Each nation displays its own literary style. Simple. But it’s what shapes literature that makes it truly unique. The history of a nation is what truly defines a country's literature. This story serves as the foundation, or basis, for each masterpiece, unknowingly (and even knowingly) intertwining between and within each ornate word and delicate phrase. This is what makes the literature of one country better than that of another. Fundamentally, a nation's literature reflects and parallels its history. America's history began in 1607 with the establishment of Jamestown, America's first colony. To the north, the Puritans founded Plymouth about 14 years later for religious reasons. Led by William Bradford, these Puritans were looking for a place to live peacefully with little or no conflict. Over the next 20 to 30 years, Bradford kept a diary of events in this new region, although it was not until 1630 that increasing emigration to the "New World" occurred. These groups did not settle on “newly discovered” lands. Contrary to their beliefs, this land actually belonged to many Indian tribes in the New England region. The new settlers attracted the attention of the natives and started a series of wars known as the French and Indian Wars. In 1675, an Indian War (the last Indian War before the actual French and Indian Wars) known as King Phillip's War began (Campbell, 2011, para. 6). During this battle, the Wampanoag Indians captured many settlers, including Mary Rowlandson, a settler who later wrote a book about her experience in captivity with the Indians. Sixty years later, a religious movement known as the Great Awakening began, started by the “fiery orator” Jonathan Edwards. The Great Awakening was a m...... middle of paper ......(2000).Mary Rowlandson, The Account of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson. Retrieved October 11, 2010 from http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/rownarr.htmlMatthews, B. (2005). Rip Van Winkle. Retrieved January 25, 2011 from http://www.bartleby.com/195/4.htmlMelville, H. (1998). Moby-Dick. Retrieved March 3, 2011. New York, NY: New American Library. Patterson, A. (2010). On Chinese Farmers, the Plymouth Pilgrims, and Property Rights. Retrieved May 7, 2011, from http://thewhitedsepulchre.blogspot.com/2010/04/on-chinese-farmers-plymouth-pilgrims.htmlSanders, F. (2009). How Jonathan Edwards died. Retrieved May 7, 2011, from http://www.scriptoriumdaily.com/2009/03/22/how-jonathan-edwards-died/Stout, H. (ND). Sinners in the hands of an angry God. Retrieved November 14, 2010 from http://edwards.yale.edu/archive