Letters of Thomas Newe were written in 1682 as travelers from Barbados continued their exploration of the eastern coast of present-day America, discovering the lands and people of what would ultimately become known as the Carolinas. Thomas Newe was educated at Oxford University and composed the letters to his father, William Newe who was butler of Exeter College, Oxford, to share his experiences in the New World as well as to maintain contact with his family back home in England. Newe’s initial accounts are merely shared observations that he has gleaned from other travelers, as he has not yet arrived in the Carolinas. His subsequent accounts only span 3-4 months (from May to August) and Newe, unfortunately, dies within the year. Therefore, the accounts in this exploration narrative are fairly limited in content and understanding. Though more letters may have been exchanged, it is only these three that were preserved and continue to be studied as exploration narratives associated with the history of the establishment of the Carolinas. The letters appear to be mostly descriptive in nature, as Newe discusses the people, landscape, conditions, and customs that he observed in the settlement. As personal letters to his father, the tone of the narrative is rather informal for the time. Although Newe still speaks properly as a well-educated Englishman, he does not seem to be trying to impress his father or persuade him in any manner, but rather simply wants to relay important information about his travels back to him and inquire about the well-being of his family back home.
Prior to Newe’s travels and written correspondence with his father, West Indian planters had recently established the Carolina colony on the Atlantic seaboard, nestled between Florida and the Chesapeake areas. The settlement belonged to the Lords Proprietor, eight English elites with great political power and favor from the king, and was named in honor of King Charles II. Early colonization was entrusted to and led by
“ambitious men from Barbados,” Sir John Yeamans and his son, Major William Yeamans. Newe’s first letter is based entirely on what he has heard others say about the Carolinas, as he and his crew have yet to actually reach the colony. What he describes mirrors Taylor’s account, as they both discuss the fertility and abundance of the land. Newe explains that, “The Town which two years since had but 3 or 4 houses, hath now about a hundred houses in it,” and that, “…there is great plenty of all things in the Countrey” including milk, beef, pork, wheat, barley, and corn all readily available (181). He describes the rich stock of cattle possessed by the colonizers, and how horses are prized due to their scarcity. Newe also claims that, “The land near the sea side is generally a light and sandy ground, but up in the Country they say there is very good land, and the farther up the better…” (182). Taylor puts Newe’s marvels at the New World into perspective as he also comments on the abundance and fertility of the Carolinas, explaining that the lands were very different from those of the mountainous West Indies. In addition to this, Taylor also mentions discomforts such as the humid climate, unpredictable weather, and pests such as mosquitoes and sand gnats. However, according to Taylor, the colonists overlook these discomforts to exploit the fertile land, which fits nicely with Newe’s description of the unruly southwest winds that he and his crew encountered and their continued exploration into the territory despite the trouble that it brought them.
In addition to the lay of the land and all of its abundance, Taylor and Newe both cite colonial struggles with native people. Newe explains to his father that the current colonizers are at war with “a tribe of Barbarous Indians,” known officially as the Westos and unofficially as “man eaters,” who are very cruel, even to other tribes (182). To protect themselves from this group, the colonizers form an alliance with other native tribes. Taylor discusses this same fear as well as a similar threat to the colonizers, claiming that they feared the slaves, whom they were shipping in from Africa, and natives may combine and ultimately “merge slave rebellion with frontier war” (223). To prevent this, colonist worked to pit the two forces against each other by offering peace and incentives such as guns and blankets to natives upon the return of any fugitive slaves. This maintained relative peace between all parties (223).
Along with the terrors of the native people, Newe and other colonizers also feared the Spanish as, according to Taylor, securing Carolina defied Spanish claims to the coast, creating conflict between them and the English. Newe describes the threat of Spaniards moving up from St. Augustine in an attempt to procure the newly established English colony. Though physical altercations were inevitable, Taylor explains that to secure the colony from Spanish attack, Carolinians offered “religious toleration, political representation in an assembly with power over public taxation and expenditures, a long exemption from quitrents, and large grants of land” to attract more English settlers (224). “Farmers and artisans of modest means” from both the Chesapeake and the West Indies were who Taylor claims were mostly attracted to the new colony. Many early settlers began as indentured servants, as it took much man power to build farms and fight in frontier warfare. Although Newe does not specifically reference this point, Taylor asserts that colonizers needed “common settlers” to build up the land, “great planters with the capitol to speed development” for economic purposes, and “ambitious and wealthy men” for government and political concerns (225). Ultimately, the Carolinas came to closely resemble Barbados in the sense that a handful of whites profited greatly off the exploitation of enslaved Africans and native lands. These are the sentiments that Newe wished to convey to his father as well as the people that he left behind in England.
Personally, I really enjoyed the narrative. I find tales of exploration much more compelling when they are told from first hand encounters and experiences. Though Taylor’s work is informative, I find texts like Newe’s much more entertaining to read. I really appreciate the personal elements of Newe’s letters, such as when he refers to himself as his father’s “dutiful and obedient son” or when he asks his father to give his love to his mother, sister, and brothers. My preference of this type of writing speaks to Newe’s style, I suppose. Though it conveys factual information, it also speaks to his humility as a person, and brings a realistic quality to the material and overall experience.
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