The Red King's Rebellion: Racial Politics in New England, 1675-1678

Discusses the causes and results of King Philip's War, in which the Algonquins nearly drove the white settlers out of New England

For half a century, colonists in New England enjoyed an uneasy peace with the native American Indians, in what Bourne (former editor and publisher of American Heritage Books) calls a biracial society. The idyll ended in 1675 when Pokanoket Prince Philip, son of an Indian sachem who had befriended the Pilgrims, led an uprising, dubbed "King Philip's War." More than half of New England's towns were attacked over two years; 9000 people died; as a result, the Puritan colonies, left battered and deep in debt, came under a tighter British rein. Bourne distances himself from revisionist historians who see the colonists as greedy land-grabbers from the outset and balances conflicting interpretations. The writing in this political history is stiltedwhat does stilted mean in this context/does that do it?gs , however, although sprinkled with dramatic glimpses of the conflict. Illustrations.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Bourne, former editor and publisher of American Heritage Books, presents a mostly balanced view of King Phillip's War, a conflict between New England Indians and English settlers. Beginning his research "as a visitor among the peoples," Bourne's efforts revealed that previous works on this war were "grotesque distortions." He clearly outlines the war named after Metacom, sachem of the Wampanoag, and his analysis of events leading up to the conflict is especially insightful. While Bourne does not disparage the settlers, his sympathies appear to lie with the Indians. The rebellion has been treated in a number of studies, ranging from Douglas Leach's classic Flintlock and Tomahawk (LJ 4/1/58) to Francis Jennings's revisionist The Invasion of America (LJ 11/15/75). While well researched and written, Bourne's work adds nothing new. Recommended for general readers and research libraries with extensive colonial American collections.
- Cindy Faries, Pennsylvania State Univ. Lib., University Park
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.