110 Project Management Journal ■ DOI 10.1002pmj TE

110 Project Management Journal ■ DOI: 10.1002/pmj
T
E
A
C
H
IN
G
C
A
S
E
S
T
U
D
IE
S Dealing with Uncertainty and Ambiguity
in a Complex Project: The Case
of Intravenous (IV) Pumps in a
Healthcare Center
Monique Aubry, School of Business and Management,
Université du Québec à Montréal,

Montréal, Canada
Madeline Boulay-Bolduc, Project Manager, retired, McGill
University Health Center (MUHC)
Marie-Claire Richer, Associate General Manager, CIUSSS de
l’Ouest de l’île de Montréal
Mélanie Lavoie-Tremblay, Ingram School of Nursing, McGill
University
A University Hospital for the 21st Century
In 2008, the Quebec government approved a CAD$2.3 bil-
lion budget to build a modern academic healthcare facil -
ity that would provide state-of-the-art, highly specialized
healthcare services to the Montreal population and to a
broader community of 1.7 million Quebecers scattered
from Nunavik to the U.S. border. The new facility would
house a great part but not all of the McGill University
Health Center (MUHC) activities.
The opening of the Glen site in 2015 was the con-
clusion of a multifaceted project involving hundreds of
workers, over a period of close to eight years. The physical
architecture conveyed only a glimpse of the complexity
and magnitude of this redevelopment project, much of
which resided ‘within its walls,’ where clinical teams from
different hospitals needed to prepare to work together day
one after the move. The programs and activities of the
two larger general hospitals, the Royal Victoria and the
Montreal General, had to be reconfigured and redeployed,
which required many teams to merge and many clinical
practices to be harmonized. In addition, throughout the
organization, many major clinical and administrative pro-
cesses had to be streamlined and optimized to meet the
expectations set for the new MUHC.
The physical move to the new Glen site of the MUHC
took place between April and June of 2015 and represented

the largest hospital move in Canadian history. A total of
273 patients were transferred, a very complex task. The
Royal Victoria Hospital, the Montreal Children’s Hospital,
and the Montreal Chest Institute sites closed down, while
the reconfigured Montreal General Hospital, the NEURO,
and the Lachine Hospital remained on their existing site.
A Turning Point: The Creation of the
Transition Support Office
In preparation for this redevelopment project, MUHC
executives visited hospitals in Europe and in the United
States that had undergone similar redevelopment projects.
What they learned was alarming: close to 50% of managers
had resigned from their position in the months follow -
ing the move. Testimonials pointed to a lack of dedicated
resources to support clinicians and managers in preparing
this major transformation. Typically the time needed to
prepare for the transformation was scheduled very late in
the process, as part of the move planning activities. This
situation led to operational disruptions and disconnects,
raising the level of stress and distress among clinical
teams. In other words, bricks, mortar, and IS/IT consid-
erations represented just the tip of an immense iceberg.
First and foremost, the success of a redevelopment project
would lie in preparing the people to transition seamlessly
to a radically new work environment, while maintaining
a high quality of care and uncompromised patient safety.
It was with this in mind that the MUHC created the
Transition Support Office (TSO) in 2008. This project man-
agement office was intended to support teams in harmo-
nizing practices and processes across sites as well as to
facilitate the merger and the move. The TSO had to act on
the following three areas to facilitate the merger:
1. Harmonization of clinical practices;

2. Review of all processes; and
3. Consolidation of work teams that would be merged
with the move.
Suzan was appointed as head of the TSO. She played
a strategic role on projects under her responsibilities
by linking with senior management when needed. She
held a doctoral degree in nursing and had proven strong
Project Management Journal, Vol. 49, No. 1, 110–121
© 2018 by the Project Management Institute
Published online at www.pmi.org/PMJ
107650_PMJ_07_110-121_Aubry_Case_Study.i ndd 110
1/12/18 7:45 PM
February/March 2018 ■ Project Management Journal 111
leadership qualities, fueled by an inspiring vision of the future
of the new MUHC. She firmly believed in project management
as a philosophy of management to lead the overall organiza-
tion transformation for the benefit of patient care.
At its peak, the TSO was staffed with 26 full-time equiva-
lent persons, who collectively managed a portfolio of no fewer
than 100 projects, a third of which focused on supporting
clinicians across the different sites to harmonize their clini -
cal practices based on the best available evidence from the
scientific literature. Nearly half of the TSO employees had an
education in project management, either a master’s degree in
project management or a PMO certification.
Maggie was a former Associate Director of Nursing,

responsible for the Clinical and Professional Staff Develop-
ment Service at the MUHC from 2004 to 2011, and had devel -
oped a large network of contacts within the organization over
the years. One of her department’s numerous responsibilities
included the harmonization of clinical practices. In 2012, she
was recruited as a project manager by the TSO to manage proj -
ects related to the harmonization of clinical practices, befitting
her background. In this role, she would be supported by a proj -
ect management specialist and the results would be a winning
combination of clinical and project management expertise
One early morning in 2012, Suzan met with Maggie to inform
her that the TSO had just been asked to provide support for the
selection, implementation, and use of a new float of IV pumps.
The Intravenous (IV) Pumps Project
IV pumps known as infusion pumps were commonly used to
provide care in a variety of clinical settings. Nurses used them
to administer intravenous fluids and medications to patients.
There were two basic kinds: a volumetric pump for continu-
ous infusion and a syringe pump for intermittent infusion.
Maggie referred to them as “an essential, everyday tool for
nurses.” Patients often had more than one IV pump at a time
for the administration of multiple medications; for example,
premature babies might need up to 14 pumps at any given
time. “Infusion pumps were manufactured with software that
could alert users to potential errors. The pumps with this
additional software were often referred to as “Smart Pumps”
or “Intelligent Infusion Devices.” This software allowed an
organization to create a library of medications that provided
medication dosing guidelines, by establishing concentrations,
dose limits, and clinical advisories.”1 This security feature was
called the Dose Error Reduction System (DERS) or drug library
and when not used, pumps were referred to as being “dumb.”
Before the move and consolidation to the Glen site, IV

