Cast from their home country by religious intolerance, the Pilgrims’ harrowing voyage to the New World was filled with hardships. But through it all they persisted, motivated by the promise of a better life in which they could gather and worship God in their own ways. A collection of ragtag ships carried them across the ocean, among them The Mayflower. Crammed into the ship’s hull, 102 people made this most famous pilgrimage. Besieged by illness and Indians and, many of them believed, witches, the Pilgrims eventually flourished, building up colonies and establishing their own rules for the practice of religion. Here is their dramatic story.
A long forgotten tale gets a new life as this book reveals the true story of the 18th-century shipwreck cannibalism scandalDuring the fierce winter of 1710, 14 Englishmen had taken refuge on Boon Island, a sparse 100-yard long stretch of rock, without food or adequate shelter, uncertain of when or if they would be rescued. They endured for 24 days. An attempt to escape failed and four men died. Facing starvation, their captain, John Dean, gave the order to butcher and eat a member of the crew. Dean's decision fended off starvation and sustained his crew until rescue. John Dean first emerged an unlikely hero, but soon thereafter an alternative version of events began to circulate. The First Mate painted Dean as a murderous fraudster, tyrant, and an enthusiastic consumer of human flesh. Centering on the scandal that defined him, this book tells the forgotten story of John Dean; criminal, mercenary, gentleman, diplomat, and cannibal.
The Great Explorers of North America: Complete Biographies, Historical Documents, Journals & Letters' is an evocative anthology that traverses the expansive terrains of North American exploration through a varied tapestry of literary styles. This collection encapsulates the monumental journeys, diverse methodologies, and the profound impact of exploration on both the land and its peoples. Within its pages, the anthology breathes life into history by presenting an array of perspectives, from the detailed biographical accounts to the intimate reflections found in personal letters and journals. It highlights the rich mosaic of experiences, encapsulated in standout pieces that reveal the depth and complexity of the continent's exploration history. The compilation not only serves as a historical record but also as a medium of cultural and geographical enlightenment, showcasing the significance and diversity of the works included. The contributing authors and editors, Stephen Leacock, Edward Everett Hale, Julius E. Olson, Thomas A. Janvier, Frederick A. Ober, Charles W. Colby, and Elizabeth Hodges, bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the anthology. Their collective backgrounds, spanning academia, literature, and history, align with the collection's overarching theme, enriching it with their varied insights into historical, cultural, and literary movements. Together, these voices create a multifaceted narrative that deepens the reader's understanding of North American exploration, reflecting the complexities and the myriad perspectives that have shaped its history. 'The Great Explorers of North America' is an indispensable resource for anyone keen on delving into the history of exploration with a desire to understand its multifaceted nature. It offers readers a unique opportunity to explore a confluence of narratives, each contributing to a greater comprehension of the theme. This collection is recommended for its educational value, the breadth of insights it provides, and the enriching dialogue it fosters between the various authors' works, making it a valuable addition to the library of scholars, historians, and enthusiasts alike.
"This story is a narrative-history of the Pilgrims of Plymouth. Though not entirely in accordance with popular traditions, which in many instances are erroneous, it is in accordance with historical facts...Francis Beaumont, the narrator, is a literary character...Wherever Beaumont speaks of himself and events that affect him alone, that part of the story is fiction; but whenever he associates himself with the acts of the colonists that part is in the main recorded history: for instance, the breaking of the ship's beams, the signing of 'the Compact,' the three voyages of discovery, the planting of the colony in the great clearing, the building of the houses, the burning of the common-house, the discovery of the columns of smoke from the fires of the savages, the various meetings at the common-house, the great sickness, the deaths, the coming of Samoset, the visits of Massassoit, the dread of the savages, the first harvest festival, the coming of the ship Fortune, the great famine, and other incidents of a similar character. These events are all told chronologically with one exception, i.e., the entrance of the Mayflower into Plymouth Harbor. The date of the first attempt of the ship to gain the harbor was the fifteenth of December, old style. In the story this event has been placed on Christmas Day. With this exception the story follows the history almost day by day. The motif of the narrative is to have some one else besides the interested parties tell the story of the courage and hardships of these enduring people: an epic of tragedy, self-denial, romance, famine, pestilence, death, and heroism unsurpassed in the annals of man."--Foreword.
