Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War

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Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War
Author Nathaniel Philbrick
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreHistory
Publisher Viking Press
Publication date
2006
Media typePrint (hardcover and paperback)

Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War is a 2006 American history book by American author Nathaniel Philbrick, published by Viking Press. The book tells the events of the Mayflower colonists' landing in North America, and their relations over the following decades with the indigenous Wampanoag people, culminating in the bloody King Philip's War of 1675–78.

Contents

Synopsis

Mayflower is divided into four sections. Part I of Mayflower, "Discovery," describes the history of the Pilgrim Fathers before their Atlantic crossing, their difficult voyage, and even more challenging first winter in North America, for which the settlers were poorly prepared. The Pilgrims seek aid from the indigenous Wampanoag people, who like many indigenous groups along North America's east coast had recently been devastated by their first exposure to European disease. The section culminates with the First Thanksgiving in 1622, in which Pilgrims and some Wampanoag joined together to celebrate the Pilgrims' first successful harvest.

Part II, "Accommodation," tells of the Puritans' and Wampanoags' attempts to live together in peace, and Part III, "Community," describes the temporary success of these efforts despite the attempts of Narragansett satchem Miantonomi to unite the indigenous groups to expel the new settlers.

Part IV, "War," describes the collapse of relations between the settlers and indigenous peoples that culminated in the bloodshed of King Philip's War (1675–78). This conflict decimated the Puritan settlements, and many towns were burnt down and destroyed, but the cost for the indigenous peoples was the death of 60-80% of their population through battle, disease, and famine. With the "buffer" of friendly indigenous peoples removed, all of New England was destabilized by a century of Indian Wars. A final chapter of the section, "Conscience," attempts to examine the conflict from an ethical perspective and grapple with its legacy for United States history.

Critical response

The New York Times named Mayflower one of the ten best books of 2006, and it also appeared on the best books lists of The Washington Post , Newsweek , Publishers Weekly , The Boston Globe , and The Chicago Tribune , among others. [1] [2] In 2007, it was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for History. [3]

Related Research Articles

Mayflower Compact First governing document of Plymouth Colony

The Mayflower Compact, originally titled Agreement Between the Settlers of New Plymouth, was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was written by the male passengers of the Mayflower, consisting of separatist Puritans, adventurers, and tradesmen. The Puritans were fleeing from religious persecution by King James I of England.

Plymouth Colony English colonial venture in America (1620–1691)

Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in America from 1620 to 1691 at a location that had previously been surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement served as the capital of the colony and developed as the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts. At its height, Plymouth Colony occupied most of the southeastern portion of Massachusetts.

William Bradford (governor) 17th-century English separatist leader

William Bradford was an English Puritan separatist originally from the West Riding of Yorkshire in Northern England. He moved to Leiden in Holland in order to escape persecution from King James I of England, and then emigrated to the Plymouth Colony on the Mayflower in 1620. He was a signatory to the Mayflower Compact and went on to serve as Governor of the Plymouth Colony intermittently for about 30 years between 1621 and 1657. His journal Of Plymouth Plantation covered the years from 1620 to 1646 in Plymouth.

Metacomet elected chief of the Wampanoag Indians

Metacomet, also known as Pometacom, Metacom, and by his adopted English name King Philip, was sachem to the Wampanoag people and the second son of the sachem Massasoit. Metacom became sachem in 1662 when his brother Wamsutta died shortly after the death of their father. Wamsutta's widow Weetamoo, squa sachem of the Pocasset, was Metacom's ally and friend for the rest of his life. Metacom married Weetamoo's younger sister Wootonekanuske. It is unclear how many children they had or what happened to them. Wootonekanuske and one of their sons were sold to slavery in the West Indies following the defeat of the Native Americans in what became known as King Philip's War.

King Philips War 1675–1678 conflict between Native Americans and New England colonists

King Philip's War was an armed conflict in 1675–1678 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England colonists and their indigenous allies. The war is named for Metacom, the Wampanoag chief who adopted the name Philip because of the friendly relations between his father Massasoit and the Mayflower Pilgrims. The war continued in the most northern reaches of New England until the signing of the Treaty of Casco Bay in April 1678.

John Carver (Plymouth Colony governor) Mayflower passenger and New World colonist

John Carver was one of the Pilgrims who braved the Mayflower voyage in 1620 which resulted in the creation of Plymouth Colony in America. He is credited with writing the Mayflower Compact and was its first signer, and he was also the first governor of Plymouth Colony.

John Oldham (colonist)

John Oldham was an early Puritan settler in Massachusetts. He was a captain, merchant, and Indian trader. His death at the hands of the Indians was one of the causes of the Pequot War of 1636–37.

Massasoit

Massasoit Sachem or Ousamequin was the sachem or leader of the Wampanoag confederacy. Massasoit means Great Sachem.

