- What were the three main arguments about the Pequot War that Vaughan tried to refute in this essay?
- What is Vaughan's interpretation of the causes of the Pequot War?
- How does the time in which an author was writing affect his/her interpretation of the Pequot War? What is another example of a historical topic whose treatment might be influenced by the era in which it was being discussed?
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Readings for 5/28
Re: Vaughan, ch. 8. Choose one of the questions below and answer in a paragraph.
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The time period in which the author is writing can affect the interpretation of the event that occured. In this instance, it is the Pequot War. Just after the Pequot War, The Puritans and English settlers would of course written that they were in the right and that the Indians had attacked them and were "savages and as Vaughan states, "minions of Satan." As time goes on, new evidence is discovered and new information about what really happened may come to light. This can change the viewpoint of many, including authors, because the new information that has come out about the history of the Pequot War. This may change the viewpoint and engage the debate of what really happened during that time period.
Another example of a historical topic whose treatment might be influenced by the era in which it was discussed in would be the treatment of the Indians by the English leading up to the Virginia Massacre in 1622, or just the treatement of Indians overall by the English during the beginning forms of colonization of the New World.
The first thing Vaughan does is argue the established explanations: Pequot aggression, Puritan aggression and Puritan cupidity. He claims the aggression should be shared equally. Both the Puritans and the Pequot were belligerent and aggressive. Vaughan dismisses land and greed and argues the Pequot/Puritan “concepts of law and sovereignty”. The Puritan’s belief in authority dominated any negotiations over criminal jurisdiction.
The interpretation that Vaughan takes in regards to the causes of the Pequot war are. The first one is Pequot aggression. He mentions that they were hated by the other Native American tribes and describes them as brutal. Another cause for the war was the Puritan aggression Vaughan describes them as always unreasonable and land hungry. The third is that their were tensions between the Puritans and the Pequots that also led up to the war.
When looking back on history, time can create an important lens to view it with. From the comfort of the twentieth century, we can see the various circumstances that played into the Pequot War. Interpreters even three generations down the line sided wholly on the side of Puritan defense. To them, the Pequots were responsible 100%. By the time Vaughan wrote this essay, it was clear to him and others that the Puritans were just as responsible if not more so than the Pequots. And although blame can still be placed on the side of the Pequots, from our time we can see the mix of causes that went into the hostilities. Another historical era that changes views depending on the times is the Roman Empire. During the reign of the Empire, you better believe that everything written about was only positive. From today, or even two hundred years ago, we can see how brutal they were to their conquered enemies, slaves, and even their own citizens.
Vaughan lists three reasons why the Pequot War happened. Out of those three he believes two of them. One cause was Puritan agression. The second reason was Indian agression. The third reason, they one Vaughan does not believe in, is Puritan greed. Greed is not a reason because at this time the Puritans were not land thristy, that will come later.
The three main arguments that Vaughan tried to refute in the essay were Pequot aggression, Puritan aggression, and Puritan cupidity. The evidence that previous scholars have used for Pequot aggression is that they were a very unpopular tribe among other Native Americans. So much that other tribes willingly joined the English forces to fight them. For the second reason scholars argue that Puritans were unreasonable with the Pequot. There are two main points to this argument, first, the demands of Pequot concessions for Captain John Stone even though he was a ‘persona non grata’ in the colony, and second the unnecessary brutality of Endecott’s expedition. The third and final argument, Puritan cupidity is based on the knowledge that English settlers were seeking land that they would have otherwise never dreamed of in England. That was their main goal and would do anything necessary to obtain it, even war.
As time passes, more and more information becomes available to historians in order to make accurate conclusions about events in history. This is the case with the Pequot War. Early writings concerning the Pequot War were one-sided and based on limited knowledge. Information about the cause came from literate Puritans, and none from illiterate Indians. The Indians were unable to defend themselves at the time, leaving the impression that the Indians were mostly to blame for the war. As time goes on, additional facts and analysis by historians helps to create a truer conclusion of the causes of the Pequot War. The reading pointed out that the Puritans were not so "pure" and innocent as they claimed. Another event in history that has been re-analyzed over the years is World War I. As we discussed in class, sometimes events that cause a war are really just sparks and not the main cause. In the case of WWI, the spark was the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, by Serbians. The real reason for WWI, many historians agree, was the multiple alliances between all of the great emires of Europe. When one country declared war, all the other countries, by alliance were also pulled into it, making alliances the root cause of WWI.
The three main arguments that Vaughn presents about the Pequot war was; Puritan aggression, Pequot aggression, and Puritan cupidity. Vaughn agrees with the points that both the Pequots and the Puritans had aggression towards eachother but it was shared equally, no one group was more aggressive than the other. However the third argument Vaughn desputes bringing to the surface that the Puritans greed, especially over land had little to do with the war between the two groups. That there was an aboundance of land, which was not the issue of the time. Vaughn however suggests a few more reasons for the hostility between the two groups in the conclusion of his essay.
When one first reads Vaughan's interpretation about the Puritan-Pequot War, they will come to the conclusion that Indian aggression spurred the conflict between the two sides. Two different cases of murder by the Pequot tribe enrage the Puritan community, who demand justice to no avail. However, Vaughan then analyzes the cases of the murdered Englishmen and points out English aggression. The Puritans desired justice and reparations for their murdered companions but Vaughn argues that they demand too much in return. Vaughn's third viewpoint covers the Puritan's economic desires. Land lust, among animal pelts and wampum may have motivated the English to follow through in conflict against the Pequots. A desire to expand may have let the English to fight the Pequots and other tribes anyway, regardless of the murders of the Englishmen.
Vaughan says that three of the possible reasons for the Pequot War were Puritan aggression, Pequot aggression and Puritan greed. However, he thinks mostly it was caused by Puritan and Pequot aggression because land acquisition was not an issue at this time. The Puritans demanded too much in return for the murder of other colonists and were unnecessarily brutal to the Pequots in Endecott’s expedition. The Pequots were disliked by other Indian tribes which helps prove their aggression.
The causes to the Peqout war, according to Vaughan were once again, varied in thought. Vaughan describes the war as a "flagrant case of Puritan agression and Pequot self defense". This describes it as a product of English "territorial imperialism" with the Pequots fighting for their lives and for their land. Others believe that the Pequots "had it coming" in Lamens terms. The Pequots were known as a violent tribe and were enemies of other tribes because of their brutality. The Puritans and other enemies of the Pequot tribe in New England fought against the Pequots for THEIR lives and land. There also was a tension between the Pequots and the Puritans for a long time. It is suggested that the war could have stemmed from this past tension. Vaughan does not specifically "pin point" a reason for the war but he does offer up valid arguments as in to why the war began.
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