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Shires and Sachems: Languages of Political Theory in Dutch and English Narratives of Contact

Shires and Sachems: Languages of Political Theory in Dutch and English Narratives of Contact sABIne KLeIn University of Maine at Farmington Shires and Sachems Languages of Political Theory in Dutch and English Narratives of Contact In New England's Prospect, William Wood begins his ethnographic account of the Algonquians in New England by invoking a territorial concept familiar to his readers: "The country as it is in relation to the Indians, is divided as it were into Shires, every severall division being swayed by a severall King" (75). Connecting Indians to shires and kings, Wood establishes a direct connection between the geopolitical divisions of America and Europe. Through this connection, he suggests that for him and his readers the lens of the monarchy is the best way of understanding Indian territorial and political entities. While Wood's monarchical description of Indian government appears typical for English colonial writing, other ways of comprehending Indian polities did in fact exist in the early modern transatlantic world. The Dutch describe Indian geographical and political organization by drawing on republican concepts which were developing in the Netherlands at the time. The multiple ways of describing Indian polities become visible only when we approach colonial materials comparatively; they suggest that both Dutch and English colonial writing results from and http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Early American Literature University of North Carolina Press

Shires and Sachems: Languages of Political Theory in Dutch and English Narratives of Contact

Klein, Sabine.
Early American Literature , Volume 43 (3) – Nov 26, 2008
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Publisher
University of North Carolina Press
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 The University of North Carolina Press
ISSN
1534-147X
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Abstract

sABIne KLeIn University of Maine at Farmington Shires and Sachems Languages of Political Theory in Dutch and English Narratives of Contact In New England's Prospect, William Wood begins his ethnographic account of the Algonquians in New England by invoking a territorial concept familiar to his readers: "The country as it is in relation to the Indians, is divided as it were into Shires, every severall division being swayed by a severall King" (75). Connecting Indians to shires and kings, Wood establishes a direct connection between the geopolitical divisions of America and Europe. Through this connection, he suggests that for him and his readers the lens of the monarchy is the best way of understanding Indian territorial and political entities. While Wood's monarchical description of Indian government appears typical for English colonial writing, other ways of comprehending Indian polities did in fact exist in the early modern transatlantic world. The Dutch describe Indian geographical and political organization by drawing on republican concepts which were developing in the Netherlands at the time. The multiple ways of describing Indian polities become visible only when we approach colonial materials comparatively; they suggest that both Dutch and English colonial writing results from and

Journal

Early American Literature – University of North Carolina Press

Published: Nov 26, 2008

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