Literature of Conquest and ColonizationThe Norton Anthology of American Literature

Introduction• Diego Colón• Politics of “Discovery”• Earliest Settlers:

▫ 10,000BCE (and likely earlier…) Native creation narratives claim that the people always populated

the earth. Popular theory of the “land bridge” during the Ice Ages.▫ St. Brendan of Ireland in the 10th century (900s)

Sailed and detailed his voyages throughout the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea

Scholars speculate that his popular text documenting lands in the western Atlantic was known to Columbus.

▫ Leif Eriksson of Vikings in 11th century (1000s) Norse established trading outposts in Canada and attempted

colonization but gave up the idea after skirmishes with locals Recorded their accounts, detailed the “savagery” of the Natives

(“skraelings”)▫ Christopher Columbus in 15th century (1492)

Cristoforo Colombo; Cristóbal Colón

Introduction•Important Term/Concept: Colonization

▫ the establishment, exploitation, acquisition, and expansion of colonies in one territory by a group of people from another territory. Violence and Conflict

▫ To ensure control, the colonizing group tries to shape the cultural environment: education, religion, language, literature, songs, and other forms of expression Cultural Conquest

▫ To ensure control, the colonizing group dictates the economic terms to their benefit, at the expense of the colonized group Cross Cultural Exchange Cultural Appropriation

Introduction• Important Term/Concept: The Other (The big “o”)

▫ something that is viewed as and labelled culturally alien (and therefore inferior) Slavery, Exclusion, Conversion

• Understanding the natives▫ Placed in a Christian and European context

Europe in the midst of religious controversy and conflict at the time; paranoia and misunderstanding already rampant

Europe defined by war, conflict, and the race for national/religious superiority—natives become caught

▫ Assumption of Singularity in Native culture Plurality in Europe, assumed singularity in New World Divisions between peoples were sometimes fierce, capitalized by

Europeans▫ The importance of perspective and terminology

Literature (and history) are subjective narratives. Names: Skraeling; Cannibal

Introduction• Important Term/Concept: Narrative

▫Narrative is Literature is the only one type of narrative.

Literature refers to the medium of letters, the written form of narrative.

•Literature of the Period▫Written and permanently recorded by

Europeans, because of medium at work Europeans assumed no art or literature in Native

cultures because they did not work in the same “traditional” media.

▫Oral tradition of Natives is more insular and evolving—many not “recorded” until 19th century

Introduction• 1500-1700

▫ The Spanish In the South and the Southwest

▫ The British (English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh) In the Northeast and Atlantic Seaboard

▫ The Dutch In the Northeast

▫ The French In the Great Lakes region and in the “western” territories

▫ The Portuguese In Central/South America, diverting Spanish interests to

southern colonies• Important Terms/ Concepts: Plurality, Conflict,

Competition from the outset▫ European imports these in addition to what already

present

Introduction• American Literature as Literature of Experience

▫ American literature rooted in action experiencing world and then reflecting/commenting upon it European literature as more theoretical, scholastic, fantastic

St. Thomas More’s “Utopia” Arthurian Legends

• Important Term/Concept: The Pastoral Ideal▫ European Pastoral Ideal

Rooted in class origins; passive▫ American Pastoral Ideal

Rooted in new ideas of colonization; active▫ Related to idyllic landscape and the saving power of nature▫ Common themes:

Withdraw from society Nature as a haven Nature as provider Independence and Individuality Survival and Rebirth

“The Iroquois Creation Story” (20-23)• Background:

▫ Who are the Iroquois? ▫ How is the story both history and myth?

• Creation Story:▫ Who is the woman? Who are the monsters?▫ What is the function of the turtle?▫ Why are the children twins? What is the allegory of Enigorio

and Enigonhahetgea? What does Enigorio create? What does Enigonhahetgea create?

▫ Who are the Ea-gwe-howe?▫ How does Enigorio prevail over Enigonhahetgea?

• What larger understanding of Iroquois (and Native) culture can be garnered from this text?▫ How does this relate to larger American values? How does it

relate to universal, human values? Synchronicity, Universality, Archetype

Seneca Account: “The Story Telling Stone” (pdf)• Plot:

▫What is the general synopsis?▫What happens each time the boy goes to the

woods? How does his behavior change?• Character:

▫Who is Poyeshaon? What is the role of the other characters in the story?

• Themes:▫What are the ethical ends of the narrative? What

can we infer about Seneca culture, and what it values?

• Significance:▫How does this relate to larger American values?

How does it relate to universal, human values?

