"On the tenth of February 1675, came the Indians with great numbers upon Lancaster... Their first coming was about sun-rising; hearing the noise of some guns, we looked out; several houses were burning, and the smoke ascending to heaven... I had often before this said that if the Indians should come, I should choose rather to be killed by them than taken alive; but when it came to the trial, my mind changed." — Mary Rowlandson, The Sovereignty and Goodness of God (1682), recalling her capture during King Philip's War
Rowlandson's narrative is best categorized as which kind of source?
- Acheck_circle
A Puritan captivity narrative blending personal memoir with providential theology
- B
An almanac essay defending Crown imperial policy
- C
A merchant's ledger documenting Atlantic trade in furs
- D
A formal sermon delivered to the General Court of Massachusetts
Explanation
Captivity narratives like Rowlandson's were a popular genre in late-seventeenth-century New England, framing personal ordeals among Indigenous captors as tests of faith and signs of God's providence.