Kris Maulden's Questions - Feb. 9/10
The questions cover this week's readings, chapter 3 of the textbook as well as Winthrop's "Modell of Christian Charity" and T.H. Breen's article "Looking Out for Number One."
1. How do you think Breen's portrayal of early Virginia society confirms or disproves the political theories of Filmer and Hobbes?
2. In your opinion, why did differences evolve between early Virginia and early Massachusetts (especially as shown in the online readings)? In addition, what similarities and differences do you see among those two colonies and others - such as Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York - described in the textbook?
1. How do you think Breen's portrayal of early Virginia society confirms or disproves the political theories of Filmer and Hobbes?
2. In your opinion, why did differences evolve between early Virginia and early Massachusetts (especially as shown in the online readings)? In addition, what similarities and differences do you see among those two colonies and others - such as Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York - described in the textbook?
posted by Anonymous at 11:44 AM
2 Comments:
ASHLEY NELSON SAYS:
(Sorry, I forgot my password so I had post this as anonymous)
The most striking difference between the Virginians and the Massachusetts people (what do you call someone from Massachusetts?) was their sense of community. The people from Massachusetts (according to the reading) believed that they had a covenant with God and with each other. They were called to band together and deny themselves from carnal self-seeking. The covenant with God led them to build churches which drew the community together. Puritans also were strong advocates for literacy (so their children could read the Bible) so the children were brought together through schooling. Also, they obeyed authority because it was ordained by God. The Virginians (according to the reading) were strongly individualistic, distrustful, cynical and “with no coherent society.” They did not have a strong sense of community, and would not band together even for their own defense. They also lived in “self-imposed isolation.” Their churches and schools were nonexistent or poorly maintained. The only community activity mentioned was a ball. Even this, however, was seen as more of a competition than a social event. The leadership was often not obeyed because the people mistrusted them. The Virginians put profit above community.
These are great comments but I did wany to address a factual issue in Julia Van Horn's post. The Spaniards killed a lot of people to be sure, but one my points Tuesday was that they did NOT succeed in "wiping out" the native population in their colonies at all. The majority of the population in Mexico and I believe much of the rest of Latin America are of Indian descent to this day.
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