Prospero's America

In Prosperos America, Walter W. Woodward examines the transfer of alchemical culture to America by John Winthrop, Jr., one of English colonizations early giants. Winthrop participated in a pan-European network of natural philosophers who believed alchemy could improve the human condition and hasten Christs Second Coming. Woodward demonstrates the influence of Winthrop and his philosophy on New Englands cultural formation: its settlement, economy, religious toleration, Indian relations, medical practice, witchcraft prosecution, and imperial diplomacy. Prosperos America reconceptualizes the significance of early modern science in shaping New England hand in hand with Puritanism and politics.