Dr. Andrew Lipman on His Book, "Squanto: A Native Odyssey"

This virtual book talk celebrated the upcoming release of "Squanto: A Native Odyssey" with author Dr. Andrew Lipman.

American schoolchildren have long learned about Squanto, the welcoming Native who made the First Thanksgiving possible, but his story goes deeper than the holiday legend. Born in the Wampanoag-speaking town of Patuxet in the late 1500s, Squanto was kidnapped in 1614 by an English captain, who took him to Spain. From there, Englishmen brought him to London and Newfoundland before sending him home in 1619, when Squanto discovered that most of Patuxet had died in an epidemic. A year later, the Mayflower colonists arrived at his home and renamed it Plymouth.

Prize-winning historian Andrew Lipman explored the mysteries that still surround Squanto: How did he escape bondage and return home? Why did he help the English after an Englishman enslaved him? Why did he threaten Plymouth’s fragile peace with its neighbors with a daring plot that shocked colonists and Natives alike? Was it true that he converted to Christianity on his deathbed? Drawing from a wide range of evidence, Lipman reconstructed Squanto’s upbringing, his transatlantic odyssey, his career as an interpreter, his surprising downfall, and his enigmatic death. The result was a fresh look at an epic life that ended right when many Americans think their story begins.


You can find Dr. Lipman's' "Squanto: A Native Odyssey" here: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/97803...

You can find Plimoth Patuxet Museums, mentioned in the video, here: https://plimoth.org/

A Research Guide for finding records of Black and Indigenous people in the Congregational Library & Archives' collections is available at https://congregationallibrary.org/bla...


-------------------
CHAPTERS:

0:00 Welcome and Introductions
2:09 A Brief Overview of Squanto's Life
7:19 Book Project Overview
10:07 Part I: Home
14:30 Part II: Away
26:24 Part III: Home Again
33:40 Summarizing Squanto's Life and Legacy
38:53 Q: What do we know about Squanto's relationship to Christianity?
44:32 Q: What does the Wampanoag tradition say about the epidemics prior to Squanto's arrival?
48:04 Q: Did Squanto spend time on Monhegan Island, Maine?
49:21 Q: How has Pilmoth Patuxet responded to your book?
52:26 Q: Do you think Squanto suffered from psychological trauma?
56:04 Final Thoughts and Thanks


-------------------
Connect with the Congregational Library & Archives online:

• Website: https://www.congregationallibrary.org
• Facebook:   / congregationallibrary  
• Instagram:   / congregationallibrary  
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/congrelib.bs...
• X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/CongreLib
• Threads: https://www.threads.net/@congregation...
• Linktree: https://linktr.ee/CongregationalLibrary