Особенности репрезентации индейцев Новой Англии в нарративных и официальных источниках XVII века

Новая и новейшая история. 2020. № 5. С. 51–60.

Aleksandrov G.

The native peoples of New England had a significant influence on the development of the English colonies in the region. This influence is, however, often underestimated, at least in part due to the authors of the XVIIth century narratives paying comparatively little attention to the native-colonial relations in their writings. As a result, the popular image of colonial New England, which persisted for a long time in scholarly writing and still persists in popular imagination today, was significantly distorted. The natives, if present in this image at all, are pushed out to the wilderness surrounding the colonies, and any contact with them seems sporadic at best. This contradicts, however, the evidence provided by the legal and other official documents of the colonies, which seem to indicate that native-colonial interactions were very much a part of the daily life for most of the colonists. The author presents a comparison of native representation in narratives and in official sources, explores the reasons for the significant discrepancy between them and its implications for the development of the popular image of colonial New England, which played an important role in shaping American culture and identity.

Keywords: Новая Англия XVII в., коренные американцы