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A Little Commonwealth
In his, A Little Commonwealth: Family Life in Plymouth Colony, John Demos seeks to underscore the lifestyles of the puritan community in the 17th century. Written close to thirty years ago, the book unearths the way of life of this community in light of different social, legal and economic aspects. To accredit the information presented therein, the author uses a wide range of primary sources including information from diaries, marriage documents and even excavations. The author begins by providing the audience with a brief history about the colony. He provides an explicit analysis of the kind of life populations from England led until 1691 when the lifestyle changed. The book is categorized in three main sections with the first one evaluating the physical setting of the population. Then, the author underscores the household structure of this and finally analyzes the general development of puritans in the 17th century from their childhood to old age. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the three themes; Plymouth material setting, work-home-family relationships, and the 17th century life cycle and seeks to underscore the fact that the lifestyle of the Plymouth colonists did not have extremities as it had been posited earlier on. As it will come out from the study, the kind of life that this population led had significant similarities to the life that the then historic communities assumed.
While introducing the Plymouth material setting, Demos demonstrates that the colonists constituted a puritan population that initially left England and instead settled in Holland as a way of escaping the persecutions that were typical of the respective period of time (Demos, 23). They later on moved from Holland to the new world after having stayed in the former for a period of ten years. Securing effective transport that would enable them to arrive in the new word safely is cited to have been a very complex and demanding process. Through their widespread negotiations, they managed to liaise with Thomas Weston who offered them transportation to their ultimate destination.
They arrived in this destination some time before Christmas and were faced with innumerable challenges. Compared to Holland, they found the region to have different extreme conditions that undermined their ability to cope effectively. The extreme temperatures were particularly hostile and by the time spring approached, Demos indicates that a significant percentage of the colonists, constituting nearly half had died. It is for this reason that they found it imperative to initiate friendship with the native Indians. Notably, they benefited immensely from this friendship as they learnt of practical and viable ways that would enable them deal with the intrinsic challenges with ease.
Meanwhile, it is indicated that they devised viable strategies with respect to societal governance and established important relative structures. With respect to governance, Demos indicates that they established the post of a governor, put in place vital institutions such as a general court and established the social status of freemen that provided instrumental services to the top political leaders in the structure. The activities of the church were also considered vital in societal functioning. Essentially, they hired ministers to carry out relative religious services, conducted spiritual services normally and participated in punishing the wayward individuals as a fundamental way of upholding important social values (Demos 43).
Notably, the life and material environment of the colonialists in this regard were typical of that of other conventional societies who were also undergoing liberalization during this period of time. The changes that were introduced led to conflicts with the native Indians that found the characteristic conditions to contravene their way of life. The conflicts were a common affair that both the Indians and colonialists bore until the Indians finally defeated the colonists during the war of King Philip. Basically, it is indicated that the colonialists lived an easy life that reflected the then social conditions.
In his review, Demos indicates that the colonialists essentially lived a simple life that was devoid of various complexities that characterize current communities (Demos 46). Just like their conventional counterparts, they lived in single roomed houses that had a large fire place. This was imperative for conditioning and providing essential warmth to counter the extreme weather conditions. Notably, current populations also face diverse challenges that stem from the extreme weather conditions. Usually, these threaten their survival and hence they require conditioning to address the relative difficulties. The house also had storage and sleeping areas that performed different functions. Storage of food to be consumed during extreme weather conditions is a conventional conception that has been employed since historical times to safeguard the welfare of communities during certain times of the year.
Demos cite that the housing structures were essentially made of thatched roof and oak timber covered with plunks (Demos 67). Apart from the small and simple houses, it is indicated that there were also large houses although these were essentially employed by the wealthy factions of the population. This can be attributed to the inequitable resource distribution that accords some individuals an upper hand with respect to access of vital resources for survival. This is common in the current society as it can not be disputed that it is characterized by a high degree of stratification. There are wealthier individuals who live in houses that are more sophisticated than the rest of the population. Likewise, this can be attributed to the inherent differences with respect to resource allocation and distribution. While some populations live in spacious apartments in city suburbs, others live in poorly conditioned small houses that do not cater for their entire needs.
