 1764 Document 7: Excerpt from the Journal of Nicholas Cresswell, An Englishman travels the backcountry, 1774 14. Spiritual Awakenings, Kenneth Minkema Document 1: Excerpt from Wahres Christentum, Johann Arndt on "Dying to the World," 1606 Document 2: Excerpts from The Nature and Necessity of the New Birth, George Whitefield Proclaims the Necessity of the New Birth, 1737 Document 3: Excerpts from A Narrative of the Lord's wonderful dealings with John Marrant, John Marrant narrates the "Lord's Wonderful Dealings" after his conversion, 1785 Document 4: The Code of Handsome Lake, the Seneca Prophet, Handsome Lake calls for a hybridized nativism and a new code by which to live, 1799 Document 5: Joanna Southcott's Dispute with Satan, 1802 Document 6: Excerpt from Catherine Tekakwitha: Her Life, Pierre Cholonec praises "Iroquois Virgin" Catherine (Kateri) Tekakwitha, ca. 1700 Document 7: Excerpt from A Handbook on Guadalupe, An Account of the First Sighting of the Virgin of Guadalupe in 1531, recorded in 1649 15. Enlightenment, Ned Landsman Document 1: Letters from The Journal of Esther Edwards Burr, 1754-1757, Women correspond in efforts to help one another "improve," 1750s Document 2: Excerpt from The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Franklin networks and experiments with a secular way of inculcating virtue Document 3: Excerpt from Notes on the State of Virginia, A Virginia planter expounds on the characteristics of native peoples and Africans 16. Ambitions: Expansion of New France, Robert Morissey Document 1: A Jesuit explains the "Policy of the Hurons, and their Government," 1636 Document 2: A French Negotiator works to establish unity among Menominee (Malhomini) and Potowatami refugees at Chequamegon Bay, 1660s Document 3: A French ceremony asserting possession at Sault Ste. Marie, 1671. Document 4: Grand Treaty establishes Iroquois Neutrality, 1701 17. French and Indian War, James Piecuch Document 1: Excerpt from the Papers of George Washington, Virginia governor instructs George Washington to assess French strength in the Ohio Country, 1753 Document 2: Excerpt from the Papers of George Washington, George Washington describes defeat, 1755 Document 3: Albany Plan of Union, The colonies contemplate union, 1754 Document 4: Excerpt from The Memoirs of Liet. Henry Timberlake, A French officer reflects on the direction of the war, 1758 Document 5: Passage from Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New York, Indian Superintendent William Johnson explains the strategic importance of the Iroquois, 1763 Afterword, Walter Sargent
About the Author :
Louise A. Breen is Associate Professor of History at Kansas State University. She is the author of Transgressing the Bounds: Subversive Enterprises among the Puritan Elite in Massachusetts, 1630-1692.
