Compare historical sources on Early new england
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New England, in its early days, was settled by mostly English Puritans, aiming to create a religious utopian society, away from 'immoral' Europe. Through the course of this journal I shall examine how selected readings informed my knowledge of the topic by weighing the merits and shortcomings of both pieces.
1. Archer, Richard, "New England Mosaic: A Demographic Analysis for the 17th Century," William and Mary Quarterly, April 1973
Archer's article is an expansive 'social and demographic analysis that attempts to examine the full range of the early New England populace', synthesising localised studies of specific towns or particularised demographic studies into a wider, comprehensive, broader survey of New England as a whole.
The article is useful to the historian of early New England for several reasons. Firstly, it provides a wealth of statistics taken from various sources regarding demographic factors such as infant mortality, life expectancy, geographical origins of migrants, age of marriage, and so on; thus it provides a truly rich and accurate picture of early New England population trends. Secondly, it compares New England's demography with that of England and the Chesapeake region, so it is useful as a comparative analysis. Thirdly, because of its broad and general nature it weeds out localised peculiarities, giving a much wider picture of New England than other more detailed specific articles, which focus only on individual towns or colonies; in this regard, detail is sacrificed for expansiveness. Overall, as a background to studying New England's early history, this informative account of its population structure is vital.
The article's main flaw is that it is cumbersome and statistically heavy, making no attempt to work the figures into an engaging narrative...