“Christopher Columbus”: Letters (24-28)• First Conquerors of Hispaniola (Española):

▫ 1492-1494; 1498-1500▫ Mediation: de las Casas and Columbus’ “journal”

• Letter to Luis de Santangel (1st Voyage)▫ Give credit where credit is due: a)____ b)____▫ Description of journey▫ They found “nothing of importance”▫ Description of the Islands

• Letter to Ferdinand and Isabella (4th Voyage)▫ The New World, 10 Years Later: ▫ Problems with new Spanish colonists:

What this says about Spain: What this says about Columbus:

▫ Columbus’ Treatment by the Colonists: IRONY▫ Columbus’ Request of the Crown:

Spanish Conquest of America: God, Glory, and Gold• Exploitation of People

• Conquest, Not Exploration: Reasons for distinctions• Objectives/Results: acquisition of commodity (and destruction)

> cultural growth and expansion of knowledge• Reasons for Conquest: Not as Legitimate Reasons:

1. Politics (La Malinche) 1. Intelligence2. Religion (Quetzakoatl) 2. Cultural Superiority3. Away Team Advantage 3. Technology

(Horses)4. Disease 4. Spanish Numbers

• Importing African Slaves: 1501, 1510, 1518, 1522• Fall of Tenochtitlán: 1521• Native Accounts: What do we mean by “American” literature?

Who is an “American” writer? What makes a text “American”?

Spanish Conquest of America• Hernan Cortes

▫ Background Encomienda in Cuba Problems with Governor of Cuba, Diego Velazquez After Aztec conquest…

▫ Second Letter to the Spanish Crown Why was he writing to the Spanish Crown? How does he describe Tenochtitlan/Temixitan?

Importance of bridges? Trading and markets? Religious tensions

What did Cortes do with the idols of the Aztecs? Reasons?

Differences in writing compared to Columbus

Spanish Conquest of America• Broken Spears: the Aztec Account of the

Conquest of Mexico▫Motecuhzoma’s Reaction to Scouts

“astonished and terrified”▫“Technology”: The Cannon and Its Effect

“If the cannon is aimed against a mountain, the mountain splits”

▫The Horse/Dog “These deer…are as tall as the roof of a house” “They are tireless and powerful”

▫Style and Food▫“Conquered by despair”

Reading Check #1

•What is one potential “problem” with the Letter to Captain Smith? (hint: introduction)

•What does Powhatan ask of Captain Smith at the end of the letter?

•Smith experienced some fame later in his life post-Virginia. What did he do?

•Describe how Captain Smith was attacked and captured by the Indians?

English Conquest of America• Exploitation of Land:

• Wealth, Separation as chief motivator• Objectives/Results: acquisition of land > cultural growth

and expansion of religion• Reasons for Conquest: Not as Legitimate Reasons:

1. Religion 1. Intermarriage2. Structure 2. Cultural Superiority3. Disease 3. Technology

4. Numbers• Importing African Slaves: 18th century• Native Accounts: What do we mean by “American”

literature? Who is an “American” writer? What makes a text “American”?

European Colonization of the AmericasSpanish Colonization English Colonization

• Conquest, then Conversion▫ Cultural Roots:

Catholicism• Social Structure:

▫ Spanish Peninsulares Creoles Mestizos Mulattoes

▫ Indians▫ Africans

• Points of Emphasis:▫ Gold and Land▫ Ownership and Labor

• Effect over Time:

• Colonization, not Conversion▫ Cultural Roots: Calvinism,

Puritanism (Church of England)

▫ Predestination▫ The Elect

• Social Structure:▫ English

Pastors Commoners Indentured Servants/Slaves

▫ Pilgrim = Puritan▫ The Other(s)

• Points of Commercial Emphasis:▫ Trade and Land▫ Labor

• Effect over Time:

Powhatan: “Letter to Captain John Smith” (p.53-54)•English Colonization: pace and approach

▫Meeting•Powhatan, or Wahunsonacock of the

Algonquin Confederacy, named subject-king by James I▫John Smith: frequently traveled up the

Chickahominy River for trade; captured and taken prisoner

▫Powhatan’s Major Points▫Powhatan’s Threat▫Problems with the Powhatan Narrative:

Captain John Smith: “The General History of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles” (57-68)• Jamestown: 1607-9

▫ Why were the colonists without enough food? (60)▫ What did Captain Smith do? (61)▫ Unrest in Jamestown—abandonment? (62)

• “The General History”:▫ Attack and Capture (63)

How did it happen?▫ Relations with Captors

What does he share with captain Opechancanough? (63) Near Execution (64) Corn Ceremony (65)

▫ Meeting Powhatan (66) Pocahantas’ Sacrifice (66) Powhatan’s Bounty (67) Smith’s Relief (68)

• Authorial Intent v. Cultural Impact

Captain John Smith: “A Description of New England” (69-72)•What is the purpose of this text?•What is the primary motive(s) for settlement?

▫Significance?•How does one achieve prosperity in the New

World?▫Significance?

