Discussion Questions
September 11, 2001

1. What is Merrell's main argument?  How does he, or indeed does he, transform the usual version of European-native contact?
2. In what manner did the natives' experience parallel that of the colonists?  What were the dimensions of life which altered (ie social, political, economic, etc.) as a result of that contact?
3. What does Pory's letter tell us about the conditions of life, expectations, etc. for the early colonists?
4. Based on the writings of Bradford and Winthrop, what were the motivation(s) which pushed immigration to the New World?  What were the expectations of the colonists according to them?  Overall what do these early histories tell us about the early colonists and the early colonial experience?

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