| Title | : | God, War, and Providence: The Epic Struggle of Roger Williams and the Narragansett Indians against the Puritans of New England |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle |
| Number of Pages | : | - |
| Publication | : | Scribner |
A devout Puritan minister in seventeenth century New England, Roger Williams was also a social critic, diplomat, theologian, and politician who fervently believed in tolerance. Yet his orthodox brethren were convinced tolerance fostered anarchy and courted Gods wrath. Banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635, Williams purchased land from the Narragansett Indians and laid the foundations for the colony of Rhode Island as a place where Indian and English cultures could flourish side by side, in peace.
As the seventeenth century wore on, a steadily deepening antagonism developed between an expansionist, aggressive Puritan culture and an increasingly vulnerable, politically divided Indian population. Indian tribes that had been at the center of the New England communities found themselves shunted off to the margins of the region. By the 1660s, all the major Indian peoples in southern New England had come to accept English authority, either tacitly or explicitly. All, except one: the Narragansetts.
In God, War, and Providence James A. Warren transforms what could have been merely a Pilgrim version of cowboys and Indians into a sharp study of cultural contrasta well researched cameo of early America ( The Wall Street Journal). He explores the remarkable and little known story of the alliance between Roger Williamss Rhode Island and the Narragansett Indians, and how they joined forces to retain their autonomy and their distinctive ways of life against Puritan encroachment. Deeply researched, Warrens well written monograph contains a great deal of insight into the tactics of war on the frontier ( Library Journal) and serves as a telling precedent for white Native American encounters along the North American frontier for the next 250 years.
God, War, and Providence: The Epic Struggle of Roger Williams and the Narragansett Indians against the Puritans of New England Reviews
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If you have patriots from early Rhode Island or nearby New England colonies, this is good reading on relations with the Indians of the territory. There is a lot of history of Roger Williams who was America's leading advocate for religious freedom. He and the Narrangansett tribe of Indians waged a 40 year resistance to the Puritans and Massachusetts and Connecticut. King Philip's War is covered.
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Coming from the region about which Warren writes, knowing that this fellow lives here, too, makes God, War, and Providence and its message doubly haunting. Anxious to show that he's a military man, in rhetoric and in photo, Warren embarks upon the story of the Narragansetts with no nonsense Teddy Roosevelt like vigor.
That story is not one of doctrine, but of business objectives. This business first attitude drove Roger Williams into the wilderness in counter distinction. But, the predation never stopped, and seemingly, could not stop. One society, literate and imbued with technical skill, came in contact with another, far less skilled and far less brutal.
Warren tells the story well and differently. Take a look at the pic on the dust jacket; it says a lot.
Guy walks into a bar, takes a seat, expects to hold forth. And runs into a guy who turns out to be smart as hell. -
James Warren has done a nice job pulling together the primary and secondary sources to produce a very readable and informative history of early (1636 1676 or less) Rhode Island. There are really two intertwined stories here a depiction of RI's visionary founder Roger Williams and then the tragic Indian wars of the1670s. Warren makes the case that Williams led RI was unique in its early good relations with the Narragansetts and other tribes but that was not enough in the end to prevent the wars that ended the Native American autonomy in Southern New England.
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If you like New England History then you should read this book. It's the best piece I've read on the Puritan/Colonial Period and the native/Indian population of New England. Well written and easy to read.
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As a bit of a history buff who was born and raised in Massachusetts, this book was a "fresh" look at our little neighbor to the south (its founding, anyway). I had heard of Roger Williams, that he was a dissenter from the Puritans who went off to found his own colony, but I never realized how important were his ties to the Narragansett Indians or, for that matter, how important the Narragansetts were in early New England history. Fun read, I was fascinated throughout.
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This book delivers an interesting telling of a somewhat neglected tale I grew up in RI and knew the outlines, but Warren has filled in the details and given a much deeper view of the history that we too rarely focus on, that is, Native American relations with the early English settlers. The book also gives insight into the early English settlers' activities and relations with England. Warren has done the research and brings the story to us in a serious yet flowing narrative. The true mark of a good read: it made me want to know .
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There are lots of books on this subject in whole or in part. Lots of rehash of old stuff which will be repetitious to anyone with a prior interest and knowledge of Williams, Narragansett Indians, KIng Phillip's War, etc. OK book for first timers but otherwise disappointing. There were also a number of typos, wrong dates.
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As a resident I learned quite a bit by reading this book. I found it very interesting considering my ignorance of the history of this state. I had hear of Rodger Williams only briefly in my studies of state history. This shines a whole new light on Rodger Williams for me.
Thank you for creating this book it's been a pleasure to read