Characteristics of Colonial American Literature

Colonial American literature is writing that emerged from the original U.S. colonies during the period from 1607 to the late 1700s. It was largely influenced by British writers, and was created to inform people about colonial life, religious disputes and settlement issues. Many of the characteristics of Colonial American literature can be found in the poems, journals, letters, narratives, histories and teaching materials written by settlers, religious figures and historical icons of the period. Colonial American literature includes the writings of Mary Rowlandson, William Bradford, Anne Bradstreet and John Winthrop. Historical Great figures from American history have contributed to this genre, such as John Smith and William Penn. Narrative Colonial American literature is characterized by the narrative, which was used extensively during this period. Most of the literary works of this genre are composed of letters, journals, biographies and memoirs. An example is Mary Rowlandson's narrative account, "The Sovereignty and Goodness of God: Being a Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson." This narrative gives an insider's account of a colonist being captured by Native Americans and describes the heavy hostility between the Native Americans and colonists. Rowland's story is categorized as an autobiography and a captivity narrative. Religion and Poetry Religion is also another characteristic of Colonial American literature and can be found mostly in Puritan writings. The Puritans wrote about the religious foundations of many of their settlements, especially the exodus from Britain, and employed the constant theme that God should be worshipped. They also used texts that prepared them for worship. This literature helped spread the message of God, suggesting that "life was a test" and the soul would face damnation if that test was failed. Ambition and hard work were continuously stressed. Many of the Puritan works were written in poetry form. Anne Bradstreet's poetry, the "Bay Psalm Book," and Pastor Edward Taylor's "Preparatory Mediations" are good examples of religious texts of the era. It was this type of writing that led to the Puritanism and Great Awakening movements. The Enlightenment In the 18th century, the Enlightenment showed a great shift in Colonial American literature from a religious foundation to scientific reasoning applied to human nature, society, culture and political awareness. Many texts were written in pamphlet or narrative form and challenged the role of God and religious life, seeking to replace them with reason.

The first settlement Since America has been discovered the Europeans saw it as like an evasion from political and religious oppression. In addition, between 1620 and 1635 England have seen economic difficulties due to it many people couldn't find work even skilled artisans. Another determinant fact is the growing textile industry created by the industrial revolution of that time, this activity demanded an over increasing supply of wool. The rate of immigration to the new world has grown from a few hundreds of English people to a flood of millions of new-comers. Several nations encouraged their people to move to America. The movement to the new world in England was not sponsored by the government but by private groups of people whose chief motive was profit. The first of all British colonies was Jamestown, established by the Virginia Company, in 1607, which had been granted a charter from King James I for the Chesapeake ba . Lots of problems occurred in it and the Virginia Company couldn't maintain order there soon after it had become around 1624 a royal colony. Another settlement is the actual Massachusetts which was established around the year 1620 by the puritans. This religious group was oppressed in Europe so they decided to move to the new world on board the Mayflower.

Relation between colons & Indians The relation between the colons and the Indians was a mixture of a friendly and a hostile attitude . The first settlers couldn't survive unless the help of friendly indigenes who taught them how to cultivate local crops. The eastern tribes developed trade relations with the colons. Therefore those tribes had access to technology they traded for knives , weapons cooking utensils,

fish hooks... so the tribes who traded with Europeans had significant advantage over their rivals. The next coming British colonies In the mid-17th century the problems in England caused a lack of attention toward the British colonies. So defense measures was not provided to the colonies. Therefore, the Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut & New Heaven colonies formed the New England Confederation, it was the first attempt at regional unity. Furthermore, various rebellion movements have been seen in the British colonies. The most significant revolt was the Bacon's Rebellion in 1675, its main motive is to defy Virginia's governor William Berkeley and so to defy the British empire. However, the revolt wasn't successful because of the death of Nathaniel Bacon in 1676. All those clashes returned the attention of the British government to America. Therefore new colonies were established New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania. In addition, the Dutch have been driven out of New Holland

How settlers did came to America The privates who sponsored the movement to America used all kind of methods to persuade people of the benefits to immigrate to the new world. As an example, William Penn the founder of Pennsylvania publicized The Opportunities Awaiting Newcomers To The Pennsylvania Colony. Those who have prison sentences to do they had been given a second chance to go to the new world instead of going to jail. The poor colonists who couldn't finance their travel they have come to America under the Indentured Servants System. The system works this way: If one person cannot pay for his trip, one of the Colonizing agencies such as The Virginia Agency Carry him , In return indentured servants agree to work for the agency as contract laborers, usually for four to seven years. Free at the end this term, they would be given "freedom dues" sometimes including a small tract of land. There is one exception, is the case of Africans, the first Black people who stepped on America was brought to Virginia in 1619, at the beginning they were regarded as indentured servants who could earn their freedom but it wasn't the case and they were brought to America for a life time of involuntary servitude. The economic development of the colons Most of the people who moved to the new world, by the 17th century, were essentially English but there were also Dutch, Swedes, German, French, Africans, Spaniards, Italians, Portuguese...In 1690 the American population was estimated to be a quarter of a million, it reached 2.5 million in 1775.

The most important factor that helped the development of the colonies is that although those colonies' citizens were from different origins (English, Swedes, French, Danes, Scots, Irish, German, Bohemians, Portuguese, Norwegians...) they forces their efforts together lived in harmony under a unique government. Therefore, they developed a sort of synergy that helped the economic development of the colonies. This synergy was seen especially in the middle colonies (Pennsylvania, Delaware...) which were more cosmopolitan and tolerant then New England. The southern colonies were predominantly rural (Virginia, Maryland, North & South Carolina and Georgia) their economy is based on the great planters and the yeoman farmers.

Schools & Culture During the colonial period, colons gave a major importance to education; so they began establishing schools and colleges, Harvard in 1636 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the same period of time the of William and Mary in Virginia, the collegiate school of Connecticut which became later Yale collage. In the Massachusetts in 1647, the Puritans required from each colony in the Massachusetts Bay having more than 50 families to establish a Grammar School( to prepare students for college) and shortly all the New England colonies followed its example. Furthermore in Philadelphia numerous private schools taught languages, mathematics, natural sciences... In addition, many booksellers have made good commerce since 1680 especially in Boston. And in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1704 the first newspaper in English was lunched, by 1745 there were 22 of them. The most important cultural event of that time was a religious movement known as the Great Awakening. It was a religious reaction to the prosperity of the towns, which prompted fear that the devil was luring society into pursuit of worldly gain.