administration procedures varied across MUHC hospitals,
and there were as many as eight different types of pumps
being used. As Maggie recalled it, “There were always pumps
missing, in fact through our investigations, we found out that
there was a lot of ‘hunting and gathering’ by staff members.
This situation meant that staff spent much time looking for
pumps because they were not readily available to them.”
Biomed Engineering was responsible for the acquisition
and maintenance of medical equipment for the MUHC. In
2012, it was time to renew IV pumps contracts and, given the
impact this type of technology would have on clinical prac-
tices, the TSO was asked to assist with the process.
The goal of this project was to address the long-standing
clinical and operational issues surrounding the use of IV pumps
at the MUHC. It would be a system-wide, inter-departmental
project that needed to be conducted before the move to the
Glen site. Not only would it include the harmonization and
optimization of practices, but it would also encompass the
selection and implementation of IV pumps. For the project
to truly meet clinical needs, clinicians needed to be involved,
which posed a challenge since, traditionally, clinicians’
involve-
ment in the decision-making process was limited. As Maggie
put it, “clinical was going to drive the project.”
Project Organization
The first thing Maggie did was to put in place the project plan
and governance structure. The project sponsors would be the
Director of Nursing and the Pharmacist-in-Chief. The core proj-
ect team consisted of the two sponsors plus a clinical practice
consultant (Nicole) and a knowledge broker (Martha). Many ad
hoc members—clinicians, experts in process review and evalua-
tion as well as representatives from different departments, such

as Quality, Patient Safety, and Performance, Biomed, Finance,
Logistics—were solicited as needed for their expertise at differ -
ent junctures during the project (see Figure 1).
The objective was to engage the multiple stakeholders
around strategic decisions that would have to be made, and at
the right level. She, therefore, created two committees: one at
the executive level and another at the operational level. The
first was the Harmonization of IV Practices Steering Committee
that would include director-level representatives from Nursing,
Pharmacy, Biomed, Information Technology (IT), Finance,
Quality, and Logistics. The operational committee consisted
of a group known as the Harmonization of IV Practices Work-
group. The committee represented inter-professional clini-
cians from all MUHC sites (adult and pediatric care) and
various clinical settings. All these representatives were brought
together to guide the clinical decision process regarding the
selection of IV pumps, the elements to support their use, and
the harmonization of IV practices.
Maggie hoped that the involvement of clinicians from
the very onset of the project would ensure that the selected
pumps would suit the needs of the many clinical settings
in which they would be used. She also hoped it would help
the TSO obtain buy-in from participants across the MUHC.
Moreover, if they supported the initiative, she believed that
1Proceedings from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices
(ISMP) summit on use of smart
infusion Pumps: guidelines for safe implementation and use.
107650_PMJ_07_110-121_Aubry_Case_Study.indd 111
1/12/18 7:45 PM

Dealing with Uncertainty and Ambiguity in a Complex Project:
The Case of Intravenous (IV) Pumps in a Healthcare Center
112 February/March 2018 ■ Project Management Journal
it would be easier to achieve the required behavioral change
and shift.
Project Kick-off Meeting
Eager to get the stakeholders involved, Maggie held the project
kick-off meeting of the Steering Committee on 20 March 2012
(see Table 1). The objective of the meeting was to arrive at a
com-
mon vision of the project; agree on the scope, major elements;
and timetables for the project and establish the next steps. The
main goal and objectives of the project were to:
1. Harmonize all the practices linked to the administration
of IV medications based on the best available evidence;
2. Acquire IV pump equipment based on the best technology,
in a sufficient number that met all the clinical needs of the
MUHC;
3. Improve the safety of use of IV pumps across the MUHC; and
4. Improve the management of the pump fleet across the
MUHC.
A fifth objective was added as a result of the kick-off meet-
ing, and that was to ensure sustainability by putting in place
a decision-making structure to address and communicate
issues promptly. This exemplified the importance of the com-
munication needed across departments and professions to
ensure ongoing involvement and cooperation from all parties

throughout the project.
See Table 2 for the Project Charter. The project scope was
defined as “The Harmonization of IV Practices across the
MUHC” sites, and the renewal of the pump fleet for the adult
sites, excluding the Lachine and the MCH sites. These sites
were to be involved in identifying the selection criteria for
the pumps, but would not renew their pump fleet until later.
The MCH site had recently purchased pumps and would not
benefit from the project until the expiration of that contract,
but it was important for them to have a say in the decision-
making process.
Next on the agenda were the proposed timetables.
The tight deadlines along with the budget needs of the project
Figure 1: The organization and governance structure for the
harmonization of IV practices project.
Source: Diagram designed specifically for this case
1/12/18 7:45 PM
Items Discussion/Decision/Action
1 Review of the agenda Maggie explained the agenda and the
objectives of the meeting:
• Arrive at a common vision of the project (see if the
expectations are similar and address the divergence)
• Agree on the scope of the project, its major elements, and the
timelines

• Agree on the next steps
Maggie explained that Julie would be with the project until the
end of April 2012. She will be able to assist on
moving certain aspects of the project, such as the needs
assessment.
2 Context of the project The harmonization of IV practices
project is supported by the Transition Support Office. It is a
system-wide inter-
professional, inter-departmental project that needs to be
addressed before the move to the Glen. In addition to the
harmonization and optimization of practices, selection and
implementation of IV pumps are integral parts of this
project.
3 Definition of the project 1. Goal and objectives of the project:
A document called “Needs statement” had been circulated to the
group members before the meeting and was
discussed. The main goal was presented as well as the four main
objectives of the project. The group agreed
on these and asked that a fifth objective be added and that is:
Put in place a decision-making body that would
address and communicate issues related to IV practices and
pumps post implementation as a strategy to ensure
sustainability. Therefore, part of the sustainability plan of this
project is to recommend to senior administration the
appropriate structure needed to ensure ongoing quality
improvement related to IV practices post implementation.
The importance of communicating explicitly the need for inter -
professional and interdepartmental ongoing
involvement and commitment in this project was also
mentioned. The group agreed with this.
2. Scope of the project:
Harmonize IV practices across the MUHC sites and renew pump
fleet for the adult sites excluding Lachine
(proceeding currently with call for tender but will participate in

identifying selection criteria) and the MCH (who
will participate in identifying selection criteria only because
they purchased the pump a few years ago). It excludes
pumps used for pain management (PCA pumps). The available
budget is 3 million dollars for the first year
(2012–2013) and up to CAD$9 million. Colin explained that this
amount was determined based on historical data and
market references. It is a onetime capital investment required to
create, sign, and get the contract running in order
to have access to the pumps that we need. This would permit 1.5
IV lines/patient. The CAD$9 million will pay for the
equipment, the professional support to implement, educate, and
deploy. It was suggested to include the notion of
partnership with the vendor.
3. The preliminary timeline:
The proposed timeline was presented. We are facing a tight
timeline linked to the call for tender. Colin needs
the selection criteria and plans to have a detailed call for tender
document by the end of July 2012 and he plans
to organize an evaluation workgroup thereafter. He plans to
proceed with the call for tender at the beginning of
August 2012, followed by the evaluation of the call for tender
thereafter and finish this by the end of 2012. A needs
assessment with front line staff regarding IV practices, pump
storage, and management is planned. The nurse
managers have been solicited to identify their current pump
situation and forecast future needs. She should receive
all the information by the end of March 2012. Colin mentioned
that there are internal and external factors that
might impact on the project and that is the ministry is thinking
about selecting a pump system that would be used
provincial-wide. Internally, the fact that we aim to ensure each
patient has at least one pump is a big change and
will greatly impact the logistic aspect (storage, maintenance,
cleaning). We discussed also the infrastructure needed
to support the smart pump technology like setting up drug

