Howard Zinn's Essay on The Pequot War

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Recommended: In what way was the Pequot war like King Phillips war

When reading Howard Zinn’s essay on the Pequot war, one might not immediately notice the extreme bias in the writing unless he or she has prior knowledge of the Pequot war. It simply seems as though he is listing the facts, and that the Puritans were to blame for the war. In reality, however, history was different. The Pequots also fought in thewar. The extent of Zinn’s portrayal of the Pequots’ vulnerability is severe, and he even ignores important facts to support his opinions. This is completely inaccurate and can lead to misperception of British, Pequot, and Puritan history.

Important facts are missing or edited in Zinn’s paper, which can lead to difficulties in understanding historic events. The war began when the Pequots attacked a group of rival Indians who traded at Hartford. Zinn, however, explains that “[The English] had commission to put to death the men of Block Island…. They were to obtain it by force” (Zinn 1). As he does not mention anything before that attack, Zinn indirectly states that the colonists were the first to attack. This portrayal of the Puritans as me...

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