Excerpt: The Bog Bodies -- sec. 2: Sometimes a Garrote is Just a Garrote

We uncover the true origins and nature of the first colony in New England and the most iconic in American history: Plymouth. Since the mid-1800s and the lead-up to the Civil War, the so-called "Pilgrims" who held the "first Thanksgiving" have been lionized as the true American founders. We explore the deep history of trade, warfare, and power politics leading up to the moment when two very different civilizations -- the Wampanoag Confederation and the English Separatist church -- each reeling from the traumas of violence and disease, unexpectedly converged and formed an unlikely alliance that would enable both to survive and cling to a fragile stability in the rich but harsh terrain of coastal New England.

We compare the ongoing series, "History of the United States in 100 Objects," which has been running on historiansplaining podcast since 2018, to the new series of the same title, launched earlier this year by 99% Invisible and BBC Studios -- and to the earlier prototype for both, the "History of the World in 100 Objects" based on the British Museum Collection. We consider the differences between archaeological artifacts and modern mass-produced commodities, between history based on physical records vs. based on written texts, and between storytelling based on a preconceived agenda vs. improvised. We consider some favorite or most impactful episodes in this series, including the most-played episode on the Hiawatha Belt. Finally, we hear an excerpt from the latest episode, no. 26, on the preserved thumb of George Whitefield, which is held in the Methodist Archives at Drew University.

We read poems dealing with the religious and intellectual history of New England & grappling with the legacies of Puritanism, the Great Awakening, and Transcendentalism: Robert Lowell's "Mr. Edwards and the Spider" and "Jonathan Edwards in Western Massachusetts," about the colonial minister, philosopher, and fire-and-brimstone preacher, Jonathan Edwards; and Anne Sexton's "Kind Sir: These Woods," addressed to Henry David Thoreau. Please sign on as a patron at any level, to make it possible to keep this podcat coming, and to hear patron-only lectures, including the upcoming lecture on the preacher George Whitefield's preserved thumb: https://www.patreon.com/c/u5530632

A colony built on cod: We follow how the massive seasonal fishing industry of the 1500s, with its intense competition among Spanish, English, French, Basque, & Portuguese mariners in the frigid North Atlantic waters off of Newfoundland, eventually went ashore and began to construct year-round “plantations” around coves on the rugged shoreline, usually without state involvement or approval. We observe how planters, migratory fishermen, and aristocratic proprietors vied for control of the makeshift colonies in Newfoundland, leading to the emergence of a free-wheeling and hard-drinking colonial society, and ultimtately, to a cataclysmic war between France and England for control of the world’s richest fishing grounds.

The most exhaustive survey that you will find of the “Bog Bodies” – the highly preserved human remains, often of ancient Iron-Age people whose lives were ended violently, that have been discovered in wetlands all across northern Europe, from Estonia to Ireland, over the past 250 years. We consider how, when, and why these often shockingly intact bodies have been found, what facts can be gleaned about who they were, and finally, when and where the practice of killing people and placing them into bogs originated (hint: it’s in the title). In the next installment, we will discuss the competing theories as to why these Iron Age people died violently, including murder, execution, and sacrifice.