library and needing Wi-Fi technology to update the library
in a safe manner. There will be Wi-Fi at the Glen and at the
MGH, it will not be for another five years. This means
that we will purchase smart pumps, but not use the library for
two to three years until we move to the Glen and it
could be for five years for the MGH if we do not have access to
Wi-Fi technology. We will need to include this in
our risk management analysis when we look at the different
scenarios. It was clear from all present that as senior
person from IS/IT needs to be a member of this coordinating
committee.
4 Next steps 1. The members present agreed to be a member of
the harmonization of IV practices coordinating committee
knowing they are a decision-making body for this project. It
was mentioned that a senior person from IS/It also
needs to be a member. We informed the group that we have
solicited IS/IT to delegate someone to join our group.
Some of the next steps are:
1.1. Proceed with the needs assessment
1.2. Form the harmonization of IV practices workgroup and the
management of IV pumps workgroup as well.
1.3. Set the next harmonization IV practices Coordination
Committee meeting
Table 1: Minutes of the kick-off meeting.
1/12/18 7:45 PM

Project Identification
Project Name:
Harmonization of practices linked to the administration of IV
medications
Department:
Nursing, Pharmacy, Logistics, Biomedical, Finance, Information
Services,
Quality, Risk and Performance
Site:
RVH, MGH, CHEST, Neuro, MCH, and Lachine
Project Start:
January 2012
Project Completion (expected):
July 2014
Project Governance
Requester:
Pharmacy/Nursing
Sponsor(s):
Director of Nursing
Pharmacist-In-Chief
Clinical or Other Leader(s):
Assistant to the Director of Nursing
Pharmacist
Project Manager(s):
Maggie, Transition Support Office
Clinical Practice Consultant: Nicole

Project Environment
Strategic Justification:
Within the context of the redevelopment project, it is imperative
to optimize and harmonize the practices related to the
administration of IV
medications, based on best evidence and supported by state-of-
the-art technology.
Project Context:
Across the MUHC we find:
• Diverse IV administration practices
• Different IV administration systems (different pump system
and tubing) obtained from different vendors (different contracts
and end of contract
dates)
• Shortage of IV pumps and time constraint related to renewal
of pump contract
• Absence of a comprehensive system of pump management
(tracking system and central management and rotation of stock),
preventative
maintenance and cleaning
The above elements are contributing to:
• Having a negative impact on quality and security of patient
care by contributing to an increase of infection risks,
medication errors
• Increasing caregiver stress due to pump not being accessible
when needed
• Increasing the risk of errors and inefficient use of human
resources
• Difficulty in providing adequate servicing to pumps, difficulty
in keeping track of inventory, and depletion of IV inventory due

to loss of the pumps
• Difficulty in ensuring appropriate level of training for the
different types of pumps in circulation, often done by word of
mouth, contributing to
increased risk of errors
• Lack of confidence in the system in being able to provide the
equipment needed in working order when it is needed, thus
contributing to hoarding
and stashing and also tension between caregivers
Problem/Opportunity Statement:
• Engaging in the harmonization of IV practices must be done
before 2015, opening of the new Glen site
• As part of the redevelopment plan, a budget has been reserved
for the purchase of new equipment such as IV pumps
• IV pump contracts are coming to an end, creating the sense of
urgency to look at purchasing new pump technology to support
the harmonized IV
practices
(continued)
1/12/18 7:45 PM
Key Stakeholders:
Pharmacy
Nursing

Biomedical
IS/IT
Finances
Logistic
Infection control
Quality risk and performance
Patients
Union
Anesthetists
Respiratory therapists
Project Definition
Aim:
Within the context of the redevelopment project, it is imperative
to optimize and harmonize the practices related to the
administration of IV
medications, based on best evidence and supported by state-of-
the-art technology
Project Description:
The purpose of the project is to identify, optimize, and
harmonize IV practices, based on best practices, and support
these practices with the state-
of-the-art technology that best meets the clinical needs of the
MUHC in order to improve the quality and security of the
patient care linked to the
administration of IV medications.
Expected Benefits:
• Improve the quality and security of the patient care linked to
the administration of IV medications
• Optimized and harmonized practices, contributing to
decreasing medication errors
• Increasing ease of providing appropriate training to pump
users

• Accessibility of the IV pumps when needed, functional and
clean
• Optimal use of human resources
• Increased caregiver satisfaction
• Demonstration of effective inter-professional and inter-
departmental collaboration
• Efficient management system of pumps, contributing to
decrease expenditure related to continual crisis management
because of pump shortage
Objectives:
1. Harmonize all the practices linked to the administration of
IV medications based on the best available evidence
2. Acquire IV pump equipment based on the best technology, in
sufficient number, that meet all the clinical needs of the
MUHC
3. Improve the safety of use of IV pumps across the MUHC
4. Improve the management of the pump fleet across the MUHC
5. Ensure sustainability by putting in place a decision-making
structure to address and communicate in a timely manner
issues linked to the IV practice and pumps
Evaluation Indicators:
1. Percentage of IV
practices harmonized
Scope (Inclusions):
• Harmonization of all practices linked to IV practices across all
sites
• Identification of selection criteria for IV pump selection to
meet the needs of clinical areas across the MUHC

• Renewal of the IV pump fleet for all MUHC sites except
MCH (purchased IV pumps not that long ago) and Lachine
(carrying own call for tender)
• Estimated budget: first year—CAD$3 million (2012–2013),
the remaining funds about CAD$6 million for a total of
CAD$9 million (includes purchase of equipment, professional
support to implement, educate, and deploy)
Scope (Exclusions):
• MCH and Lachine for
the call for tender
• Pumps for pain
management such as
PCA pumps
(continued)
1/12/18 7:45 PM
Constraints:
• Sense of urgency—move to the Glen in 2015
• Urgent need of pumps
• Having to manage different IV pump contracts
• Diverse IV practices across the different sites

• Wi-Fi technology not available for many of our current
hospitals except for the Neuro and certain units. Although, the
Glen will have WI-Fi, the
installation of Wi-Fi at the MGH is not forthcoming (lag time of
possibly five years or more)
• Lack of confidence in the process from the users due to
previous failure of previous initiatives
• Culture of hoarding and stashing equipment in order to meet
the urgent needs of pumps on the units and lack of confidence
that the caregivers will
have easy access to the equipment they require to provide safe
care.
• Multiple projects that will impact on this project and where
alignment is crucial such as OACIS, CPOE, Pharmacy system
• Missing important stakeholder presence and involvement such
as IS/IT
Preliminary Project Planning
Working Hypotheses:
• The plans and models that are developed will guide the
implementation
• The users and various stakeholders will take active part and
assume accountability in the different phases of the project
• The result of the user needs assessment will be adequately
integrated in the project and will help in shaping and choosing
the different scenarios
for the harmonization of practices, the selection criteria for the
pump selection and the pump management model
• The identified risks will be taken into consideration and
addressed throughout the project
Risks:

