Thomas Morton’s and the settlement of “Merrymount” at Mount Wollaston in Massachusetts have long functioned in national mythology as the foil for the early puritan settlements. Along with Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson, Morton figures as one of the great dissendents of early New England. A good deal of what has come down to us about the events at Merrymount is obviously skewed and propagandistic, a product of the conflicts, but it remains valuable in that light.
For a sampling of original texts on the matter, check out the links on this modern tribute to “The Pagan Pilgrim: Thomas Morton of Merrymount.”
Morton’s New English Canaan is readily available in print and eBook forms, and is well worth the read, both for his social observations and his notes on natural history.
