Indian Wars in New England

Warren, James A.  God, War, and Providence: The Epic Struggle of Roger Williams and the
         Narragansett Indians against the Puritans of New England.  New York: Scribner, 2018  ISBN:
         978-1-5011-8041-5

 What do you know about early New England history - say 1635 to 1675?  Were the Puritans the same as the Pilgrims?  Why did folks brave the rough Atlantic to come to a rocky coast and settle?  What did the early settlers do to survive and then thrive? In God. War. and Providence. James A Warren works on shedding light on this little studied history of the relations of English settlers and and their Native American neighbors in the 1600's.

James A. Warren opens the book with a key attack on the Narragansett Indians during King Philip's War.  He then goes back to set the stage by building from 1635 when relations between Indian and Puritan were peaceful to the 1670's when war was waged to crush the local Indians once or all.  Along this journey of exploration comes Roger Williams who plays a crucial role in the evolving relationship of settlers and natives.  The colony of Rhode Island was settled after he was cast out of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the Plymouth Colony for preaching his conscience.  By establishing a colony based on freedom of religion that also cultivated good relations with local Indian tribes, Rhode Island proved an obstacle to the United Colonies plans for dominating New England.  Roger Williams had to make two trips to England to totally secure the rights and boundaries of Rhode Island against the depredations of the Puritans. Roger Williams also did what he could to defuse the brewing conflict between the Puritans and Narragansetts, but ultimately failed.

James A Warren wrote a very readable, yet scholarly examination of early New England history that is skimmed over in most histories.  He skillfully uses the sources available while discussing the shortcomings of each.  So if you are interested in secret or hidden American stories, read God, War, and Providence.