Caleb Johnson is a descendant of the pilgrims who came over on the Mayflower, and he has provided a mammoth website of materials related to the first New England Settlement. He describes Mourt’s Relation as “This journal, written by several Pilgrims--namely William Bradford and Edward Winslow--records events at Plymouth from the Mayflower's arrival in November 1620 through the First Thanksgiving in October 1621, and everything in between” You will need to download all sections of this text eventually, so why not do them all now?
For Monday, September 8
News Flash!!
A version of New England's Prospect is now available online courtesy of Google Books. (Google does everything, doesn't it?) The version is the version published by the Prince Society in 1865, which is a facsimile of the original publication. Take a look at it, and enjoy it for the old style printing and spelling, as well as for the woodcuts which decorate it. You'll see what a favor Dr. Vaughan has done for you. I'd be curious whether you're recommend relying on this version in future offerings of the course, or whether I should continue using the Vaughn edition. What do you think?
For Wednesday, September 10
ADDITIONAL Internet work.
If you haven’t downloaded and installed Google Earth on your computer
occasion to play around with both of these programs during
the semester.
Read, in Wood, Part I, Chapters 10-12, pp. 57-74
Note here the number of "plantations" Wood mentions. This will become significant as you begin to investigate town formation in early New England in the next unit of the course. In fact, why not make a list of them. (Lists help focus the mind).
Following his discussion of flora and fauna, Wood turns his attention to the indigenous Native American Population. Much of the material in Mourt's Relation also concerns contact with Native Americans.
I want you to be observant of attitudes and prejudices which the narratives contain.
What similarities are there and what differences between our sources?
Are there ways to explain the differences?
You'll find a mixed bag, here, with positive and negative observations. Take note (and notes, if that's helpful) of each.
The link takes you to the website of a private wildlife sanctuary. Prowl around the website to see what kinds of intormation it contains (and what it doesn't contain which surprises you).
It was established by a private individual and you will want to think about the motivation behind its establishment.
An internet resource for indigenous ethno-technology focusing on the arts of Eastern Woodland Indian Peoples, providing historical & contemporary background with instructional how-to's & references
The rather difficult to read button above highlights an idea we need to keep in mind. Commonly we think of the Europeans as being posessors of "technology" while the Native Americans were not. Both communities had technology of a sort, and many of the techniques used by Native Americans were more appropriate to New England than the technologies of the English colonists. Click on the button above and visit NativeTech.org. Investigate some of the ways Native Americans used the natural resources of their region. Some of these were adopted by Europeans, some not. The narrations in Mourt's Relation may offer some insight as to why more Native American technology wasn't adopted.