•Authorial Intent v. Cultural Impact▫What message is Smith trying to convey? Why?

Is he successful? What is the legacy of his words?

Thomas Harriot’s “Invisible Bullets”

• “Time out of mind” (35)• “They were persuaded that it was the work of

our God through our means, and that we by him might kill and slay whom we would without weapons and not come near them” (36)▫Significance:

• Gods or men? ▫Why the confusion?▫Larger Implication:

• “Invisible Bullets”▫ Importance of Language

Literature of Colonial America, 1620-1776

Introduction• “New” England• Religious Background: Luther, Calvin, the Reformation

▫ Authority and Conformity▫ Function and Role of Power▫ Reason for Massachusetts Bay Colony:

Religious “Freedom”▫ Trouble in England unstable

• Voyage and Landfall▫ Positive Effects of Religion▫ Poor Planning, Poor Skills Poor Living Conditions

• Puritan Beliefs and Literature▫ Predestination and the Elect▫ Reason for Extensive Writing▫ Social Organization: “Democratic” Theocracy▫ Legacy of the Puritans:

• Native Americans▫ Ideological Differences with the Puritans▫ Classification by the Purtians

• A “Vale of Plenty”: The South▫ Narratives portray climate/land as idyllic, not cruel▫ Easier to farm/import labor more accommodating to a leisurely lifestyle

Write more traditional “literature” because of

Bradford/Winthrop Quiz1. According to Bradford, who are the “strangers”?2. How did Squanto know how to communicate with

the English settlers?3. Winthrop tells his constituents they will need to

be “a city upon a hill.” What are the consequences for failure?

4. William Bradford was the governor of what colony?

Bonus:• The Pilgrims sailed from which English city? (hint:

they have a soccer team named after the city)• What was John Winthrop’s profession before being

elected governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1629?

William Bradford: Of Plymouth Plantation)• Bradford Biography: (72-73)

▫ Pilgrims? separatist Bible (OT) as truth Hierarchy, Holy Days, Predestination, Sacraments, Marriage

▫ farmer first, intellectual second ▫ Separatism & Calvin model churches▫ Netherlands New World▫ Why Plymouth?▫ Governor of the Plymouth Settlement for 30+ years

• The Mayflower Compact: 1620▫ First Lines Loyalty to __________ and _________

Implication/meaning/problem(s)?▫ Civil Body Politic

Key Words: Purpose: Promise:

▫ Early reaction (and response):

Bradford Of Plymouth Plantation continued• Starving Time: (82-83)

▫ In debt to William Brewster and Cpt. Myles Standish Why?

▫ Sickness, Sailors, & Settlers Significance?

• Indian Relations (83-86)▫ Samoset and Squanto: how they came to speak English

Samoset Squanto

▫ Terms of Treaty▫ Importance of Squanto for Plymouth▫ Relations with Pocanockets

Why did they create conflict with the English?▫ Natives Treatment of French Shipwreck Victims

John Winthrop: “A Model of Christian Charity”• Winthrop Biography:

▫ trained as lawyer/in process of government ▫ King Charles I and after effects▫ Established Massachusetts Bay Colony and elected governor of it in 1629,

arrived in 1630• Puritans

▫ Reform Anglican Church▫ Predestination▫ Christ & Scripture

• “A Model of Christian Charity” Sermon:▫ Micah 6:8

Primary Values: What we must sacrifice: How we should function as a society:

▫ “City upon a Hill”: Must maintain focus Role of Obedience:

▫ Flaws:• Role as Governor:

Anne Bradstreet• Father & Education

▫ Earl of Lincoln• Part of MA Bay Colony

▫ Married someone of power (secretary governor)▫ “heart rose” in protest against “new world and new

manners”• Took consolation not from theology, but from “wondrous

works” of nature • Published without her knowledge • Feminism & Controversy

▫ John Winthrop to Ann Hopkins: leave writing and reading to men “whose minds are stronger”

▫ Puritan beliefs• Legacy as first published “American” poet

Anne Bradstreet

•Themes: Individual Desire v. God’s Will; Submission; Domestic Life; Gender; Religious Conflict; Redemption

•“Prologue”▫Shift and Meaning

•“Here Follows Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House…”▫Implications?▫Puritan Viewpoint

Pontiac

•Goal: to persuade Huron and Pottawatomi leaders to join his Ottawa people in armed resistance to the British

•Who is Neolin?•The three openings?•“Beautiful woman arrayed in white”•Great Spirit & English•Connection to Bible

Red Jacket

•Origin of name•Goal: To demonstrate that his people’s

insistence that their religion is as good for them as Christianity is for the Americans

•Who do the Indians thank? Why?•Red Jacket’s criticism of God and the

Bible? Of organized religion?•Why do English and Indians have different

religions?