• Gap between the chosen scenarios and the user needs
• Inability to put in place the needed infrastructure to support
the full use of the smart pump safety features
• Absence of allocated budget post implementation to ensure
daily operations
• Absence of a department willing to take on the management
and upkeep of the IV pumps
• Lack of coordination between related projects such as
equipment, harmonization of IV practices
• Absence of full-time dedicated resources to the project
Key Milestones and Deliverables:
1. Needs assessment with front line caregivers regarding the IV
practices and IV pump
Milestone 1: Completed needs assessment
2. Analyzing different scenarios:
(a) practices requiring harmonization, (b) model for continuous
infusions and intermittent IV medication administration,
(c) pump management model
Milestone 2: Chosen and validated scenarios
3. Develop selection criteria for call for tender for IV pumps
Milestone 3: Selection criteria chosen and validated as well as
the call for tender needed
4. Call for tender for IV pumps
Milestone 4: Choice of equipment and validated
5. Development of detailed plan to:
harmonize the IV practices (a), pump logistics (b), deployment
and communication (c)
Milestone 5: Detailed implementation plan for the three aspects

6. Operationalization of the plan, deployment, follow -up of the
harmonized practices, pumps (with or without library),
training, pilot project, full-scale implementation and monitoring
of indicators
Milestone 6: Established targets met
7. Development and implementation of sustainability plan
Milestone 7: Quality indicators reviewed, transfer to daily
operations completed, and IV pump decision making
structure in place and functional
Expected Completion:
1. End of June 2012
2. End of August 2012
3. September 2012
4. December 2012
5. February 2013
6. February 2014
7. July 2014
(continued)
1/12/18 7:45 PM

Resources Needed:
Resources from Transition Support Office needed:
• Project manager 2 ½ days a week for 2 ½ years
• Process expert (IV pump management workgroup)
• Knowledge broker
• Change management expert
• Clinical practice consultant
• Evaluation consultant
Resources Needed from Other Departments
• Risk and performance expert
• Pharmacist
• IT/IS
• Biomed
Estimated Number of TSO Hours:
15 hours/week for 2 ½ years 5 2,000 hours
14 hours/week 12 months 5 670 hours
15 hours/week 6 months 5 360 hours
14 hours/week for 12 months 5 670 hours
15 hours/week for 2 ½ years 5 1,800 hours
Ad hoc 100 hours
Total hours 5 5,600 hours
Steering Committee:
Director of Nursing and Sponsor
Pharmacist-in-Chief and Sponsor
Director of Biomedical Department
Director of Purchasing
To be named, IT/IS Department
Clinical lead pharmacy
Clinical lead and Assistant to the Director of Nursing

Associate Director, Quality, Risk, and Performance
Purchasing sector of Finances Department
Project Manager
Clinical Practice Consultant (TSO)
Project Authorization
Sponsor's Signature:
Clinical Leader's Signature:
Project Manager's Signature:
*In the absence of signatures, electronic approval is required
Date:
Date:
Date:
Table 2: Project charter for the IV pump project.
were presented to the Steering Committee. The Biomed
department representative informed the committee that he
would need a detailed call for tender by the end of July 2012.
He would then set up an evaluation group that would be in
charge of evaluating specifications as the project evolved.
A project management student intern would be in charge of
soliciting input from the pump users to identify their current
pump situation and forecast future needs.
The Biomed representative was concerned that some
internal and external factors might pose challenges to the
project. He informed the group that the Quebec Health Min-
istry was considering selecting a pump system that would be
used province-wide. Internally, the fact that the project aimed
to ensure a ratio of one pump per patient was a significant
change that would greatly impact the logistics department
regarding storage, maintenance, and cleaning.

The infrastructure needed to support the smart pump
technology was discussed. This required setting up a drug
library with the names of all medications and dosages that
could be administered through the pumps. A Wi-Fi network
was also needed to support and update the drug library safely
for all sites and all departments at all times. This new tech-
nology minimized the risk of medication administration and
dosage errors. At that time, Wi-Fi was to be available at the
Glen site in 2015 as well as at the MGH by 2017. It would
hence
have precluded the use of the drug library for two to three
years until the Glen site opened. This situation represented a
major risk for the project and would require the assessment of
several scenarios to select the best options. From then on, a
senior representative from IS-IT needed to be involved in the
coordination committee’s decision-making process.
It was already clear after the first meeting that the main
challenges to address were going to be:
1. Budget, as the funding was not finalized and the number
and types of pumps needed had yet to be determined. It
was important to (a) ensure that clinicians had the num-
ber of pumps needed and (b) eliminate the “hunting and
1/12/18 7:45 PM

gathering” phenomenon. A challenge would be to obtain
the budget approval in a timely manner to post the tender
according to the set timeline.
2. External pressures from the Ministry would be an issue,
since the implementation of a province-wide tender
system would prevent hospitals from posting tenders
individually. This situation represented a risk with regard
to the feasibility of meeting the tight timelines and the
organization’s need for an integrated pump system that
could be used in adult and children sites alike.
3. The technological infrastructure to support the smart
pumps would require the development of a business case
to support the additional cost for the purchase of Wi -Fi.
Maggie knew that the next step would be to identify the
number of pumps needed to obtain proper funding for the
project. She and her team would have to conduct exhaustive
research and a needs assessment across all sites to estimate the
number of smart pumps required to meet the MUHC’s needs. It
quickly became apparent to Maggie and the steering committee
members that the budget would be an ongoing concern.
Budget Constraints
In September 2012, the Workgroup and the Steering Commit-
tee agreed to (see Table 3):
1. Purchase smart pumps (volumetric infusion pumps) and a
syringe pump for intermittent medication administration
and to view these as an integral part of an overall medica-
tion safety program;
2. Work toward the integration of different systems and put
in place the infrastructure to support the use of the smart
pump technology;

