« March, 2007 »
Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War 
by Nathaniel Philbrick (2006)
read: 29 March 2007
rating: [+]
category: non-fiction
I finished reading Mayflower last night. To say my American history education was a little off on what really happened around Plymouth would be an understatement. - Within 24 hours of landing on shore, the Pilgrims had stolen corn from the natives. They did ultimately pay it back a year later to help smooth over a dispute. - The Pilgrims came to the New World in search of religious freedom, for themselves. They had no interest in allowing free choice in that area for anybody else though. - The Pilgrims considered religious celebrations to be blasphemous. They certainly would not have been on board with Thanksgiving. They did have a feast with their native neighbors, but they didn’t mix fun and religion. - They didn’t believe marriage was a religious issue. All marriages were civil affairs. - I got though high school history without ever hearing of King Philip’s War. It was the more deadly than the Civil War. About 8% of the colonist population and 12% of the native population perished in the fighting. The Pilgrims managed to live peacefully (more or less) with the natives for about 50 years before competition for land and natural resources caused tensions to flare and led to war. The war was not native versus colonists either. Without significant native allies, the colonists would not have had a chance. - The Pilgrims were merciless bastards in war and believed the Bible justified selling native captives into slavery. Boatloads of women and children were sent south the the Caribbean Islands. - Indian culture and society was far more sophisticated than was presented in my history classes. - 10% of the country today can trace a branch of their family tree back to the original Plymouth settlement. The colonists were quite enthusiastic about recording the events of their lives. The truth was always out there, it was just whitewashed to present an idealized version of how this country started. I give the book the ‘ole 2 thumbs up.
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