Women of Colonial America
13 Stories of Courage and Survival in the New World
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- $19.99
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
New York Public Library Teen Book List
In colonial America, hard work proved a constant for most women—some ensured their family's survival through their skills, while others sold their labor or lived in bondage as indentured servants or slaves. Yet even in a world defined entirely by men, a world where few thought it important to record a female's thoughts, women found ways to step forth. Elizabeth Ashbridge survived an abusive indenture to become a Quaker preacher. Anne Bradstreet penned her poems while raising eight children in the wilderness. Anne Hutchinson went toe-to-toe with Puritan authorities. Margaret Hardenbroeck Philipse built a trade empire in New Amsterdam. And Eve, a Virginia slave, twice ran away to freedom.
Using a host of primary sources, author Brandon Marie Miller recounts the roles, hardships, and daily lives of Native American, European, and African women in the 17th and 18th centuries. With strength, courage, resilience, and resourcefulness, these women and many others played a vital role in the mosaic of life in the North American colonies.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this addition to the Women of Action series, Miller (Women of the Frontier) examines European, indigenous, and African women who lived, worked, and raised families in colonial America. Familiar individuals like Pocahontas and poet Anne Bradstreet appear alongside lesser-known women, such as Martha Corey, who was accused of witchcraft and hanged, and Christina Campbell and Jane Vobe, successful tavern owners at a time when few women owned property. Other chapters focus on broader topics like the rigid societal and marital expectations for women and the lives of indentured servants in the colonies. Miller maintains a balance between objective historical accounts and personal biographies, offering insight into what it meant to be a woman in America's fledgling days. Ages 12 up.