3. Adopt the syringe pump as the method of intermittent
administration of certain IV medications (major change
for the hospitals moving to the Glen); and
4. Opt for a tender evaluation with an adjusted price.
In October 2012, based on a report prepared by the mem-
bers of the Workgroup and by the clinical practice consultant
for this project, the Steering Committee approved the acquisi -
tion of 2,087 volumetric pumps and 743 syringe pumps.
For the tender, the Finance representative suggested
that they would have to submit a more conservative amount
as a firm purchase and place the balance of the pumps
needed as “optional.” At first, the budget was estimated at
CAD$8 million over three years. However, on 7 November
2012, the budget was presented at CAD$5 million with a
possible overrun of CAD$1 to CAD$2 million. This budget
did not include the acquisitions of syringe pumps. The
Biomed representative believed they could accommodate
the number of pumps but suggested a deployment over
time, which meant that the budget would not be available
all at once. This budget also excluded two sites that would
need to be budgeted at a later date.
Maggie reflected that : “We knew that it would be a chal-
lenge to acquire the amount of pumps needed, so we had to
act carefully. The budget was a moving target, and it was very
difficult to grasp exactly how much money was available to us.
Knowing how much money you need and getting approval for
that budget is crucial in order to post the tender.”
The Call for Tender Saga
In January 2013, to comply with the law, it was announced

that two separate tenders would have to be posted; one for the
syringe pump and another for the volumetric pumps. Biomed
explained that the funding would most likely come from two
separate sources. The first source represented funds awarded
for the replacement of equipment that came from the Ministry
and the second source represented funds made available to
purchase new equipment as part of the new hospital project.
The group was told that more efforts would be needed to secure
funding for the purchase of the syringe pumps. The volumetric
pump tender was posted from July 2013 to 6 September 2013,
more than one year from the original target date of July 2012,
and the contract was signed on 18 December 2013, a testament
to the complexity of the project.
Meanwhile, in September 2013, the source of the funding
and the amount available for the syringe pumps were still not
clearly defined, impacting the project team’s ability to post
the tender and subsequently the implementation of harmo-
nized practices and introduction of the new syringe pumps
within the acceptable timeline.
Maggie expressed her concerns: “We were getting closer to
the “no fly zone,” which was that as of September 2014, no new
changes could be implemented before the move to the Glen.”
Before implementing the use of the syringe pump, a major
change in practice had to occur, which was to prepare the
RVH and the NEURO to shift from the way clinicians were
used to administer medications (from a regular intravenous
bag to a syringe pump). This situation was an important
change for the pharmacists and nurses from these sites. Fur -
thermore, this work could not begin until the syringe contract
was signed and the syringe pump manufacturer known.
Maggie summarized the situation as, “These were major
issues that created urgency to post tender for the syringe pump;

at this point the tender had already been posted for the volu-
metric pumps.”
Throughout the project, availability of Steering Commit-
tee members for meetings was a constant challenge because
of the competing priorities these leaders faced on a daily
basis, attending to the daily operations and the redevel -
opment project obligations. In one particular instance, in
September 2013, Maggie held a Steering Committee meet-
ing that the Biomed representative could not attend and
she said to the committee: “This was a problem because this
1/12/18 7:45 PM
representative’s input was very important and it was difficult
to make decisions in his absence.” The Biomed representative
had sent a table presenting a budget that was different from
the original one. The Board of Directors had approved the
acquisition of 1,750 volumetric pumps with a CAD$6 million
budget, whereas the table indicated a CAD$4.5 million dollar
budget. It was clear that the budget would be insufficient and
that more funds would have to be secured. After much confu-
sion and many queries, the Committee was informed that the
Biomed representative had been instructed by the Ministry to
reduce the equipment replacement budget for the upcoming
year by 25%.
TSO Director Suzan, who fully supported the project,
would present the issues at the Senior Leadership meetings
regularly and would flag the pump financing as an urgent
matter and a major roadblock to the success of the project.

Following one of those meetings, Suzan informed Maggie
that she and her team would have to prepare a report to pres-
ent the situation and the impact of not deploying the project.
The project team immediately got to work and prepared a
document highlighting the financial and potential patient
risks associated with the decision to decrease the number of
volumetric and syringe pumps. On 7 October, this document
was presented to the Associate Director General, Finance,
Procurement, and Biomedical.
Following this presentation, Maggie explained the harmo-
nization of the clinical practice to committee members: “We
presented our vision, our premises, and our methodology for
the pump assessment, etc., but this was not enough. The Associ -
ate Director General told us we needed to prepare a report jus -
tifying the needs in greater details. He also wanted an external
player to assess and validate our report, so we got to work with
the Quality Department. We undertook further environmental
scans, looked into the literature. Finally, we were able to dem-
onstrate that the number of pumps we were recommending
was appropriate. Judy, Director of Quality, Patient Safety and
Performance, external to the project, contributed to the valida -
tion of the report, confirming the TSO’s assessment.”
Agenda
MEETING: IV Harmonization coordinating Committee
PROJECT: Harmonization of IV practices and pumps
DATE: 21 September 2012
TIME: 13:30–15:20
VENUE: 2155 Guy Street–7th Floor–Suite 790.12

Participants: Judy Colin
Terry Sandra
Greg Geoffrey
Gilbert Alan
Mike Angela
Bretch Conni
Maggie Nicole
Meeting objectives: • Learn about smart pumps implementation
and agree on the vision for MUHC
• Identify actions that can be taken now to help bridge some of
the gaps needed to support the vision
• Decide on the continuous and intermittent IV administration
system we need at the MUHC
• Agree on how we will address the language issue
• Validate the scope of the project
• Discuss the call for tender process needed
AGENDA
13:30–13:40 Review of the meeting objectives and agenda
(Maggie)
13:30–13:55 Lessons learned about implementing smart pump
technology (Maggie)
13:55–14:15 Discussion and decision on MUHC vision related
to smart pump technology (All)
14:15–14:30 Identification of action points to address some of
the gaps (All)
14:30–15:00 Progress report on preparing call for tender
process: (1) Agreement on the choice of continuous and

intermittent IV meds
administration methods and number of IV lines needed; (2)
agreement on the language issue (Maggie)
15:00–15:20 Tender process we need: (1) validate the scope of
the project; (2) our reflection thus far (Maggie)
Table 3: Agenda of the project steering committee of September
2012.
1/12/18 7:45 PM
The team submitted the document to the Associate
Director General, Finance, Procurement and Biomedical
in November 2013, and he accepted the recommendation,
including the number of pumps needed. The syringe pump
tender was posted from 31 January 2014 to 3 March 2014.
Meanwhile, the project team and collaborators were prepar -
ing the 25 March 25 2014 deployment of 800 volumetric smart
pumps and the centralized process to manage these at the
pilot site, the MGH.
The pressure was on to get the syringe pump contract
signed by 15 June 2014, to proceed with the implementation
of their use before the move to the Glen. By June, the MUHC’s
Director General had signed the needed exemption, but
negotiations were still ongoing with the manufacturer to get
the absolute best price. After much effort from all concerned,

