Daniel Gookin’s written works revolve around Puritan attempts to convert the coastal Algonquins of New England to Christianity. He lived most of his life in the Massachusetts Bay colony, where he traded, developed frontier lands, and held a series of public offices – deputy to the General Court, magistrate, Superintendent of Praying (Christian) Indians, and major general of the colony’s militias. Born around 1612 to a family of colonizers from Kent, England, he was a thoroughly Atlantic figure, maintaining ties to England, Ireland, and the Chesapeake colonies of Virginia and Maryland, and viewing himself as an agent for the spread of right religion throughout the empire. The most dramatic time of his life came during King Philip’s War, a devastating conflict between English…
2229 words
Citation: Breen, Louise A.. "Daniel Gookin". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 August 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4883, accessed 25 November 2024.]
