Labor in a New Land : Economy and Society in Seventeenth-Century Springfield

Stephen Innes studies the relationship between work, land, and community in seventeenth-century Springfield, Massachusetts. Using analytical concepts drawn from anthropology--dependence, mediation, and clientage--he shows that the town was a highly commercialized, developmental community contrasting sharply with the communal, quietistic models that currently form our image of early New England. Originally published in 1983. The **Princeton Legacy Library** uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905. Stephen Innes studies the relationship between work, land, and community in seventeenth-century Springfield, Massachusetts. Using analytical concepts drawn from anthropology—dependence, mediation, and clientage—he shows that the town was a highly commercialized, developmental community contrasting sharply with the communal, quietistic models that currently form our image of early New England. Originally published in 1983. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905. Contents Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction: Social Diversity and Social Change in Seventeenth-Century NewEngland Chapter 1. A Company Town Chapter 2. Dominance Chapter 3. Land Chapter 4. Work Chapter 5. Community Chapter 6. Decline of the Gentry, 1684—1703 Epilogue. Springfield, John Pynchonf and New England Society Index