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Little Commonwealth: A Family Life in Plymouth Colony
by
John Demos,
Demos
In this pioneering study, Mr. Demos examines the family in a specific American context, that of the colony founded by the Pilgrims who came over on the "Mayflower," during the first two generations of its existence. In the absence of the usual literary sources, he has centered his reserach on physical artifacts, wills, estate inventories, and a variety of legal and officia...more
Paperback, 240 pages
Published
February 15th 1971
by Oxford University Press, USA
(first published 1971)
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An absolutely fascinating attempt to elucidate the social structures within the family, and the experiences of family members, during the first seventy years of Plymouth Colony. The evidence is scanty, and consists mostly of such documents as wills and deeds and records of court cases; personal letters and journals are almost absent. Demos is very honest about what he doesn't know and scrupulous about attempting to find evidence for every one of his hypotheses, pointing out just what is speculat...more
This was a short history on the dynamics and roles of family members in early colonial days. The book is simply and clearly written and the author often includes (sometimes copious) remarks on where he hypothesized about the historical facts or psychology of the time. Interesting but not wildly so. I do feel that I learned some new tidbits.
I love history and this had a little twist on it. It was a quick read.
great
In depth study of of the ordinary life of a Puritan community, by one of the giants in this area of American history.
May 17, 2013
Alan Hassler
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
uchicago,
uchicago-history
Jan 24, 2013
Eddy Allen
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
arts-and-historical
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