Also, it is cited that the furnishings employed in the home environment by the colonialists were equally simple. The essential facilities in this regard entailed very few utensils, a bed and a table. In most cases, these were also employed as sitting, sleeping and eating if there was need for this. This is unlike in the present times when the functions for different types of furnishings have become distinct (Demos 78). Technology has also contributed to the introduction of diverse equipments for use in the home environment. Further, just like their houses that were very simple, their mode of clothing is also cited to have been very simple. The type of clothing that they preferred most and which was instrumental for addressing the implications of harsh weather were the linens and wool. These were not only used for beddings but they were also used for making clothes. Another type of material that was also employed in the manufacture of clothing was leather. In this regard, it is indicated that the type of clothing that an individual used in this society was a reflection of his or her social class.
To date, clothes are still employed in determining the social class of individuals in the society. In this respect, Individuals who dress in finer clothes tend to be considered wealthier than their counterparts who dress in clothes that are less fine. Further, Demos indicates that the members of a household had both individual and shared responsibilities that they performed on behalf of the community (Demos 79). With respect to the members of the household, these entailed a mother, father and children. In some instances, households had servants who helped them to perform different tasks. The number of children for each household has been cited to have been essentially nine. However, spacing between births enabled the households to accommodate only three to five members at a given period of time.
Further, adultery was shunned from the society as it was considered a social ill that undermined the credibility of the family unit. A husband and wife were expected to co exist with each other in a harmonic manner too. Christianity was an inherent aspect of growth and development. The relative values were employed in child nurturance and were enforced when the child reached sixteen years of age. While parents were expected to provide for the diverse needs of their children, the children were obligated to respect their parents as well as honor them. Further, education and trade have been cited as important ideals that were expected to be inculcated in the process of growth and development of a child (Demos 115). The parents, close relatives or servants were responsible for teaching the children vital elements of lawful trade that was imperative for economic prosperity. Finally, on attainment of maturity, sons were expected to leave home and colonize open lands for their economic productivity.
Finally, Demos explores the colony’s lifecycle from birth to old age. In this respect, he indicates that the parents played a critical role in ensuring that the physical as well as psychological welfare of the child have been secured. Securing this was imperative as it enabled the children to grow in an ideal environment (Demos 132). Between two and six years, children were molded psychologically in order to attain sustainable growth and development. At six years, children began to be given a young adult treatment and the boys were expected to work with the fathers while the girls worked with their mothers. This stage the respective groups a chance to learn about life as well as households and how they were expected to conduct themselves. In addition, the children of different ages were encouraged to exercise extreme caution when relating to the negative sex. This was critical in helping the children to avoid early pregnancies that compromised their ability to nurture a nuclear family in future.
Adolescence paved way to courtship and ultimately marriage. This saw the adults raise their own children according to the expectations of the society. When the adult children left home, Domes indicates that the parents continued to produce wealth because they had a clear understanding of retirement and the implications of this (Demos 147). Later on, the author cites that older men could participate in politics and perhaps be elected to provide vital leadership to the community. In most instances, older men had a tendency of securing leadership positions in the society. Thus for the remaining periods of their lives, they mainly worked in public service. Old age was in most instances likened to wisdom and populations looked up upon this segment of the population to provide ideal leadership. In order to enhance output as well as cohesive functioning of the society, these were incorporated in established social institutions. The family was also an important institution for worship. As indicated earlier, it enhanced the inculcation of vital Christian values during child nurturance.
The preceding analysis has demonstrated how Domes explored the themes of Plymouth material setting, work-home-family relationships, and the 17th century life cycle in his A Little Commonwealth: Family Life in Plymouth Colon. Notably, the study has succeeded in to demonstrating that the life of the colonialists was as easy as that of the then traditional societies. The mode of governance, production, family relationships and the life cycle of the colonist’s family reflected those of the conventional societies. Their mode of life has been cited to have been characterized by a high degree of simplicity from the mode of dressing to the furnishings. The social class can also be considered to have been stratified in social classes. This can be attributed to the inherent inequality in resource distribution.
With regard to the work-home-family relationships, the study cited that the family was close knit institution and respective members complemented each other when performing different tasks. Parents were expected to enhance harmonic living conditions for their children. In addition, they were obligated to provide basic needs for their children. Children on the other hand were compelled to respect their parents. Finally, this study cites that children were accorded a safe living environment to secure their physical and psychological wellbeing. Parents prepared preteens in to adolescence through education and trade. Then, the adolescence married and raised their respective families. Older men commonly engaged in politics and assumed local leadership positions. It is in this regard that this paper concludes by indicating that the colonists led almost similar lifestyles like other traditional communities.
