Prospero's America

This book looks at how early New England was shaped by European science and philosophy. "Prospero's America" examines the transfer of alchemical culture to America by one of English colonization's early giants, John Winthrop, Jr. Winthrop participated in a pan-European network of natural philosophers who believed alchemy could improve the human condition and hasten Christ's Second Coming. Walter Woodward demonstrates how Winthrop and his philosophy influenced New England's cultural formation: its settlement, economy, religious toleration, Indian relations, medical practice, witchcraft prosecution, and imperial diplomacy. Winthrop's commitment to pansophic reform led him to found a 'new' London in 1645 as an alchemical research center. That commitment underpinned both his broad religious tolerance and his steadfast advocacy for the Pequot Indians; he overcame harsh censure largely through his expansive administration of alchemical medicine. Winthrop's occult knowledge provided him great authority in witchcraft cases, which as governor he used to permanently put an end to Connecticut witchcraft executions. In England, alchemical networks linked Winthrop to court patronage, which helped him obtain - and later defend - Connecticut's remarkable royal charter. "Prospero's America" reconceptualizes the significance of early modern science in shaping New England hand in hand with Puritanism and politics.

ISBN 0807833010   Pages 336 ISBN13 9780807833018 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 635 Publisher The University of North Carolina Press   Published in Chapel Hill Imprint The University of North Carolina Press   Series title Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture Format Hardback   Height (mm) 235 Publication date 15 Jan 2010   Width (mm) 156 DEWEY 540.11097409032   Spine width (mm) 26 DEWEY edition DC22   Academic level Undergraduate, Postgraduate

		List of Illustrations
		Introduction		1
1		John Winthrop, Jr., and the European Alchemical Movement of the Early Seventeenth Century		14
2		The Republic of Alchemy and the Pansophic Moment		43
3		Founding a New London		75
4		Which Man's Land? Conflict and Competition in Pequot Country		93
5		Alchemical Vision Refined		138
6		"God's Secret": John Winthrop, Jr., Alchemical Healing, and the Medical Culture of Early New England		160
7		The Magus as Mediator: Witchcraft, Alchemy, and Authority in the Connecticut Witch-Hunt of the 1660s		210
8		"Matters of Present Utility": John Winthrop, Jr., the Royal Society, and the Politics of Intelligence in Restoration New England		253
		Afterword		302
		Index		309

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