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God, War, and Providence: The Epic Struggle of Roger Williams and the Narragansett Indians against the Puritans of New England Paperback – June 18, 2019

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 183 ratings

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The tragic and fascinating history of the first epic struggle between white settlers and Native Americans in the early seventeenth century: “a riveting historical validation of emancipatory impulses frustrated in their own time” (Booklist, starred review) as determined Narragansett Indians refused to back down and accept English authority.

A devout Puritan minister in seventeenth-century New England, Roger Williams was also a social critic, diplomat, theologian, and politician who fervently believed in tolerance. Yet his orthodox brethren were convinced tolerance fostered anarchy and courted God’s wrath. Banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635, Williams purchased land from the Narragansett Indians and laid the foundations for the colony of Rhode Island as a place where Indian and English cultures could flourish side by side, in peace.

As the seventeenth century wore on, a steadily deepening antagonism developed between an expansionist, aggressive Puritan culture and an increasingly vulnerable, politically divided Indian population. Indian tribes that had been at the center of the New England communities found themselves shunted off to the margins of the region. By the 1660s, all the major Indian peoples in southern New England had come to accept English authority, either tacitly or explicitly. All, except one: the Narragansetts.

In
God, War, and Providence “James A. Warren transforms what could have been merely a Pilgrim version of cowboys and Indians into a sharp study of cultural contrast…a well-researched cameo of early America” (The Wall Street Journal). He explores the remarkable and little-known story of the alliance between Roger Williams’s Rhode Island and the Narragansett Indians, and how they joined forces to retain their autonomy and their distinctive ways of life against Puritan encroachment. Deeply researched, “Warren’s well-written monograph contains a great deal of insight into the tactics of war on the frontier” (Library Journal) and serves as a telling precedent for white-Native American encounters along the North American frontier for the next 250 years.
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Warren’s well-written monograph contains a great deal of insight into the tactics of war on the frontier.” Library Journal

“In the long and sorrowful history of Native American resistance to white encroachment, no episode raises more perplexing questions than that in which the Narragansett tribe forged a seventeenth-century alliance with the white religious dissidents of Rhode Island for their mutual protection against New England’s Puritans…A riveting historical validation of emancipatory impulses frustrated in their own time.” —
Booklist, starred review

“Warren distinguishes himself by trying to understand all the motives of the principal players in this sad, sanguinary drama….There are several simultaneous stories going on, and the author handles them all deftly.” —
Kirkus Reviews

“An engaging history of the long struggle between the Puritan oligarchy and New England's most important Indian tribe, in which Roger Williams, America’s first advocate of religious freedom, played a vital role. Williams established Rhode Island as a refuge from Puritan domination, and a place where Indian and English settlers could live side by side, in peace. If you want to know about the origins of religious diversity and cultural pluralism in America, read this compelling book.”
—Chester Gillis, Professor of Theology, Georgetown University

“A noted military historian trains his critical sights on Puritan New England, while putting up a staunch defense of Roger Williams, Rhode Island, and the Narragansett Indians. In this compelling story, James Warren portrays Williams as a man of peace in violent times, an intellectual whose ideas were often strikingly modern. Now recognized as a champion of religious liberty and the separation of church and state, Williams also earns Warren’s praise for his pioneering ethnographic research, his fair treatment of Native Americans, and his deft maneuvering to assure the survival of a tiny but tolerant colony.”
—Professor Patrick M. Malone, Brown University, author of The Skulking Way of War

“In
God, War, and Providence, James Warren accomplishes many tasks: he adds to the far too brief historiography of the small, radical colony that helped to shape the philosophical underpinnings of this nation; he renders comprehensible the complex relationships of 17th century religious dissenters and Native Americans; and he exposes his readers to the challenges of researching the Colonial Era—a scant and untrustworthy written record and even fewer records that capture the Native American perspective. And all the while he does this is an engaging and enjoyable narrative that is a pleasure to read.” — C. Morgan Grefe, PhD, Executive Director, Rhode Island Historical Society

About the Author

James A. Warren is a historian and foreign policy analyst. A regular contributor to The Daily Beast, he is the author of God, War, and Providence: The Epic Struggle of Roger Williams and the Narragansett Indians against the Puritans of New England; American Spartans: The US Marines: A Combat History from Iwo Jima to Iraq; and The Lions of Iwo Jima: The Story of Combat Team 28 and the Bloodiest Battle in Marine Corps History (with Major General Fred Haynes, USMC-RET), among other books. For many years, Warren was an acquisitions editor at Columbia University Press, and more recently a visiting scholar in American Studies at Brown University. He lives in Saunderstown, Rhode Island.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scribner; Reprint edition (June 18, 2019)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1501180428
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1501180422
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.7 x 8.38 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 183 ratings

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4.4 out of 5 stars
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Customers say

Customers find the book well-written and easy to read. They describe it as a good read that makes them want to know more. The history is factual and insightful, providing an overview of conflicts and Indians in New England.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

10 customers mention "Writing quality"10 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's writing quality good. They say the narrative flows smoothly, the story is interesting, and it's easy to read. Readers appreciate the engaging history and find the book well-written.

