SOCIAL SCIENCES

God, War, and Providence: The Epic Struggle of Roger Williams and the Narragansett Indians Againstthe Puritans of New England

by James A. Warren
Scribner. Jun. 2018. 304p. illus. maps. notes. bibliog. index. ISBN 9781501180415. $30; ebk. ISBN 9781501180439. HIST
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Minister and abolitionist Roger Williams's (1603–83) poor relationship with the Puritans, in particular John Winthrop, ultimately led to his banishment from the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635. He and his followers subsequently established Rhode Island on lands purchased from the Narragansett. When Puritans began to war with the Narragansett, Williams sided with his Native neighbors. Warren (Giap: The General Who Defeated America in Vietnam) explores the relationship between Williams and the Narragansett to illustrate that mutual cooperation and respect between the two groups was possible, but that the Puritans' unwillingness to perceive of a world in which their views were not predominant led to the ruin of the Native New Englanders, especially at the conclusion of King Philip's War.
VERDICT Warren's well-written monograph contains a great deal of insight into the tactics of war on the frontier. Readers interested in Williams would be better served by John M. Barry's scholarly Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul. On the Narragansett during the period in question, Lisa Brooks's Our Beloved Kin is a must-read.
Reviewed by John R. Burch, Univ. of Tennessee at Martin , May 15, 2018
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