"After which 32 Condemned Criminals pleaded her Majesties most Gracious Pardon on their Knees, some on Condition never to return into her Majesties Realms during their Lives. Others on Condition to transport themselves into America, and not to come into this Kingdom during the term of Seven years, on forfeiture of their Lives; and others to go as Soldiers into Her Majesties Service beyond the Seas, and there to remain for the term of 7 years" (Punishment Proceedings, 1704).

Chapter 3 is divided into a series of questions that delve into the nature of diversity in 17th America. It sketches out the geo-political conflicts in America as a result of European expansion and illustrates how economic expansion led to increased social tension. That tension is clearly visible in early colonial settlements.

For the moment, it is important that you understand both the rise of the Chesapeake area as well as the emergence of the New England colonies. Try to understand the internal conflicts and crisis in each area. In Virginia, the indentured labor system evolves into slavery and by 1664 perpetual (durante vita) slavery is part of Maryland law. But slavery existed everywhere in colonial America, even in colonial New England.

In Massachusetts Bay, Puritans not only encouraged slavery, but also religious intolerance. The creation of a Utopian religious society required the exclusion of nonconformist. Not surprisingly, Quakers, such as Mary Dyer, were whipped and persecuted. The hanging of religious dissenters is a vivid example of attempts to maintain social order. Despite these efforts, however, Quakerism spread adding to the religious diversity of American society.

Think about how you would tell this story. The hanging of a Quaker woman is not a pleasant tale and neither is the story of cannibalism in early Virginia nor the burning of Native villages. Violence was indeed omnipresent. How do we explain it? If you don't attempt to understand the past through your own questions, others will interpret it for you.