the syringe pump contract was signed on 3 July 2014. The
project was able to proceed, after obtaining sign-off from
clinicians, Pharmacy, and Nursing for the implementation of
the new method of intermittent medication administration
by syringe pumps beginning with the RVH in September 2014
and the other sites after that.
One More Challenge: The Need for Wi-Fi
From the onset of the project, it had been clear that Wi -Fi was
going to be a crucial element for the implementation of the
project. Maggie knew that this was going to be a major chal -
lenge and that she and her team would have to be persistent.
At an earlier Steering Committee meeting, everyone had
agreed to move forward with the purchase of smart pumps
and to put in place the infrastructure to support the use of
smart pump technology. It did not make sense to buy a smart
pump and not use it to its full capacity, so they needed to
implement Wi-Fi to be able to update the drug library.
In March 2013, the Steering Committee discussed the
business case for Wi-Fi at the MGH. This analysis would even-
tually lead to the pilot project site. Wireless access was already
in place in certain areas but not sufficiently to support the
use of smart pumps in all clinical areas. The MGH IS/IT infra-
structure needed to be upgraded. The need extended well
beyond the requirements of the pilot project, since after the
opening of the new facility the MGH would receive patients
from the Glen with smart pumps. Without Wi-Fi at the MGH,
the risk of a medication error would be extremely high. Wi -Fi
was a crucial element of the project ; the infrastructure needed
to support it was lacking and would need to be acquired. The
main issue, however, remained the budget.
On 19 March 2013 Maggie held a Steering Committee
where the IT representative explained that no single project

could warrant the funding of a Wi-Fi network and that it
would require a decision at the Ministry level. He informed
the group that efforts would be made to find funding. Maggie
knew that a business case to support these efforts would be
required.
Suzan supported Maggie on the need to develop a busi-
ness case to bring this dossier forward. She suggested that
the Quality, Patient Safety, and Performance collaborate with
Maggie’s team in the development of the business case. She
agreed to inform the Senior Leadership Team that the busi-
ness case was being prepared.
The project team worked in collaboration with Finance
(which was spearheading this initiative), and Logistics,
Biomed, Quality, Patient Safety and Performance to collabo-
rate in the preparation of the business case. The Director of
the TSO supported the Wi-Fi case and presented it as a prior-
ity at Senior Leadership meetings. Maggie proudly informed
the workgroup that the Business case was being presented.
She also explained that the cost structure for Wi-Fi implemen-
tation would be broken down into two phases:
1. Wi-Fi in designated areas that supported smart pump
implementation; and
2. Wi-Fi in remaining clinical areas.
Making a Decision on How to Use New Pumps:
Dumb or Smart
The team had to determine which of three implementation
plans to recommend based on analysis of the project, and
they had to justify this recommendation:
Option 1: Implement as dumb pumps in non-critical care areas
and as smart pumps in critical areas

Option 2: Implement as smart pumps in all clinical areas
Option 3: Implement as dumb pumps in all clinical areas
They set to work preparing their recommendation for the
meeting to come, undertaking a detailed risk analysis for each
of the three options.
Acknowledgment
The research team is grateful to all informants of this research
who gave their precious time for the advancement of knowl -
edge. This research has received a grant from the Canadian
Institutes of Health Research.
The teaching case studies published in PMJ®only feature
the case per se. Course instructors can ask for the instruc-
tor’s manual by emailing [email protected]
Monique Aubry, PhD is a professor at the School of Business
and Management,
Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Canada. She teaches
in graduate
programs in project management and executive MBA program
and her main
research interest is in organizing for projects and organizational
design, more
specifically in project management offices (PMO). The results
of her work have
been published in major academic journals in project
management and presented
1/12/18 7:45 PM

at several research and professional conferences. She is a
member of the Project
Management Research Chair (www.pmchair.uqam.ca) and the
UQAM’s Health and
Society Institute. In 2012, Professor Aubry received the IPMA
Research Award
for her research on project management offices and is a senior
editor for Project
Management Journal®. She can be contacted at
[email protected]
Madeleine Boulay Bolduc obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in
Nursing from
the University of Moncton (1974), New-Brunswick, Canada, a
Master’s Degree
in Nursing from the University of Montreal (1983), and
completed an EXTRA
(Executive Training in Research Application) Fellowship
(2009). Her latest job
opportunities included working at Mount Sinai Hospital in
Toronto as Program
Director Nursing for the Surgical Program (2000–2003), as
Associate Director
of Nursing at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC)
responsible for the
Clinical and Professional Staff Development Service (2004–
2011), and as Project
Manager at the Transition Support Office until her retirement in
March of 2015.
The last 10 years of her career were essentially devoted to the
harmonization
of clinical practices within the context of major organizational
transforma-
tions. Her energy and efforts were oriented toward putting in
place structures,
processes, and tools that supported clinical teams in their quest
to harmonize

practices, encouraged the use of an evidence decision-making
process, and
coordinated large complex organization-wide projects. She can
be contacted at
[email protected]
Marie-Claire Richer, N, MSc(a), MM, PhD obtained a PhD in
Nursing Science
from McGill University and a Master of Science in Nursing and
Management
(Henry Mintzberg’s International Masters in Health
Leadership). Professor Richer
has held clinical nursing, teaching, and managerial positions in
both the public
and private sectors and was co-responsible for the FERASI
program at the McGill
University School of Nursing in Ingram and is an associate
member of the UQAM
Chair in Project Management. Professor Richer has published
over 50 articles and
book chapters, has been a guest speaker at various symposiums,
and has won
numerous awards and scholarships. Her research interests
include organizational
transformation, appreciative inquiry and development of
evidence-based practice,
and the emergence of innovation in a complex system such as
healthcare. She can
be contacted at [email protected]
Dr. Mélanie Lavoie-Tremblay RN is an Associate Professor and
Associate
Director (research) at the Ingram School of Nursing, McGill
University, Montreal,
Canada. She is a researcher at the Centre de recherche de
l’Institut universi-
taire en santé mentale de Montréal, at the Research Institute
MUHC, a nurse

scientist at the MUHC, and a researcher at the Douglas Institute
Research
Centre. Dr. Lavoie-Tremblay is conducting research on
participatory interven-
tion to improve organization of care and work for personnel,
patients, and the
organization. She can be contacted at [email protected]
1/12/18 7:45 PM
Part 1: Colonial America (1582-1750)
V i e w p o i n t 9 A
Slavery Is Immoral (1700)
Samuel Sewall ( 1 652-1 730)
I N T R O D U CT I O N The economies of many of the
American
colonies rested on a foundation of raising and selling cash
crops, especially tobacco in Virginia and Maryland and
rice in South Carolina. However, successful cultivation
of these crops required intensive labor-something in
short supply in the thinly populated colonies. Pressing
captured Indiam to work proved umuccessful in part
because many Indiam quickly succumbed to diseases
brought over from Europe. Indentured servitude (see
viewpoints BA and BB) formed in its wake an impov-
erished white underclass of fo1mer servants-a develop-
ment that often caused political imtability and violence.
A lasting solution to the colonies ' labor shortage was
finally found by importing black Africans as slaves.

