Speaking Indian and English: the bilinguals of seventeenth century New England
Date
2016
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
In seventeenth century New England, colonial relations with neighboring Indian communities rested on a diverse group of English and Indian bilingual speakers who had an exceptional knowledge of both English and indigenous languages. There was a greater number of bilingual people in the region, from a broader range of social backgrounds than scholars have previously imagined, who contributed to vital communications. Predictably, many of these bilinguals were traders, missionaries, and official interpreters, but their ranks also included women and children, usually consisting of the wives and children of men at the front lines of colonists’ Indian affairs. Bilinguals were also former captives, bound laborers, and Indian counselors. ☐ Bilinguals made possible the interactions that shaped Indian-colonial relationships in fundamental ways. The presence of bilingual English and Indian leaders, even colony governors, allowed leaders at times to negotiate diplomacy directly with one another. More widely, the number of bilinguals gave Indian and English leaders options for collaboration and communication. The result was a multipolar region of shifting alliances based on personal relationships made through face-to-face encounters. This study joins other works that trace the growing intimacy between these societies as a feature of colonialism. The conversations bilinguals made possible also reinforce the emerging scholarly consensus that, as the seventeenth century wore-on, conflict in New England and elsewhere in colonial North America, was not rooted in miscommunication or misunderstanding but principled disagreement.
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Keywords
Bilinguals, Borderlands, Indian-colonial relationships, Native American, Bilingual English/Indian leaders, Puritan, New England colonial relations