Building a pilgrim utopia : identity, security and the contradiction of crosscultural affairs at new

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Lehigh University
Lehigh Preserve
Theses and Dissertations
2004
Building a pilgrim utopia : identity, security and the
contradiction of crosscultural affairs at new
Plymouth, 1620-1640
Joseph Ronald D'Argenio
Lehigh University
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Recommended Citation
D'Argenio, Joseph Ronald, "Building a pilgrim utopia : identity, security and the contradiction of crosscultural affairs at new Plymouth,
1620-1640" (2004).Theses and Dissertations.Paper 874.
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D'Argenio, Joseph
Ronald
Building a Pilgrim
Utopia: Identity,
Security and the
Contradiction of
Crossc uItu ra I
Affairs at ...
September 2004
BUILDING APILGRIM UTOPIA:
IDENTITY, SECURITY AND THE CONTRADICTION OF CROSSCULTURAL
AFFAIRS AT NEW PLYMOUTH, 1620-1640
by
Joseph Ronald D'Argenio
AThesis
Presented to the Graduate and Research Committee
OfLehigh University
In Candidacy for the Degree of
Mastcr ofArts
111
Thc Department ofHistory
Lehigh Univcrsity
January 26. 2004

CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES. ......... .......................................
IV
ABSTRACT .
INTRODUCTION. ........................ ........................ 3
CHAPTER 1: IDENTITY AND THE IDEOLOGY OF COLONIZATION. .... 20
CHAPTER2: THE INDIAN WORLD. ........ .. .. ............... ... .. 46
CHAPTER 3: COLONIAL ADAPTATIONS AND ACRISIS OF COMMUNAL
IDENTITY. ..................................................... 60
CHAPTER4: MOUNTING TENSIONS. ...... ........................ 100
CHAPTER 5: MILITARIZATION 114
CONCLUSION. .......................... ........................ 127
BIBLIOGRAPHY. ................................................ 129
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY. ..................... ........................ 134
111
LISTOF TABLES
Table Page
I. Percent ofall Court Actions by Main Categories. ...................... 85
2. Percentages ofMain CategoryOrders byYear. ....................... 88
3. Percent Changes in Frequency ofMain CategoryOrders by Year. ........ 93
4. Frequency Changes within Religious and Moral Subdivisions by Year. .... 94
5. Frequency ofOrders within Security Subdivisions 117
6. Frequency ofCourt Ordered Security Measures in New Plymouth by Year.. 119
I\"
ABSTRACT
Duringthe 1620's and 1630's, Plymouth colony settlers set outto establish
their vision ofan idealized society in North America. However, during the initial
decades ofcolonization,New Englandwas aregion dominated byNative American
peoples: theirsubsistence, trade, political, diplomatic and military systems played a
defining role in the development ofthe Plymouth colonyand the characterof
intercultural relations. The influence ofNative Americans helped to determine the
degree to which New World immigrants were able to create aviable autonomous
community according to theirown standards and interests. Colonists adapted to their
new environment with varying degrees ofsuccess by adopting Native American
agricultural practices, participating in pre-existing trade patterns, establishing
relationships with Native American groups through "Indian" diplomatic patterns, and
adapting theirown agricultural and commercial traditions to the realities ofNew
England. To achieve aself-sustaining agricultural conuilUnity, settlers diffused
throughout the colony, increasing theirexposure to Native American peoples and
vulnerability to possible hostilities. Simultaneously, colonists engaged in commercial
activities involving Native Americans to remain a viable economic unit within the
North Atlantic economy. In both cases, interaction between cultures, and the
potential for conflict, was unavoidable. Plymouth society was militarized in
consequencc. Interaction threatened cultural homogencity and colonial leaders
adhered to an oppositional ideology by which to guide interrelationships. Conscious
ofthe transfonllati\'c adaptations undcrgonc to achie\'c economic and military sclf..
sutlicicncy. Plymouth clites stmggJcd to definc thcmseh-cs in relation to thcir 7\ativc
American neighbors. In seekingto build an autonomous English community in New
England, colonists became enmeshed in Native American politics, economics, and
diplomacy. The crucial question for Plymouth leaders was how to live andparticipate
in this Indianworld while maintainingtheircultural identity. Throughoutthe first
two decades ofsettlement, colonists found themselves livingand participatingwithin
this world, while struggling to achieve self-sufficiency, autonomy, and self-definition.
...
INTRODUCTION
During the openingyears ofcolonization inNew England, Plymouth settlers
tried to establish their vision ofan ideal society in North America. Colonists hoped to
escape what they considered religious persecution and the denigrationoftheirculture
and society. In 1608, a Pilgrimcongregation led by PastorRichardClyfton and
assistant ministerJohn Robinson pursued thatend by immigratingto Holland from
their former homes in England's northern counties. There they entered into
communities quite different than theirown, and especially different from the
idealized society they hoped to establish. Many Pilgrim separatists decided that
integration into aforeign community resulted in numerous undesirable social and
cultural changes. The behavioroftheiryoung people most especially concerned
Pilgrim leaders. To those leaders, religious faith appeared to wane, immorality
increased, familiar traditions weakened, and community cohesion eroded.
Church and community leaders, including William Brewster, William
Bradford, and John Robinson, proposed another migration to counteract that
perceived tendency and to eliminate the negative influences ofexposure to a
divergent culture and society. Aminority ofthe Separatistcommunity in the Dutch
city ofLeiden decided that North America offered amore suitable location for
establishing asociety based on their ideals. The Leiden group securedassistance
from agroup ofEnglish businessmen callcd the "Advcnturers:' and thc English
go\Tnlmcnt issucd apatent authorizing scttlemcnt in northcrn Virginia to
businessman John Pierce. AHcrabricfdelay in England. 102 migrants. including
.3
both Separatists and non-Separatist"Strangers,") set sail for North America in 1620.
Having landed in New England, outside the Virginiacolony and thejurisdictionof
the Anglican Church, the colonists, led byGovernorJohn Carver, formed acivil body
politic through an agreement ofincorporation latercalled the MayflowerCompact.
In 1621, John Carverdied and was succeededby William Bradford as governorand
Isaac Allerton as governing assistant. Under Bradford's leadership, the Pilgrim
community struggled to build a viable New World society according to theirown
standards and interests.
AnumberofNative American communities existed in New England when the
Pilgrims established Ncw Plymouth in 1620. Although permanent colonial
settlements did not exist in thc region priorto the Separatistarrival, many New
England Indians were familiar with Europeans. Western European whalers and
fishermen visited the coastal waters ofNewfoundland as early as the 1480's. By the
beginning ofthe sixteenth century, those Europeans and Native Americans of
northern New England established contact and casual trade arrangements. By 1524,
explorerGiovanni da Verrazzano visited Narragansett Bay and its people. Sporadic
encounters, peaceful and hostile alike, became more common in the region as the
century progressed, especially after the 1570's. In 1602, Indians around t\tartha's
Vineyard and Buzl.1rd's Bay encountered BartholomewGosnold and his companions
during their fiye-week stay in the region. Nauset Indians ncar Proyincetown
familiarized thcmselyes with the Martin Pring expedition the following year, while
1When the Pitpims leit fN America in 1620.theybrou~ht with themre0ple whowere n0tmellll'ers
oftheirchurches. Altll(1u~h illll11ifratinfto;\ew En~1Jndf0r theirown reJS0m. the "StrJn~crs"
contributednecessary financial surr<'rtand rers0nnc1 fN the Pil~ril11s" j0umeyto PlyJ11l'uth.