Colonial_Communication: Massasoit



Colonial_Communication: Massasoit

One of the most important changes in communication during the Colonial era was in spoken and written languages. Arriving settlers had no knowledge of Native American languages or customs, and likewise, Native Americans had no previous knowledge of languages besides their own. In order for the two groups to interact, existing languages had to be learned, or in some cases, new languages which combined both English words and Native American language words had to be created.

One of the first Native Americans to communicate directly with settlers was Massasoit. A Wampanoag, Massasoit created a peace treaty between his people and the settlers in Massachusetts Bay. He offered protection to the Puritans in exchange for their support against rival Native American tribes in the region.

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The Capital and the Bay: Narratives of Washington and the Chesapeake Bay Region, ca. 1600-1925

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The history of Virginia, in four parts. I. The history of the first settlement of Virginia, and the government thereof, to the year 1706. II. The natural productions and conveniences of the country, suited to trade and improvement. III. The native Indians, their religion, laws, and customs, in war and peace. IV. The present state of the country, as to the polity of the government, and the improvements of the land, the 10th of June 1720. By a native and inhabitant of the place.

Beverley, Robert, ca. 1673-1722.

CREATED/PUBLISHED

2d ed. rev. and enl. by the author.

London, Printed for B. and S. Tooke [etc.] 1722.

SUBJECTS

Virginia--History--Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775.

Virginia--Description and travel--Early works to 1800.

Indians of North America--Virginia--Early works to 1800.

RELATED NAMES

Pre-1801 Imprint Collection (Library of Congress)

MEDIUM

4 p.l., 284, [24] p. front., 14 pl. 19 cm.

CALL NUMBER

F229 .B58

DIGITAL ID

lhbcb 06557

(DOCID+@lit(lhbcb06557div19))

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This is an example of how European settlers tried to spread their religion throughout the New World using language as a mediating device. Here, a bible has been translated into Algonquin.

Eliot’s Algonquin Language Bible

Obedient to the New Testament command to preach the Gospel to all nations, ministers in all of the first British North American colonies strove to convert the local native populations to Christianity, often with only modest results. One of the most successful proselytizers was John Eliot (1604-1690), Congregational minister at Roxbury, Massachusetts. His translation of the Bible into the Algonquin Indian language is seen here. At one time Eliot ministered to eleven hundred "Praying Indians," organized into fourteen New England style towns.

The Holy Bible: Containing the Old Testament and the New,

Translated into the Indian Language. . . . [left page] [right page]

Cambridge, Massachusetts: Samuel Green and Marmaduke Johnson, 1663

Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (18)



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This map of the Ohio River Valley, drawn by a Native American, shows an example of communication between Native Americans and settlers. In order for Europeans traveling inland to survive on the frontier, communicating with Native Americans who knew the area was essential.

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|Indian Map of Ohio |

|River Country |

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|Chegeree (the Indian) |

|Map of the country about the Mississippi |

|[ca. 1755] |

|Manuscript map |

|Geography & Map Division |

|Purchased from Peter Force, 1867 (113.4) |

|According to marginal notations, this rough sketch map was drawn by "Chegeree (the Indian) who says he has travell'd through the country."|

|One of the very few examples in the Library's collection of a map drawn by a Native American, it shows Indian settlements in the area from|

|Lake Erie to the mouth of the Ohio river in the middle of the eighteenth century. |

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