"...Warren tells the story well and differently. Take a look at the pic on the dust jacket; it says a lot...." Read more

"...has done the research and brings the story to us in a serious yet flowing narrative. The true mark of a good read: it made me want to know more." Read more

"This is a well-written and factual history of the origin of conflicts between colonists and native Americans along the Atlantic seaboard in the 1600..." Read more

"...The narrative in the book flows easily and the story is unflattering to the Bay colonists to say the least...." Read more

8 customers mention "Readability"8 positive0 negative

Customers find the book engaging and worth reading. They say it's a good read for first-timer but otherwise disappointing.

"...Fun read, I was fascinated throughout." Read more

"...The true mark of a good read: it made me want to know more." Read more

"...I found it very interesting considering my ignorance of the history of this state...." Read more

"...It's the best piece I've read on the Puritan/Colonial Period and the native/Indian population of New England. Well written and easy to read." Read more

3 customers mention "History"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's history informative and well-written. It provides a factual account of conflicts, Indian history in New England, and insights into early English settlers' activities and relations with England.

"...The book also gives insight into the early English settlers' activities and relations with England...." Read more

"This is a well-written and factual history of the origin of conflicts between colonists and native Americans along the Atlantic seaboard in the 1600..." Read more

"Great history of Indians in New England..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2020
    As a bit of a history buff who was born and raised in Massachusetts, this book was a "fresh" look at our little neighbor to the south (its founding, anyway). I had heard of Roger Williams, that he was a dissenter from the Puritans who went off to found his own colony, but I never realized how important were his ties to the Narragansett Indians -- or, for that matter, how important the Narragansetts were in early New England history. Fun read, I was fascinated throughout.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2019
    Coming from the region about which Warren writes, knowing that this fellow lives here, too, makes God, War, and Providence and its message doubly haunting. Anxious to show that he's a military man, in rhetoric and in photo, Warren embarks upon the story of the Narragansetts with no-nonsense Teddy Roosevelt-like vigor.

    That story is not one of doctrine, but of business objectives. This business-first attitude drove Roger Williams into the wilderness in counter distinction. But, the predation never stopped, and seemingly, could not stop. One society, literate and imbued with technical skill, came in contact with another, far less skilled and far less brutal.

    Warren tells the story well and differently. Take a look at the pic on the dust jacket; it says a lot.

    Guy walks into a bar, takes a seat, expects to hold forth. And runs into a guy who turns out to be smart as hell.
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2018
    This book delivers an interesting telling of a somewhat neglected tale... I grew up in RI and knew the outlines, but Warren has filled in the details and given a much deeper view of the history that we too rarely focus on, that is, Native American relations with the early English settlers. The book also gives insight into the early English settlers' activities and relations with England. Warren has done the research and brings the story to us in a serious yet flowing narrative. The true mark of a good read: it made me want to know more.
    9 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2018
    This is a well-written and factual history of the origin of conflicts between colonists and native Americans along the Atlantic seaboard in the 1600's. There were peacemakers on both sides, Roger Williams being one of the few that were trusted by both sides. There were also warmakers who, for the most part, were operating from the point of view of an ideology derived from the conviction of a fundamental religious supremacy.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2022
    I am interested in the history of the Massachusetts Bay colony. This book provides an outsiders perspective of the colony. Roger Williams and his fellow colonists in Rhode Island provided a haven for other dissenters and approached the Native Americans who lived in the area much more respectfully than the immigrants to the Massachusetts Bay did. When war came in 1675 Williams tried to intervene in the name of peace, but was rebuffed. At the same time the Bay colony made aggressive attempts to acquire the land occupied by the Rhode Islanders and the natives who lived there. The narrative in the book flows easily and the story is unflattering to the Bay colonists to say the least. The author's perspective is one-sided and there is insufficient detail to really get a sense of the complicated issues affecting all three parties to the conflict. Still, the book provides a welcome corrective to the standard history of the subject, which, of course, was written by the victors.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2018
    Gift for sister living in Providence. She says it's surprisingly interesting. So four stars.
  • Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2019
    As a resident I learned quite a bit by reading this book. I found it very interesting considering my ignorance of the history of this state. I had hear of Rodger Williams only briefly in my studies of state history. This shines a whole new light on Rodger Williams for me.
    Thank you for creating this book it's been a pleasure to read
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2018
    If you like New England History then you should read this book. It's the best piece I've read on the Puritan/Colonial Period and the native/Indian population of New England. Well written and easy to read.
    10 people found this helpful
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