⇒ Libro Gratis Mayflower A Story of Courage Community and War Nathaniel Philbrick 9780670037605 Books

Mayflower A Story of Courage Community and War Nathaniel Philbrick 9780670037605 Books

Download As PDF : Mayflower A Story of Courage Community and War Nathaniel Philbrick 9780670037605 Books

Mayflower A Story of Courage Community and War Nathaniel Philbrick 9780670037605 Books

I purchased this non-fiction title soon after reading the author's In the Heart of the Sea. I found his research and presentation of little known history to be enlightening and educational. The topic of this work, while more mainstream, is nevertheless mired in myth and misinformation. The details of early New England colonization, Native American relations and conflict are not commonly known. In that respect, I found this work to be well worth the time.

The history is roughly evenly divided between the struggles faced by the early Pilgrims and Puritans and the conflict which ensued, culminating in King Philip's War, named after the relatively minor local sachem that sparked the rebellion. Not surprisingly, the author paints the Native American tribes as sympathetic figures, and in many cases rightly so. However, it is likely easy for him to do so in his heated study, well sated by a good meal, safe and secure in his person and possessions. The early American settlers were not so lucky.

It is a common misconception to view the local inhabitants as a homogenous, cohesive unit, when in fact they were split between dozens of tribes, some friendly, others not so much. As the story reveals, many Native Americans switched their loyalties repeatedly, making trust a major issue. It is beyond dispute that the American settlers and their subsequent generations badly mistreated the Native Americans, however it is naïve to suggest that, given greater understanding and empathy, the two sides might have peacefully coexisted. The clash of cultures, lifestyles and beliefs, coupled with the increasing flood of new immigrants made the ultimate result inevitable.

All in all, a good accurate history lesson on a topic, though familiar in the broadest sense, not so much as it relates to the details. And as we all know, the Devil is in the details.


Tags : Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War [Nathaniel Philbrick] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <div> From the perilous ocean crossing to the shared bounty of the first Thanksgiving, the Pilgrim settlement of New England has become enshrined as our most sacred national myth. Yet,Nathaniel Philbrick,Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War,Viking Adult,0670037605,HIS036100,United States - State & Local - New England,Indians of North America;Wars;1600-1750.,Massachusetts;History;New Plymouth, 1620-1691.,Pilgrims (New Plymouth Colony).,1600-1750,1639-1718,Church, Benjamin,,History,History - U.S.,History United States Colonial Period (1600-1775),History United States General,History United States State & Local New England (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT),History: American,Indians of North America,Massachusetts - Local History,Pilgrims (New Plymouth Colony),U.S. History - Colonial Period (1607-1775),United States - Colonial Period,Wars

Mayflower A Story of Courage Community and War Nathaniel Philbrick 9780670037605 Books Reviews

The book was quite interesting. It certainly varies from what I learned in grade school back in the '50s. The clash of cultures combined with the human tendencies on both sides brings closer to reality what happened back in the early Plymouth colony and the other Massachusetts and surrounding colonies. It is certainly worth a read. You don't have to be a history buff to enjoy it.
Excellent! The only criticism I have is that I wish it lasted longer. Very readable, and although I taught history at one time there are events brought to light that I did not know like French fisherman brought the plague to the East Coast. I mean I knew about the diseases brought by earlier explorers to North & South America but I did not know about the plague coming to the North East the year before the Pilgrims arrived. The implications are fascinating.
If you think the popular history of the pilgrims is an accurate and sufficient depiction of the actual events then you owe it to yourself to indulge in this fascinating book which is "lean" enough with the details to keep the reader moving along in this frank and vivid account of the origins of much of this country's history.The fact that 35 million of todays citizens are descendants from that small colony of early settlers is reason enough to warrant your time and attention.
As an amateur genealogist, I have managed to trace my family to the Mayflower. I read about the Plymouth settlements and the ships in high school, but I think we ignored this part of history in college. This book is so easy to read and so factual that I couldn't put it down. I have both the paperback and the kindle versions - I've found this is the best way to read any book I want to retain and understand fully.
A good read for sure but the title is a little misleading. This book is centered around two specific events and the transition between the two is rather rough. The first 150 pages are about the Mayflower voyage, the first Puritan settlement in Plymouth, Massachusetts and their symbiotic relationship with the Pokanoket tribe. The focus of the second half of the book is the Puritan vs. Indian conflict known as King Philip’s War. This involves all of New England and happened about 65 years after the Plymouth settlement is established. Frankly, I was a little lost during the transition and it was a hard to follow for a few pages. I think that a more appropriate title would have helped. Something like the “Mayflower and King Phillip’s War” or “The Puritans in the New World 1610-1676” would have been more accurate.

