Survey of American Literature I

Christopher Columbus

· 1451-1506

· born in Genoa, Italy

· developed a plan to find a commercially viable Atlantic route to Asia; won the support of the Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, in 1492

· 4 voyages between 1492 and 1504: “discovery” of the “New World” (the West Indies, Central America, South America) at San Salvador; actually not the first, but established the first LASTING European contact with the Americas

· The voyages started off great, but degenerated into frustration, a strained relationship with the Spanish crown, and even arrest (actually brought back to Spain in chains in 1500).

· The initially friendly relationship between the Taino Indians in Hispaniola went sour as the settlers Columbus left behind demanded gold and sexual partners. When Columbus returned in 1494 (2nd voyage), none of the Europeans were alive.

· 3rd voyage: He returns to Spanish settlers in open rebellion against him in 1498. A truce was reached at the expense of the to-be-enslaved Taino Indians.

· 4th voyage: 1502; experienced virtual breakdown; eventually rescued and brought back, but died shortly after

John Winthrop

· 1588-1649

· born in Groton, England

· Puritan lawyer and leader who helped found the Massachusetts Bay Colony; chosen governor in 1629

· gave the sermon “A Model of Christian Charity” aboard the Arbella; lays out the ideals of harmonious Christian community while also reminding his fellow Puritan emigrants that they would stand as an example to the world (“a city upon a hill”); considered a seminal document of AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM

· unlike William Bradford and the Pilgrims, not a Separatist; wanted to reform the Church of England from within (particularly of Catholic influences begun wholesale by the ascension to the throne of Charles I)

Roger Williams

· c. 1603-1683

· born in London, England

· banished from the Massachusetts colony by Puritan leaders for “spreading dangerous ideas,” but left for Rhode Island before officials could seize him in Salem to ship him back to England

· would become the founder of Providence Plantation (the future capital of the state), which would act as a welcoming colony of religious liberty for religious refugees; the first of its kind: a colony whose very royal charter guaranteed “freedom of conscience”—foundationally “American” idea, to even later be included in the 1791 Bill of Rights

· befriended and sheltered with the Narragansett Indians in Rhode Island

· WHAT GOT HIM IN TROUBLE IN MASSACHUSETTS: undermined the theocracy’s authority, disputed the legitimacy of the land title (belongs to the Natives), said that any “unregenerate” (non-Puritan) person wasn’t required to attend church or take the oath in a court of law, and proposed a wall of SEPARATION BETWEEN CHURCH AND STATE

· was himself similar to a “Seeker”: nondenominational, akin to Quakerism, believing that the will of God is obscure and that no church has any authority because there is simply no human way to truly know (awaiting revelation from God himself)

· respected and humanized the Indians, even in his wish to convert them (not “heathens” or “barbarians”); however, was deeply disappointed over the Narragansetts’ ultimate decision to stray from peace and join in King Philip’s War (burning white settlements in Rhode Island)

· was also an early abolitionist

Mary Rowlandson’s A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson

· c. 1637-1711

· born in Somersetshire, England

· a colonial American woman who was captured and held for 11 weeks (a little over 2 months; Feb. – May of 1676; Lancaster, Massachusetts) before being ransomed by Native Americans during King Philip’s War; arguably the most famous victim of the war

· King Philip’s War: (June 1675 – August 1676)

“King Philip”: Metacomet, Wampanoag chief, second son of Massasoit (who had helped the Pilgrims!); led a year-long series of attacks on English colonial settlements across New England

Direct cause: the execution in Plymouth, Massachusetts, of 3 of Philip’s Wampanoag tribesmen

Indirect causes: Native American starvation and desperation to retain their lands; a last-ditch effort by the Wampanoags and their allies to halt further expansion by the colonists

Result: Philip slain; his wife and children sold into slavery in the West Indies; the end of independent American Indian power in New England; over 1200 colonial houses burned; about 600 English colonials dead; about 300 American Indians dead

· the wife of a Lancaster minister, Joseph Rowlandson

· Her narrative is considered a seminal example of the American genre of “Indian captivities,” or, more generally, “captivity narratives”—influential through fictionalization by the likes of James Fenimore Cooper and William Faulkner.

QUIZZ / DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Through the example of Mary Rowlandson’s work, what appear to be some consistent themes and subjects of American “Indian captivity” narratives? (THIS IS NOT A QUESTION, BUT A NOTE)

· the spiritual, moral, and HUMAN superiority of the captive (vs. the captor)

· the consolation and strength of the Christian religion and identity within captivity; mixed blessing from God to be more appreciative

· the power of PATHOS and SENTIMENT (the sentimental; sentimentality)—death of wounded 6-year-old daughter

· HOME and HOMECOMING as religious metaphor

2. Though Rowlandson is being truthful about the brutal actions of the Native Americans involved in King Philip’s War, what facts are clearly being left out (either deliberately or out of ignorance)?

(See all of the introductory notes above, at the beginning of this handout.)

Cotton Mather

· 1663-1728

· born in Boston, Massachusetts; the son of Increase Mather; attended Harvard College

· the heir apparent to the Congregational hierarchy that had dominated the churches of New England for almost 50 years

· lots of tragedy and disappointment in his life: first 2 wives died, watched 3rd go insane, only 2 of his 15 children lived until his death; rejected for presidency of Harvard (father was president of Harvard)

· has come to represent the worst in Puritan culture given his own historical accounts; often blamed for the Salem witch trials (though he never attended any of them)

· THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS: (Feb. 1692 – May 1693)

1. from a wave of religious hysteria (from fear/demonization of Indians and resulting widespread belief in witchcraft as the Devil’s means of thwarting the Puritan communal project)

2. resulted in the deaths of 20 innocent people (mostly by hanging, but also from death in prison); 2 most often mentioned/best known—Martha Carrier and Tituba

The Wonders of the Invisible World:

· 1692-1693

· Notice the demonization of the Indians and aligning them with the Devil to promote Puritan (American) exceptionalism; the Devil trying to thwart Puritanism: “the devil’s territories,” “the heathen”

· the discovery of witchcraft

· apocalyptic; the Devil’s apparent subtlety in probably making even the INNOCENT confess

· wasn’t actually present; “not as an advocate, but as an historian”

· the community’s turning on Martha Carrier (even her own children)

· “This rampant hag, Martha Carrier”; how the Devil had promised her to be “Queen of the Hebrews”