Alfred Cave's 'The Pequot War'
Professor Rogers
US History I
March 3, 2011
The Pequot War Many people have probably heard of the Pequot War, assuming that it was just another battle between the English settlers and Indians, but really it was much more than that. Throughout history, the Pequot War has been characterized as the first serious conflict between the Indigenous people and the New England settlers. In 1996, a man named Alfred Cave published a novel titled “The Pequot War,” in which he describes the war as being “a small-scale conflict of short duration” (Cave 168) that “casted a long shadow” (Cave 168). Cave’s novel discusses the many defining aspects of the relationship between the Indians and colonists, as well as the war itself. One major defining aspect of the relationship …show more content…
The war was “the expression of an assumption central to Puritan Indian policy” (Cave 168). Afterwards, many Puritans believed that the war was “a key episode in the unfolding of God’s plan for New England” (Cave 169). The Puritans did not want Indian war and feared it, but “they also suspected that it was both necessary and inevitable” (Cave 171). Therefore, the Pequot War created the idea that Indian war, such as King Philip’s War in 1675, were actions intended to check and punish God’s people. As a result, “Puritan toleration of Indian independence was never anything more than an expedient” (Cave 173). Puritans became overbearing and Indian control of land and resources ceased. The need for Indian business decreased, considering the fact that English agriculture and industry were increasing. This “jeopardized the status of Native American communities in a New England dominated by Euro-Americans” (Cave 174). In the end, the Puritan Indian policy, which stated “ denial of the validity and viability of Native American life,” (Cave 175) created an intolerance of Indian cultures that would last many years to
US History I
March 3, 2011
The Pequot War Many people have probably heard of the Pequot War, assuming that it was just another battle between the English settlers and Indians, but really it was much more than that. Throughout history, the Pequot War has been characterized as the first serious conflict between the Indigenous people and the New England settlers. In 1996, a man named Alfred Cave published a novel titled “The Pequot War,” in which he describes the war as being “a small-scale conflict of short duration” (Cave 168) that “casted a long shadow” (Cave 168). Cave’s novel discusses the many defining aspects of the relationship between the Indians and colonists, as well as the war itself. One major defining aspect of the relationship …show more content…
The war was “the expression of an assumption central to Puritan Indian policy” (Cave 168). Afterwards, many Puritans believed that the war was “a key episode in the unfolding of God’s plan for New England” (Cave 169). The Puritans did not want Indian war and feared it, but “they also suspected that it was both necessary and inevitable” (Cave 171). Therefore, the Pequot War created the idea that Indian war, such as King Philip’s War in 1675, were actions intended to check and punish God’s people. As a result, “Puritan toleration of Indian independence was never anything more than an expedient” (Cave 173). Puritans became overbearing and Indian control of land and resources ceased. The need for Indian business decreased, considering the fact that English agriculture and industry were increasing. This “jeopardized the status of Native American communities in a New England dominated by Euro-Americans” (Cave 174). In the end, the Puritan Indian policy, which stated “ denial of the validity and viability of Native American life,” (Cave 175) created an intolerance of Indian cultures that would last many years to