Since the early 1500s, Africans had been captured
and transported to Spanish, Portuguese, and (later)
British colonies in South A merica and the Carribean.
Although blacks were present in Virginia as early as
1 619, it was not until the 1 6BOs that they began to
replace the white indentured servants as the main
source of labor in Virginia, South Carolina, and other
colonies. Unlike indentured servants, black slaves were
bound for life and lacked all legal and political rights.
Their different skin color made escape much more
difficult. By 1 700 slavery was legal in all English
colonies in A merica and Africans (mostly slaves)
accounted for 15 percent of the population in southern
colonies. Although legal in New England, slavery was
not as widespread as in colonies farther south.
Although slavery did establish itself as a lasting solution
to the colonies ' labor shortage problem, its morality did
not go unquestioned in colonial times. The following
viewpoint is taken from one of the earliest antislavery
pamphlets published in America. The author, Samuel
Sewall, was a Massachusetts Superior Court judge who
became involved in a legal dispute involving a black
slave owned by another judge. Sewall wanted the judge
to honor a contract calling for the slave 's release. In
defense of his position, Sewall wrote and circulated a
pamphlet attacking slavery, The Selling of Joseph,
that was published in Boston in 1 700.
What objections does Sewall have to slavery? Why
might he use Biblical citatiom to support his views?
Does Sewall exhibit racial prejudice in this viewpoint?
Explain your answer.
Forasmuch as Liberry is in real value next unto Life:

None ought to part with it themselves, or deprive others of
it, but upon most mature consideration.
The Numerousness of Slaves at this Day in the P rov-
ince, and the Uneasiness of them under thei r Slavery,
hath put many upon thinking whether the Foundation
o f i t be fi rmly and well laid; so as to sustain the Vast
Weight that is built upon it. It is most certain that all
Men, as they are the S o ns of Adam, are Co-heirs, and
have equal Right unto Liberty, and all other o utward
Com forts of Life. God hath given the Earth [with all its
commodities} unto the Sons of Adam, Psal. , 1 1 5, 1 6 . And
hath made of one Blood all Nations of Men, for to dwell
on all the face of the Earth, and hath determined the
Times before appointed, and the bounds of their Habitation:
That they should seek the Lord. Forasmuch then as we are
the Ojfipring of God. &c. Acts 1 7, 26, 27, 29 . . . . S o
that Originally, and Naturally, there i s no such thing as
Slavery. Joseph was rightfully no more a Slave to his
Brethren, than they were to him; and they had no more
Authority to Sell him, than they had to Slay him . . . .
And all things considered, it would conduce more to
the Welfare of the Province, to have White Servants for
a Term of Years, than to have Sl aves for Life. Few can
endure to hear of a Negro's being made free; and i ndeed
they can seldom use their Freedom well; yet their con-
tinual asp i ring after their forbidden Liberty, renders
them Unwilling Servants. And there is such a disparity
i n their Conditions, Colo ur, and H a i r, that they can
never embody with us, & grow up in orderly Families,
to the Peopling of the Land; but still remain in our
From The Selling of Joseph: A Memorial by Samuel Sewall ,
Boston, 1 700
(Massachusccrs Hisrorical Society, Proceedings, vol. 7, 1 864).

O P P O S I N G V I E W P O I N T S I N A M E R I C A N
H I S T O RY
Body Politick as a kind of extravasat Blood. Moreover it is
too well known what Temptations Masters are under, to
connive at the Fornication of their Slaves; lest they should
be obliged to fi nd them Wives, or pay thei r Fines. It
seems to be practically pleaded that they might be lawless;
'tis thought much of, that the Law should have satisfac-
tion for their Thefts, and other Immoralities; by which
means, Holiness to the Lord is m o re rarely engraven
upon this sort of Servitude. It is likewise most lamentable
to think, how in taking Negroes out of Africa, and selling
of them here, That which God has j o i ned together,
Men do boldly rend asunder; Men from their Country,
Husbands from their Wives, Parents from their Children.
How horrible is the Uncleanness, Mo rtality, if not
M u rder, that the S hips are guilty of that bring great
Crouds of these miserable Men and Women. Men thinks
when we are bemoaning the barbarous Usage of our
Friends and Kinsfolk in Africa, it might not be unreason-
able to enquire whether we are not culpable in forcing the
Africans to become Slaves amongst ourselves. And it may
be a question whether all the Benefit received by Negro
Slaves will balance the Accompt of Cash laid out upon
the m ; and for the Redemption o f our own enslaved
Friends out of Africa. Besides all the Persons and Estates
that have perished there.
OBJECTIONS AND ANSWERS
Obj. 1 . These Blackamores are of the Posterity of Cham, and
therefore are under the Curse of Slavery. Gen. 9, 25, 26, 27.
Ans. O f all O ffices, one would not beg this; viz.

Uncal l'd for, to be an Executioner o f the Vindictive
Wrath of God; the extent and duration of which is to
us uncertain . If this ever was a Commission; How do
we know but that it is long si nce out of Date? Many
have found it to their Cost, that a Prophetical Denunci-
ation of Judgment against a Person or People, would not
warrant them to inflict that evil. I f it would, Hazael might
j ustify himself in all he did against his master, and the
Israelites from 2 Kings 8, 1 0, 1 2 .
B ut it i s possible that b y cursory reading, this Text
may have been m istaken. For Canaan is the Person
Cursed three times over, without the mentioning of
Cham. Good Expositors suppose the C u rse entailed
o n him, and that this Prophesie was accomplished i n
the Extirpation of the Canaanites, and i n the Servitude
of the Gibeonites . . . . Whereas the Blackamores are not
descended of Canaan, but of Cush. Psal. 68, 3 1 . Princes
shall come out of Egypt [Mizraim] . Ethiopia [Cush] shall
soon stretch out her hands unto God. Under which
Names, all Africa may be comprehended; and their Prom-
ised Conversion ought to be p rayed for. fer. 1 3 , 23. Can
the Ethiopian change his Skin? This shows that Black Men
are the Posterity of Cush. Who time out of mind have
been distinguished by their Colour. . . .
Labo1· in Colonial America
Obj. 2. The Nigers are brought out of a Pagan Coun-
try, into places where the Gospel is preached.
Ans. Evil must not be done, that good may come of
it. The extraordinary and comprehensive Benefit accruing
to the Church of God, and to Joseph personally, did not
rectify his Brethren's Sale of him.

