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                                                                                           TECHNOLOGY Tuesday 27 december 2016




















                Scholars team up to dispel 400-year-old ‘fake news’ about U.S.


            WILLIAM J. KOLE
             Associated Press
            BOSTON (AP) — Fake news,
            quadricentennial  edition:
            America’s    early   settlers
            were  all  pious.  The  native
            people    were    savages.
            Freedom  and  liberty  were
            available  to  all  from  Day
            One.
            As the U.S. gears up to mark
            the 400th anniversary of its
            roots  as  a  nation,  leading
            scholars  from  around  the
            globe  are  teaming  up  to
            dispel myths and challenge
            long-held      assumptions
            about how the country was
            settled.
            Their  group,  New  England
            Beginnings,  is  using  phone
            apps  and  searchable  on-
            line  archives  to  help  set
            the  record  straight  about
            the  early  1600s  —  and  fill
            in  some  important  knowl-
            edge gaps.
            “All  many  people  know  is
            that  the  Pilgrims  landed  in
            Plymouth  in  1620,  Boston
            was  started  in  1630,  and   This June 27, 2006, file photo, shows a 17th century costumed role player, who called himself Samuel Fuller, in a 1627 Pilgrim Village
            then in 1776 we had a rev-   at Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, Mass.
            olution,” said Rose Doherty,                                                                                                    Associated Press
            president of the Partnership  being  paid  right  now  to  and oppression the settlers  remedy  such  misappre-     Papers,” a trove of material
            of Historic Bostons, a group  how  you  distinguish  be-  brought.                     hensions  —  and  highlight  on early New England.
            devoted to the 17th-centu-   tween real news and fake  “It’s  an  important  part  of  the  crucial  role  the  1600s  Scholars  hope  they  can
            ry history of the city and the  news.  But  this  is  something  the story that’s really taken  played  in  shaping  what  finally  turn  the  page  on
            much-older  Boston  in  Lin-  historians   grapple   with  a back seat for a long time.  would become the U.S.      folklore  suggesting  that  all
            colnshire on the east coast  all  the  time,”  said  Francis  You just can’t bury history,”  One  member,  the  Boston-  102  Mayflower  passengers
            of England.                  Bremer,  a  professor  emeri-  said  Paula  Peters,  a  writer  based   Congregational   were Pilgrims (only about 40
            Doherty’s      organization  tus  of  history  at  Pennsyl-  and activist and a member  Library  and  Archives,  has   were)  or  that  Puritan  piety
            is  among  19  prominent  vania’s  Millersville  Univer-  of  Massachusetts’  Wam-     launched  a  new  app  —     was as omnipresent as the
            groups that comprise New  sity and the coordinator of  panoag        tribe.   “People  “Puritan  Boston  Tests  De-  Almighty  (the  word  “forni-
            England Beginnings. Others  New England Beginnings.       don’t  know  how  quickly  it  mocracy”  —  that  sheds
            include the American Anti-   A  key  focus,  Bremer  said,  became  repressive  for  the  light on colonial hypocrisy.   cation” peppers many ear-
            quarian  Society,  the  Gen-  is presenting a much more  Wampanoags.  Ship  after  (Example:  The  settlers’  first   ly accounts).
            eral  Society  of  Mayflower  complete  and  accurate  ship after ship arrived, and  legal guarantee of individ-    “There’s  a  very  human  re-
            Descendants, the New Eng-    picture  of  how  the  early  they  came  with  laws  and  ual liberty adopted in 1641   cord in church documents
            land  Historic  Genealogical  settlers interacted with Na-  deeds.  You  really  have  to  also condoned slavery.)  of people getting in fights,
            Society, Rhode Island’s To-  tive Americans.              put  yourself  in  the  moc-  Another  member,  the  Co-  abandonment,        sexual
            maquag  Museum,  Britain’s  Underscoring  the  gulf  be-  casins  of  the  people  who  lonial Society of Massachu-  abuse,”  said  Peggy  Ben-
            History  of  Independence  tween  how  natives  and  were enduring that.”              setts, is preparing an online   droth, director of the Con-
            Project  and  the  Leiden  white  Americans  see  his-    Peters’  pet  peeve:  “This  edition  of  Plymouth  Gov.   gregational Library and Ar-
            American  Pilgrim  Museum  tory,  on  every  Thanksgiv-   myth of the friendly Indians  William  Bradford’s  history,   chives.
            in the Netherlands.          ing since 1970, members of  and  the  grateful  Pilgrims  “Of  Plymouth  Plantation,”   “They  were  very  compli-
            Together,  they  see  an  New  England  tribes  have  who  met  in  Plymouth  by  with notes reflecting Native      cated  people  full  of  para-
            opening  as  the  U.S.  pre-  gathered   in   downtown  the grace of God and ev-       American  perspectives.  A   doxes  and  subtleties,”  she
            pares  in  2020  to  mark  the  Plymouth  for  a  solemn  eryone  lived  happily  ever  third,  the  Massachusetts   said.  “It  was  just  as  much
            400th anniversary of the Pil-  National  Day  of  Mourn-  after.”                      Historical  Society,  soon  will   of a struggle for them as for
            grims’ arrival in 1620.      ing  observance  that  re-   New  England  Beginnings  release a searchable online     us.”q
            “There’s  a  lot  of  attention  calls  the  disease,  racism  is  turning  to  technology  to  version  of  “The  Winthrop
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