Rowlandson, Mary (c. 1636–1711)

English-born American colonist. She wrote A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs Mary Rowlandson 1682, a graphic account of her 11 weeks as a captive of the Wampanoag tribe of American Indians in Massachusetts in 1676. She was captured during King Philip's War (1675–76), a bitter struggle between local tribes and English settlers. Her account was one of the most widely read books of the early colonial period in America, being printed over 30 times.

She was born in England and was probably taken to America when she was a child. Her father, John White, became a wealthy landowner in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, settling in Lancaster. It was there that she married Joseph Rowlandson, a Congregational minister. Though only 30 miles from Boston, Lancaster was then a frontier town and in February 1676 it was attacked by largely destroyed by the Wampanoag. Mary Rowlandson her three children were taken into captivity, many of the other inhabitants being killed. She and two of her children (the third died in captivity) were released when her husband paid a ransom of 20 pounds. The family later settled in Wethersfield, Connecticut.

An honest and perceptive account of her experience, the book was a remarkable personal testament. It was widely seen by the colonists as a clear expression of the fortitude, resourcefulness and God-fearing piety that were needed to survive the hardships of the New World. Relationships between the colonists and the Wampanoag, once very good, had gradually deteriorated as the settlers claimed more and more land and the Wampanoag began to suffer severe hardships during the long winters. The book's account of an incident in King Philip's War helped to sustain the settlers' growing suspicion and fear of American Indians and justify their further encroachment on American Indian lands.