This scholarly, detailed history from the first calamitous settlement at Jamestown in 1607 to the agonies of the Salem witch-trials and beyond, shows how the English colonies became an independent nation. The most original facet is the accent on the colonists: English men and women, deeply conservative, intolerant, hankering for older, purer forms of hierarchy and discipline. Self-righteous, fundamentalist, cruel and unforgiving as they undoubtedly were, their extraordinary courage produced forces which lit the fuse for revolution.
(Kathie Somerwil Ayrton - bwl 75 Winter 2015 ) |
