Prologue Summary and Analysis

In 1676, King Philip's War was almost over. The English had united with several Indian tribes to fight several others who wished to eliminate the English colonies from the present-day area of New England. But the "savagery" of the Indians threatened English identity, since the Puritan settlers considered themselves civilized Englishmen despite having left England due to religious persecution. They were afraid of losing their identity. Many Puritans left New England in the 1630s and 1640s though some stayed on, and it was unclear what they would become, because they were closer in proximity to the Indians than to the English. The Puritans had wanted to build a "city on a hill" but seemed to have degenerated in the 1670s, as church membership and attendance dwindled and people were settling further inland and in more isolated areas. Trade with the Indians was...