History/ES 247 Reading Guide
The First Traveler’s Tale: Christopher Levett’s Voyage
- Roger Howell, “Introduction,” in Roger Howell, ed., Maine in the Age of Discovery: Christopher Levett’s Voyage, 1623-24 (Maine Historical Society, 1988), 7-31. (e-reserve)
- Christopher Levett, “A Voyage to New England, begun in 1623 and ended in 1624,” in Roger Howell, ed., Maine in the Age of Discovery: Christopher Levett’s Voyage, 1623-24 (Maine Historical Society, 1988), 33-68. (e-reserve)
Further readings on landscape representation:
- John R. Stilgoe, “Landschaft and Linearity: Two Archetypes of Landscape,” in Char Miller and Hal Rothman, Out of the Woods: Essays in Environmental History (1997), 64-78.
- Sally McMurry, “Evolution of a Landscape: From Farm to Forest in the Adirondack Region, 1857-1894,” New York History LXXX (1999), 117-152.
Read Levett’s “observations” as an explorer’s account of his voyage to the Maine coast in 1623-24. Consider Levett’s environmental perspective from a historical perspective:
- Who was his audience? How did he appeal to them? What information and interpretation did Levett try to convey? What topics did he address, and how did the particular subjects and contexts shape his message?
- How did Levett envision and describe the environment, which was indeed occupied by Native Americans but “unimproved” according to European standards? How did he judge and value the “potential” of the northern New England environment? What words and concepts did he use to describe what he saw? What do those words and concepts suggest about the extent and limits of his vision?
- How did Levett describe the native inhabitants, as a people, a community, and a culture? How did Native Americans fit into his report and his vision?
- What was Levett’s model for the colonization of the new world?
- What concerns about the process of settlement and cultivation did he address in his report? Why?
Map of Levett’s travels along the Maine coast.
Chronology of early Maine settlements.
Link to the Instructions for the short essays on the travelers’ tales.
Postcards:
Links to views of the York Harbor and River, Portland Harbor, Boothbay Harbor and Southport.
A Bit of Surf, York, Me. (c. 1907)
- Dear Miss C. &160; Have just written you a letter. M.W.C.
Cape Porpoise River, Me. (c. 1905)
Saco River, Saco, Me. (c. 1905)
Link to more views of the Saco River.