American Litaiture in the New World

Student name Tutor`s name Subject Subject number Date American Literature in the New World-conflicts and tensions among early settlers Christopher Columbus, the great Spanish explorer, is credited with the discovery of the Americas in the late 1400s. The term "discovered" has been the subject of much debate among scholars and this has led some to the conclusion that he "encountered" America. His action was the first among many European voyages to what they came to term as the "New World". Settlement in the Americas by the English began over 100 years after the first voyages by the Portuguese and Spanish explorers. The two premier settlements were Virginia and Jamestown. The term "New World" was coined by the first settlers, perhaps to indicate the mood of optimism with which they approached these new vast territories that were up for grabs. The captain who established Jamestown, John Smith quoted in his book, "A Description of New England" that" that the nature and freedom they found in the new world provided for free luxuries that remained out of reach in their home land, England. (Smith J. 1616). Back at home, this created the picture in the mind of the audience that all was well in the New World. However, this was not the case. Several cracks were gradually beginning to form and they threatened to break this society apart. People began differing on various issues, the major one being religion. Other causes of conflict were moral issues and also those economic in nature. The Puritans for instance were a deeply religious group that had faced a lot of persecution at home. Hence, they saw the New World as the ideal place to set up a society based on strict adherence to biblical teachings. They believed this was a noble idea and upon reaching the new world, they embarked on this very mission. This should have been fairly easy for them considering they made up the bulk of the settlers. This objective was not achieved because of their need to survive in this untamed virgin territory, a large number of them strayed from the primary goal and replaced it with the urge to do business and make profits. Being the dominant religious grouping, the Puritans quickly made enemies, who themselves were settlers. One of the most notable incidents that brought out this feud was the Plymouth Plantation happenings whereby an English settler, Thomas Morton, developed a strong bond with the Native population of "Indians". This settler experienced great success in fur trading as well as in the plantations he had set up with his business associates. The action which incensed the authorities most was when he erected a maypole in his plantation and regularly invited the natives to come so that they would sing and dance around it. These acts attracted the attention of the authorities and landed him in trouble with the Puritans. He was jailed, fined and deported back to England. His side of the story was presente...