LITERARY STUDIES

Colonial Literature as a term refers to the body of works written in America during the colonial period. These were not works of fiction but reports of exploration and settlement written by soldiers and explorers to describe the situation in America to the monarchs who sponsored their expeditions and to attract more immigrants to move from Europe to the New Land. Such texts had a European belonging rather than American because their authors were colonists who were still British in origin. The only thing American about such reports was the location.

In the year 1606 the first expedition towards America started from Britain under the name of King Jame I, the expedition included adventurers and explorers whose mission was to discover the country and to build settlements. They landed in Virginia and established the first permanent English settlement at Jamestown.

The colony faced a number of hardships and was then led by Captain John Smith (1580 – 1631) who became a figure in what is known as Captivity narratives.  He was named president of the colony in 1608. His reports of exploration are the first American literary texts to be written in English.

Smith’s first work was a letter sent from Virginia titled “A True Relation of Occurrences and Accidents in Virginia”. He also wrote A Description of New England and The General History of Virginia, where he depicted an attractive image of America to attract more settlers. He described it as the land of plenty and wealth, and a paradise which attracted thousands of settlers, including the Puritans who travelled to the continent in search for religious freedom. His reports might have been one of the first texts to build the idea of the American Dream.

The Settlers’ reports were written:

·        To justify the expeditions and settlements

·        These reports were propagandas to attract future immigrants to the continent

·        To officially claim the newly discovered territories on behalf of the monarchs who supported their journeys

·        To outline the geographical and economic circumstances for future settlers and serve them as guides

Other forms of literature included the Captivity Narratives, such as Mary Rowlandson's "A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson". These accounts described the experiences of colonists by Native Americans during conflicts.Haut du formulaire