Bonds and Boundaries: Constructions of Community in Seventeenth-Century Anglo-American Colonies

This dissertation surveys a range of community visions from the early stages of British colonization of North America. While the political and social aspects of the settlements have been studied extensively, the softer matters of interpersonal ties of mutual care have only been partially addressed through affect studies. Engaging with various seventeenth-century colonial texts, I bring out diverse attempts to bind the settlers in each location into a coherent whole. After an introduction that establishes the basic terms of the discussion through John Winthrop’s “A Modell of Christian Charity,” I begin with Ralph Hamor, a minor figure from early Jamestown who articulates a unique vision of a joint Anglo-Native community. John Smith, read through a communal lens, shows a deep split between an ideal communal aspiration and an opposing tendency toward authoritarian violence. William Bradford’s Separatism shows in his persistent concern with community boundaries, which, properly attended to, reconciles the traditional declension reading with newer economic history approaches. Roger Williams takes a step further and completely dissociates spiritual communion from practical questions of earthly cohabitation, countering his frequent misapprehension as a multiculturalist liberal before his time. Anne Bradstreet, commonly recognized for her personal lyrics, uses the family and gender structures as a fundamental underpinning of political community throughout the broad reaches of her writing. The conclusion briefly revisits the case studies in formulating a counter to nationalist appropriations of early colonial community visions.