Introduction
Lecture 9 presents many facts and observations concerning the viewpoints and lifestyles of the first settlers of New England. For me, it was important to discover that Pilgrims were just commoners, hardworking people who wanted to establish some extent of independence in their ways of life and worshiping Christ. They felt a variety of economic upheavals, confrontations, rising prices, famine, and other troubles that befell them back in England, and arranged the first English settlement in Plymouth in 1620 (Turner, 2020). In 20 years, the number of immigrants reached 30,000, although the inhabitants of the Chesapeake Bay were not pilgrims and lived by feudal rules.
Discussion
At the same time, residents of Boston, Plymouth, and Salem had a way of life that rested on equality, faith in God, hard work, and compliance with laws. Interestingly, the patriarchy of this society was defined by urgent practical problems: while men did construction, clearing, and harvesting, women worked at home, cooking food, sewing clothes, and making soap or cheese. The settlements of Englishmen were traditional and differed from the communities of Indians, whom the Puritans considered wild, lazy, and not inclined to subjugate the land. The Puritans were afraid that the devil would tempt them to become like Indians, so they valued order very much. Settlers paid attention to visits to the church, as it supported their morale and served as a guarantee of the settlers’ compliance with the laws.
No less interesting was the description of the first Thanksgiving, which took place in Plymouth in 1621 and reflected the cooperation of Pilgrims and Indians. On this day, the Indians, who had already been exhausted by the epidemics of 1617 and 1619, supported the Puritans and agreed on peace and trade relations.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Indians and the Puritans negotiated with the assistance of the translator Patuxent Tisquantum, who had previously been kidnapped, and spent five years in Europe before returning to his native American shores. On the first Thanksgiving, the Indians agreed to teach Puritans how to grow corn, which later became a widespread crop.
Reference
Turner, J. G. (2020). They knew they were Pilgrims: Plymouth colony and the contest for American Liberty. Yale University Press.