| Popis: |
Colonial agents played a central role in the early relationship between England and the New England settlements. Agent's missions forced the colonies to devise a working definition of their political, legal and cultural status with regard to England. Agents secured charters and negotiated agreements which placed the colonies on a lasting constitutional base, both in transatlantic terms, and with respect to one another. The Rhode Island towns recognised at an early date that they needed English help if they were to resist annexation by the other colonies: that support was maintained by dispatching agents to successive English regimes. This study uses evidence from both sides of the Atlantic, analysing both the agency as an institution, and its role in English Atlantic affairs. The first generation agents were better organised and more successful than students of later periods have allowed. As first generation settlers with close personal ties to England, the early agents also offer unique insights into the attitudes and concerns of colonials when faced with civil turmoil in their home country. In turn, England's leaders held views about the colonies which are revealed in their dealings with agents. The study of agents has therefore allowed many seemingly unrelated strands in transatlantic politics and society to be drawn together and examined in a wider context. |
