Short Synopsis
In a work that fundamentally recasts the history of colonial America, Wendy Warren shows how the institution of slavery was inexorably linked with the first century of English colonization of New England.

Full Synopsis
In a work that fundamentally recasts the history of colonial America, Wendy Warren shows how the institution of slavery was inexorably linked with the first century of English colonization of New England. While most histories of slavery in early America confine themselves to the Southern colonies and the Caribbean, New England Bound forcefully widens the historical aperture to include the entirety of English North America.

Using original research culled from dozens of archives, Warren conclusively links the growth of the northern colonies to the Atlantic slave trade, showing how seventeenth-century New England's fledgling economy derived its vitality from the profusion of ships that coursed through its ports, passing through on their way to and from the West Indian sugar colonies. What's more, leading New England families like the Winthrops and Pynchons invested heavily in the West Indies, owning both land and human property, the profits of which eventually wended their way back north. That money, New England Bound shows, was the tragic fuel for the colonial wars of removal and replacement of New England Indians that characterized the initial colonization of the region.

"A much-needed correction in the perception of slavery, this work will be enjoyed by those interested in the history of colonial North America and the transatlantic world." ---Library Journal

"Warren adds a new and surprising dimension to the oft-told story of the New England colonies—one that offers much-needed revision and complication of the simple and comforting myths of intercultural friendship and virtuous endeavor." ---Publishers Weekly

"For students of early American history, this is an eye-opening book about Puritans and Anglicans who disapproved of slavery but accepted it as a normal part of life and reaped its profits." ---Kirkus

"A valuable work that reminds us that the curse of slavery cast a very broad net." ---Booklist

New York Times Bestseller