The settlement in Plymouth would not have survived the first year if it were not for their relationship with the Pokanoket Indians. The New England tribes were decimated by European diseases which they had no resistance to. Historians surmise that it was the plague that struck them in the first decade of the 17th century. The plague killed up to 90% of the Indians that had inhabited New England. The area where the pilgrims would eventually establish the first settlement of Plymouth had contained thousands of Indians just a few years prior to Mayflower's arrival. When the Pilgrims arrived it was unoccupied.

The Pokanoket tribe was hit especially hard by the plague and they were weakened more so than several of the neighboring tribes. These tribes, such as the Narrangasetts, took advantage of their weakened neighbors. The Pokanoket chief, Massasoit, leveraged his relationship with the Pilgrims to survive against the Narrangasetts. The two groups more than co-existed. The two groups had a symbiotic relationship. Unfortunatly, the Pilgrim’s ancestors had forgotten how critical the Pokanokets were to the survival of their forefathers. Subsequent generations of Puritans took advantage of the Indians. This led to a war with the Pokanokets that on a per capita basis was the bloodiest war in the history of North America.

The lessons gleaned form the pages of this book have been repeated over and over again throughout history. Bad policy started King Phillip’s war. It could have been easy to avoid. Revenge was taken by the frustrated Puritans who could not catch the warring factions so they conveniently took revenge against praying and neutral tribes. On the other side, allies of Pokanoket sachem King Phillip killed the relatives of Plymouth descendants of whom King Phillip considered friends. The conflict spiraled out of control.

The war was not going well for the Puritans until Mayflower descendant Benjamin Church recruited a strike force of Puritans and Indians from friendly tribes. He was able to convince warring Indians to change sides and join Church’s party. Church granted them amnesty and these Indians in-turn taught Church their tactics. They taught the Puritans how to move without being detected and how to avoid ambushes and how to set them. Church and his combined strike force used these tactics to hunt down King Phillip and to end the war.

The book gives Benjamin Church his due as one of the first great early American Indian fighters that you never heard of. Like the pilgrims, Church would not have been successful without his reliance on friendly Native Americans.

Enjoy the book.
I purchased this non-fiction title soon after reading the author's In the Heart of the Sea. I found his research and presentation of little known history to be enlightening and educational. The topic of this work, while more mainstream, is nevertheless mired in myth and misinformation. The details of early New England colonization, Native American relations and conflict are not commonly known. In that respect, I found this work to be well worth the time.

The history is roughly evenly divided between the struggles faced by the early Pilgrims and Puritans and the conflict which ensued, culminating in King Philip's War, named after the relatively minor local sachem that sparked the rebellion. Not surprisingly, the author paints the Native American tribes as sympathetic figures, and in many cases rightly so. However, it is likely easy for him to do so in his heated study, well sated by a good meal, safe and secure in his person and possessions. The early American settlers were not so lucky.

It is a common misconception to view the local inhabitants as a homogenous, cohesive unit, when in fact they were split between dozens of tribes, some friendly, others not so much. As the story reveals, many Native Americans switched their loyalties repeatedly, making trust a major issue. It is beyond dispute that the American settlers and their subsequent generations badly mistreated the Native Americans, however it is naïve to suggest that, given greater understanding and empathy, the two sides might have peacefully coexisted. The clash of cultures, lifestyles and beliefs, coupled with the increasing flood of new immigrants made the ultimate result inevitable.

All in all, a good accurate history lesson on a topic, though familiar in the broadest sense, not so much as it relates to the details. And as we all know, the Devil is in the details.