Faith and Boundaries: Colonists, Christianity, and Community Among the Wampanoag Indians of Martha's Vineyard, 1600-1871

This book examines how the Wamapanoag Indians' adoption of Christianity and other selective borrowing from English culture contributed to Indian/English coexistence and the long-term survival of Wamapanoag communities on the island of Martha's Vineyard, even as the racial barrier between peoples grew more rigid. On an island marked by centralized English authority, missionary commitment, and an Indian majority, the Wampanoags' adaptation to English culture, especially Christianity, checked violence while safeguarding their land, community, and ironically, even customs. Yet the colonists' exploitation of Indian land and labor exposed the limits of Christian fellowship and thus hardened racial division.

Author: David J. Silverman
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 04/04/2005
Pages: 328
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.26lbs
Size: 9.24h x 6.32w x 0.98d
ISBN: 9780521842808

About the Author
Silverman, David J.: - David J. Silverman is Associate Professor of History at the George Washington University. His several articles include 'Indians, Missionaries, and Religious Translation', which won the Lester J. Cappon award for best essay of 2005 in the William and Mary Quarterly. He completed this book as a Mellon Post-Dissertation Fellow at the American Antiquarian Society.