And as a “post-colonial society” it developed many of the same characteristics that other colonies developed all over the world - “like pride and defiance, as well as resentment, insecurity and self-doubt,” said Woodard.Īfter 1820, Maine experienced a great deal of growth because trade routes ran north to south, by sea. All the way up until 1820 when Maine was granted statehood, it remained under the control and influence of Massachusetts. Massachusetts then annexed the Maine settlements, grabbing land for trade, and creating a “colony within a colony,” said Woodard. In the aftermath of the British Civil War in the 1640s, Gorges lost his property rights and financial connections when he backed the monarchy, and lost.
“These two societies lived side by side, deeply opposed to each other,” said Woodard. By contrast, Massachusetts was settled by religious radicals who were opposed to the king, opposed to the Anglican church, and extremely skeptical of the aristocracy. For Maine, its settlement history was in direct conflict with that of Massachusetts, and the opposing historic forces that shaped the two states has had a significant impact on how Mainers view themselves, outsiders, and their place in the world.Įuropean settlement in Maine began when Ferdinando Gorges, a conservative aristocrat who was loyal to the crown and the feudal system, was given a land patent in the new world. His talk described the historic and economic events that shaped the character and worldview of Maine residents, and how those events continue to influence the state to this day.Įvery area of the country had settlers from different places in the world, with wide ranging and sometimes opposing philosophies that continue to influence culture and politics in America today, explained Woodard. Woodard, who grew up in Maine, has spent considerable time researching and writing about what it is that makes Maine and its people unique. He has been a Pulitzer Prize finalist, is a contributing editor for Politico, and is State and National Affairs writer for the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram.
Woodard is the author of several books including The Lobster Coast: Rebels, Rusticators and the Struggle for a Forgotten Frontier the New York Times bestseller The Republic of Pirates, and American Character: a History of the Epic Struggle Between Individual Liberty and the Common Good, for which he received the 2017 Maine Literary Award for non-fiction. Award winning author and journalist Colin Woodard drew a crowd of almost 100 people on September 16 at George Stevens Academy, for a talk titled “Four Hundred Years of Livelihoods in Coastal Maine.”
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