Edward Winslow Governor of Plymouth Colony (1595–1655)

Edward Winslow was a Separatist who traveled on the Mayflower in 1620. He was one of several senior leaders on the ship and also later at Plymouth Colony. Both Edward Winslow and his brother, Gilbert Winslow signed the Mayflower Compact. In Plymouth he served in a number of governmental positions such as assistant governor, three times was governor and also was the colony's agent in London. In early 1621 he had been one of several key leaders on whom Governor Bradford depended after the death of John Carver. He was the author of several important pamphlets, including Good Newes from New England and co-wrote with William Bradford the historic Mourt's Relation, which ends with an account of the First Thanksgiving and the abundance of the New World. In 1655 he died of fever while on an English naval expedition in the Caribbean against the Spanish.

Josiah Winslow 13th Governor of Plymouth Colony (1673-80)

Josiah Winslow was the 13th Governor of Plymouth Colony. In records of the time, historians also name him Josias Winslow, and modern writers have carried that name forward. He was born one year after the Charter which founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony, bringing over 20,000 English immigrants to New England in the 1630s. Josiah was the Harvard College-educated son of Mayflower passenger and Pilgrim leader Edward Winslow and was Governor from 1673 to 1680. The most significant event during his term in office was King Philip's War, which created great havoc for both the English and Indian populations and changed New England forever. Josiah was the first governor born in a "New England" colony.

Christopher Martin (<i>Mayflower</i> passenger)

Christopher Martin and his family embarked on the historic 1620 voyage of the Pilgrim ship Mayflower on its journey to the New World. He was initially the governor of passengers on the ship Speedwell until that ship was found to be unseaworthy, and later on the Mayflower, until replaced by John Carver. He was a signatory to the Mayflower Compact. He and his family all perished in the first winter at Plymouth Colony.

Nathaniel Philbrick American author

Nathaniel Philbrick is an American author of history, winner of the National Book Award, and finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. His maritime history, In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex, which tells the true story that inspired Melville's Moby-Dick, won the 2000 National Book Award for Nonfiction and was adapted as a film in 2015.

Thomas Prence was an English born colonist who arrived in the colony of Plymouth in November 1621 on the ship Fortune. In 1644 he moved to Eastham, which he helped found, returning later to Plymouth. For many years, he was prominent in Plymouth colony affairs, and was colony governor for about twenty years, covering three terms.

Great Swamp Fight 1675 battle of King Philips War

The Great Swamp Fight or the Great Swamp Massacre was a crucial battle fought during King Philip's War between the colonial militia of New England and the Narragansett tribe in December 1675. It was fought near the villages of Kingston and West Kingston in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. The combined force of the New England militia included 150 Pequots, and they inflicted a huge number of Narragansett casualties, including many hundred women and children. The battle has been described as "one of the most brutal and lopsided military encounters in all of New England's history." Since the 1930s, Narragansett and Wampanoag people commemorate the battle annually in a ceremony initiated by Narragansett-Wampanoag scholar Princess Red Wing.

<i>Mayflower</i> 17th-century ship of American colonists

Mayflower was an English ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After a grueling 10 weeks at sea, Mayflower, with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, reached America, dropping anchor near the tip of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, on November 21 [O.S. November 11], 1620.

New England Colonies Place

The New England Colonies of British America included Connecticut Colony, the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Plymouth Colony, and the Province of New Hampshire, as well as a few smaller short-lived colonies. The New England colonies were part of the Thirteen Colonies and eventually became five of the six states in New England, with Plymouth Colony absorbed into Massachusetts and Maine separating from it. Captain John Smith's 1616 work A Description of New England first applied the term "New England" to the coastal lands from Long Island Sound to Newfoundland.

William White (<i>Mayflower</i> passenger)

William White was a passenger on the Mayflower. Accompanied by his wife Susanna, son Resolved and two servants, he travelled in 1620 on the historic voyage. He was a signatory to the Mayflower Compact and perished early in the history of Plymouth Colony.

In the fall of 1621 the Fortune was the second English ship destined for Plymouth Colony in the New World, one year after the voyage of the Pilgrim ship Mayflower. Financed as the Mayflower was by Thomas Weston and others of the London-based Merchant Adventurers, Fortune was to transport thirty-five settlers to the colony on a ship that was much smaller than Mayflower. The Fortune required two months to prepare for the voyage and once underway, reached Cape Cod on 9 November 1621 and the colony itself in late November. The ship was unexpected by those in Plymouth colony and although it brought useful settlers, many of whom were young men, it brought no supplies, further straining the limited food resources of the colony. The ship only stayed in the colony about three weeks, returning to England in December loaded with valuable furs and other goods. But when nearing England, instead of heading to the English Channel, a navigation error caused the ship to sail south-east to the coast of France, where it was overtaken and seized by a French warship.

Susanna (Jackson) White Winslow was a passenger on the Mayflower and successively wife of fellow Mayflower passengers William White and Edward Winslow.

References

  1. "The 10 Best Books of 2006". The New York Times. 2006-11-29. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2016-05-20.
  2. "Nathaniel Philbrick » Reviews". www.nathanielphilbrick.com. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
  3. "Finalist: Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War, by Nathaniel Philbrick (Viking)". 2016. Retrieved May 20, 2016.