A Key into the Language of America (1643) - Roger Williams is a book describing the Native American languages in New England in the 17th century, largely Narragansett, an Algonquian language. The book is the first published colonial study of a Native American language in English.
Roger Williams was a Puritan who was banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony and founded Providence Plantations which grew into the Colony of Rhode Island. He believed that the king had no right to grant title to Indian land without paying for it. He interacted extensively with the Narragansett and Wampanoag tribes as a missionary, friend, and trader. He extolled some elements of Indian culture as superior to European culture, and he wrote a complementary poem at the end of each chapter within the book.
Roger Williams was a Puritan who was banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony and founded Providence Plantations which grew into the Colony of Rhode Island. He believed that the king had no right to grant title to Indian land without paying for it. He interacted extensively with the Narragansett and Wampanoag tribes as a missionary, friend, and trader. He extolled some elements of Indian culture as superior to European culture, and he wrote a complementary poem at the end of each chapter within the book.