author

Nathaniel Ward

1578–1652

A sharp-tongued Puritan minister and pamphleteer, this early colonial writer is best remembered for helping shape the legal foundations of Massachusetts. His work mixes fierce religious conviction, political argument, and a distinctly biting wit.

1 Audiobook

The Simple Cobler of Aggawam in America

The Simple Cobler of Aggawam in America

by Nathaniel Ward

About the author

Born in Haverhill, Suffolk, around 1578, Nathaniel Ward was an English Puritan clergyman, lawyer, and writer who later spent time in colonial New England. He studied at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and his legal training would become as important to his legacy as his ministry.

Ward emigrated to Massachusetts in the 1630s and served as minister at Ipswich. He is especially known for drafting The Body of Liberties of 1641, an influential legal code for the Massachusetts Bay Colony that helped define rights, duties, and punishments in early New England.

He also wrote The Simple Cobler of Aggawam in America, a lively and often combative pamphlet that shows his forceful style and strong opinions. Ward died in 1652 in Essex, England, leaving behind a reputation as a deeply learned, controversial, and important voice in Puritan Atlantic history.