Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
5/5
Audiobook13 hours
They Knew They Were Pilgrims: Plymouth Colony and the Contest for American Liberty
Written by John G. Turner
Narrated by Bob Souer
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
An ambitious new history of the Pilgrims and Plymouth Colony, published for the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower's landing.
In 1620, separatists from the Church of England set sail across the Atlantic aboard the Mayflower. Understanding themselves as spiritual pilgrims, they left to preserve their liberty to worship God in accordance with their understanding of the Bible.
There exists, however, an alternative, more dispiriting version of their story. In it, the Pilgrims are religious zealots who persecuted dissenters and decimated the Native peoples through warfare and by stealing their land. The Pilgrims' definition of liberty was, in practice, very narrow.
Drawing on original research using underutilized sources, John G. Turner moves beyond these familiar narratives in his sweeping and authoritative new history of Plymouth Colony. Instead of depicting the Pilgrims as otherworldly saints or extraordinary sinners, he tells how a variety of English settlers and Native peoples engaged in a contest for the meaning of American liberty.
In 1620, separatists from the Church of England set sail across the Atlantic aboard the Mayflower. Understanding themselves as spiritual pilgrims, they left to preserve their liberty to worship God in accordance with their understanding of the Bible.
There exists, however, an alternative, more dispiriting version of their story. In it, the Pilgrims are religious zealots who persecuted dissenters and decimated the Native peoples through warfare and by stealing their land. The Pilgrims' definition of liberty was, in practice, very narrow.
Drawing on original research using underutilized sources, John G. Turner moves beyond these familiar narratives in his sweeping and authoritative new history of Plymouth Colony. Instead of depicting the Pilgrims as otherworldly saints or extraordinary sinners, he tells how a variety of English settlers and Native peoples engaged in a contest for the meaning of American liberty.
Author
John G. Turner
John G. Turner is assistant professor of history at the University of South Alabama.
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Reviews for They Knew They Were Pilgrims
Rating: 4.428571428571429 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
7 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A thorough and balanced exploration of the people who laid the groundwork for the USA.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I expected more from it. Not sure why though. It focuses on religion and politics and it wasn’t exciting. Not sure what else I expected though.