1600-1800

First permanent colony established in Jamestown in 1607

By 1733 English colonies stretched all along the Atlantic coast.

The meeting of two worlds: Early writers described land and people

Concentrated on describing and trying to make sense out of their challenging new environment and the unfamiliar people they encountered.

Native Americans had well-established communities when Europeans arrived

People had been living in the Americas for tens of thousands of years, adapting to diverse environments, forming communities, establishing trading networks and building working cities.

Writers chronicled Native American and European views of one another. William Wood of Mass. Bay Colony wrote

that Native Americans “took the first ship they saw for a walking island, the mast to be a tree, the sail white clouds.”

William Bradford, governor of Plymouth Plantation, described North America as “a hideous and desolate wilderness, full of wild beasts and wild men.”

Were Wood and Bradford fair in their assessment of the landscape and population of North America?

Native Americans were culturally diverse (when Europeans

arrived, there were more than 300 different Native American cultures in North America)

Strongly differing customs 200 different languages spoken

One activity was common to all Native Americans: Storytelling

Native North American cultures did not have a written language History, legends and myths were passed

from generation to generation through oral tradition

Literary Style Rich and varied Creation stories are found in every Native

American culture Other forms: legendary histories tracing

the migration of peoples or the deeds of great leaders, fairy tales, lyrics, chants, children’s songs, healing songs and dream visions.

Why is preservation through oral tradition more vulnerable to loss than preservation through written works?

How did the arrival of the Europeans affect the preservation of Native American literature?

Much of the literature did not survive after so many Native Americans fell to European diseases. Some groups lost 90% of their people, all of

whom would have played a role in preserving the traditional stories

Surviving works showed that diverse Native American groups shared common themes in their spoken literature Reverence for nature Worship of many gods