Set out on the high seas with this rip-roaring collection of tales that shine some light on the famously murky world of piracy. These gripping historical accounts range from ocean voyages that went horribly awry to the dastardly deeds of some of the most notorious pirates in history.
From acclaimed author Douglas Hunter, a searing historical work about death, deceit and dishonour, and the rivalry between Samuel de Champlain and Henry Hudson–two of the greatest explorers of the seventeenth century. Samuel de Champlain of France and Englishman Henry Hudson were rival explorers in a race to describe and exploit the northern half of North America and, not least, to find a profitable passage to the Orient. The English had been trying to find a way through the Arctic since the 1570s. For Hudson, the dream of discovery proved fatal. A mutiny in the summer of 1611 saw Hudson, his teenage son John, and seven other crew members cast adrift in James Bay in an open boat. They were never heard from again. In May 1613, Samuel de Champlain left the site of present-day Montreal on a journey up the Ottawa River into uncharted territory. Champlain had undertaken the expedition because of extraordinary testimony from a young informant, Nicolas de Vignau, who had spent 1611-12 with the Algonquin and returned to France with an incredible story: He had visited the Northern Sea. What’s more, he had seen an English youth, the sole survivor of a shipwreck, held captive by the Nebicerini people as a gift for Champlain. To rescue both the English youth and his own career, Champlain set out to collect him. God’s Mercies has all the elements of a great adventure mystery: a mutiny, a massacre, a murder trial, signed confessions, and intrigue at the highest levels of state. Truths would be revealed as lies, and lies would turn out to be half-truths.
This is Barth's most distinguished masterpiece. This modern classic is a hilarious tribute to all the most insidious human vices, with a hero who is "one of the most diverting . . . to roam the world since Candide." "A feast. Dense, funny, endlessly inventive (and, OK, yes, long-winded) this satire of the eighteenth-century picaresque novel—think Fielding's Tom Jones or Sterne's Tristram Shandy—is also an earnest picture of the pitfalls awaiting innocence as it makes its unsteady way in the world. It's the late seventeenth century and Ebenezer Cooke is a poet, dutiful son and determined virgin who travels from England to Maryland to take possession of his father's tobacco (or "sot weed") plantation. He is also eventually given to believe that he has been commissioned by the third Lord Baltimore to write an epic poem, The Marylandiad. But things are not always what they seem. Actually, things are almost never what they seem. Not since Candide has a steadfast soul witnessed so many strange scenes or faced so many perils. Pirates, Indians, shrewd prostitutes, armed insurrectionists—Cooke endures them all, plus assaults on his virginity from both women and men. Barth's language is impossibly rich, a wickedly funny take on old English rhetoric and American self-appraisals. For good measure he throws in stories within stories, including the funniest retelling of the Pocahontas tale—revealed to us in the 'secret' journals of Capt. John Smith—that anyone has ever dared to tell." —Time
Dreamers they were, sailing out into the west in quest of they knew not what-puppets in the game of destiny. What splendid courage it must have needed to sail in their little cockle-shells of vessels over that untravelled sea, with its dangers all the more terrifying because unknown... -Lawrence J. Burpee, in the Introduction From the discovery of Hudson Bay and the search for the mythical Northwest Passage to the first overland journey to the Pacific, Canadian historian Lawrence Burpee makes the story of the exploration of northwestern North America come alive in this classic book, first published in 1908. Meet Samuel Hearne, who survived Indian massacres to discover the mouth of the Coppermine River in 1771 and proved the nonexistence of a water passage across the continent; the adventurous La V rendrye family of explorers; path-finding fur trader Peter Pond; astronomer and surveyor David Thompson; and others who contributed to the European settlement of North America. LAWRENCE J. BURPEE (1873-1947), a beloved popularizer of Canadian history, was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In addition to authoring numerous books of North American exploration, including Pathfinders of the Great Plains and The Discovery of Canada, he was also the founding editor of Canadian Geographical Journal and among the founders of the Canadian Historical Association. He served on the board of the Boy Scouts of Canada and was a member of the Royal Society of Canada and the National Geographic Society.
