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C H A P T E R F O U R An Incomplete Transformation: A Tawny Puritan . . . impruden t zea l i n th e magistrate s o f Bosto n t o Christianize thos e heathe n befor e the y wer e civilize d and in joinin g them the strict observation of their lawes, which to a people s o rude and licentious, hat h proved even intollerable. —Edward Randolph, "Report on the Indians in Massachusetts, 1676 " A s the vessel fro m Barbados approached Boston Harbor late in 1680 , / % Titub a coul d hav e see n th e lo w building s a t th e wharve s an d JL j L th e hustl e an d bustl e o f a busy por t (se e Fig . 9) . Som e forty five hundred peopl e live d withi n th e boundarie s o f thi s mos t importan t international marke t center i n Ne w England . Ship s plyin g th e Atlantic trade entered th e harbo r carrying goods an d huma n cargo—paying passengers , servants , an d slaves—fro m th e Wes t Indies , Africa , Souther n Europe, an d th e Britis h Isles . Th e accents o f the seamen , th e sound s o f ships unloading , an d the smell s would no t hav e been to o differen t fro m those o f Bridgetown . Part s of the town itsel f resemble d th e chief Barbados port , wit h it s man y small , low-roofe d woode n house s intersperse d with taller, narrow buildings clustered tightly together on narrow, mostly muddy, streets. 1 I n Barbado s that architectura l styl e wa s inappropriat e for the Climate—the low roof s and small window openings retaining heat and preventin g th e movemen t o f air . Bu t i n th e coole r climat e o f Ne w England, resident s wer e grateful for the warmth of such close quarters. The col d o f th e Ne w Englan d winte r coul d b e a shoc k t o thos e 65 66 • An Incomplete Transformation coming fro m th e Caribbean . Arriva l a t that time o f th e yea r was surel y uncomfortable fo r anyon e wh o ha d rarel y i f eve r experience d tempera tures belo w fift y degree s Fahrenheit . Th e man y layer s o f clothe s o n Tituba's bac k an d th e coverin g o f he r hea d an d leg s woul d hav e bee n appreciated fo r th e firs t time . An d th e winte r o f 1680-8 1 wa s a n espe cially col d one , furthe r addin g to her discomfort. Th e harbo r iced over . Residents complaine d o f the many snowstorms an d the "constant contin uance of cold weather," that made living and travel conditions wors e than during an y winte r i n recen t memory. 2 Titub a mus t hav e longed fo r th e familiar humi d hea t o f th e tropica l island s an d fel t despai r a t the short , dark days of the Massachusettes winter. B y the beginning of the next year she may have had even more reason to suffer wrenching homesickness fo r a tropical landscape when news was heard of Captain Samuel Legg's plans to sail to Barbados in February of 1681. 3 Bu t a slave had no choice i n this matter. Sh e could no t return to Barbados. Parris had decided t o move to Boston and this was to be her home as long as he wished to keep her there. A major adjustment on her part was absolutely essential fo r survival. As Tituba looked over her immediate environment, a closer inspectio n of the dock area revealed a number of brick warehouses an d nearby some substantial bric k and stone houses, al l newly constructed . Beyon d was a major highwa y pave d wit h ston e an d dotte d wit h th e large r ston e an d brick homes o f...

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