Obj. 3. The Africans have Wars one with another: Our
Ships bring lawful Captives taken in those wars.
A ns. For aught is known, their Wars are much such
as were between Jacob 's Sons and their B rother Joseph.
If they be between Town a n d Town; P rovincial o r
National: Every W a r is upon one s i d e Unj ust. A n Un-
lawful War can't make lawful Captives. And by receiv-
ing, we are in danger to p romote, and partake in their
B a rbarous C ruelti es . I a m sure, if some G en tlemen
should go down to the [town o f] Brewsters to take the
Air, and Fish: And a stro nger Party fro m Hull should
surprise them, and sell them fo r S l aves to a Ship o ut-
ward b o u n d ; they would think themselves unj ustly
dealt with ; both by Sellers and B uyers. And yet ' tis to
be feared, we have no o ther Kind of Title to o u r Nigers.
Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should
do to you, do you even so to them: for this is the Law and
the Prophets. Matt. 7, 1 2 .
Obj. 4 . Abraham had Servants bought with his Money
and born in his House.
Ans. Until the Circumstances of Abraham s purchase
be recorded, no Argument can be drawn from it. In the
mean time, Charity obliges us to conclude, that H e
knew it was lawful a n d good.
It is Observable that the Israelites were strictly for-
b idden the buying or selling one another fo r Slaves.
Levit. 2 5 . 3 9 . 46. fer. 34. 8-2 2 . And God gages H i s
B l essing i n l i e u o f a n y l o s s they m ight conceit they
suffered thereby, Deut. 1 5 . 1 8 . And since the partition
Wall is broken down, inordinate Self-love should like-
wise be demolished. God expects that Christians should
be o f a m o re I ngenuo us and be nign frame of S p i r i t .

Christians should carry it to all the World, a s the Israel-
ites were to carry i t o n e towards another. And for
Men obstinately to persist in holding their Neighbours
and B rethren under the Rigor o f perpetual Bo ndage,
seems to b e no p roper way of ga ining Assurance that
God has given them S p i ri tual F reed o m . Our B l essed
Savio u r has altered the Measures o f the ancient Love
S o ng, and set it to a most Excellent New Tune, which
all o u g h t to be ambiti o us of Learning. Matt. 5. 4 3 .
4 4 . John 1 3. 34. These Ethiopians, a s black a s they are,
seeing they are the Sons and D a ughters of the F i rst
Adam, the Brethren and S isters of the Last Adam, and
the Offspring of God; They ought to be treated with a
Respect agreeable.
V O L . 1 : F R O M C O L O N I A L T I M E S T O R E C
O N S T R U C T I O N 40 4 1
Part I: Colonial America (1582-1750)
V i e w p o i n t 9 B
Slavery Is Moral (1 701)
John Saffin ( 1 632- 1 7 1 0)
I N T R O D U C T I O N john Saffin was a wealthy landowner
and Massachusetts judge. In 1 700 he became embroiled
in a legal dispute when he refased to give a black slave
in his possession his freedom. He viewed Samuel Sew-
all's tract The Selling of Joseph, a Memorial (see
viewpoint 9A) as a personal affront, and in 1 701
published a reply defending the institution of slavery
(and his own actiom as a slaveowner). The tract,
reprinted here, is notable in that many of its arguments

appear repeatedly in later proslavery literature.
How does Saffin respond to Samuel Sewall's "Objec-
tiom" to slavery? What beliefi does Saffin express about
equality? What beliefi does he express about blacks?
That H o nourable and Learned Gentleman, the
Author of a S heet, Entituled, The Selling of Joseph, A
Memorial, seems from thence to draw this conclusion,
that because the S o ns o f Jacob did very ill in selling
their Brother Joseph to the Ishmaelites, who were
Heathens, therefore it is utterly unlawful to B uy and
Sell Negroes, though among Christians; which Conclu-
sion I p resume is not well drawn from the Premises,
nor is the case parallel; for it was unlawfull for the Israel-
ites to sell their Brethren upon any acco unt, o r p retence
whatsoever during life . But it was not unlawful for the
Seed of Abraham to have Bond men, and Bond women
e i ther born in their H o use, o r bought with the ir
M o ney, as i t is written of Abraham, Gen. 1 4 . 1 4 &
2 1 . 1 0 & Exod. 2 1 . 1 6 & Levit. 25 .44, 4 5 , 46 v. After
the giving of the Law: And in josh. 9.23.
DIFFERENT ORDERS OF MEN
To speak a little to the Gentleman's first Assertion: That
none ought to part with their Liberty themselves, or deprive
others of it but upon mature consideration; a prudent excep-
tion, in which he grants, that upon some consideration a
man may be deprived of his Liberty. And then presently
in his next Position or Assertion he denies it, viz. : It is
most certain, that all men as they are the Sons of Adam
are Coheirs, and have equal right to Liberty, and all other
Comforts of Life, which he wo uld p rove o u t of Psal.
1 1 5 . 1 6. The Earth hath he given to the Children of Men.
True, but what is all this to the purpose, to prove that

all men have equal right to Liberty, and all outward com-
forts of this life; which Position seems to invert the Order
that God hath set in the World, who hath Ordained dif-
ferent degrees and o rders of men, some to be High and
Honourable, some to be Low and Despicable; some to
From A Brief and Candid Answer to a Late Printed Sheet
Entituled ""The Selling of
)oseph " by John Saffin (Boston, 1 70 1 ), as reprinted i n
Notes on the History of Slavery
in Massachusetts by George H . Moore (New York: D.
Appleton, 1 866).
be Monarchs, Kings, P rinces a n d Governours, Masters
and Commanders, others to be Subjects, and to be Com-
manded; Servants of sundry sorts and degrees, bound to
obey; yea, some to be born Slaves, and so to remain dur-
i ng their lives, as hath been proved. Otherwise there
would be a meer parity among men, contrary to that of
the Apostle; I Cor. 12 from the 13 to the 26 verse, where
he sets forth (by way of comparison) the different sorts
and o ffices of the Members of the Body, indigitating
that they are all of use, but not equal, and of like dignity.
So God hath set different Orders and Degrees of Men in
the World, both in Church and Common weal. Now, if
this Position of parity should be true, it would then fol-
low that the ordi nary Course of D ivine Providence of
God in the World should be wrong, and unjust, (which
we must not dare to think, much less to affirm) and
all the sacred Rules, P recepts and Commands of the
Almighty which he hath given the Son of Men to observe
and keep in their respective Places, Orders and Degrees,
would be to no purpose; which unaccountably derogate
from the Divine Wisdom of the most High, who hath
made nothing in vain, but hath Holy Ends in all his Dis-
pensations to the Children of men.

I n the next place, this worthy Gentleman makes a
large Discourse concerning the Utility and Conveniency
to keep the one, and inconveniency of the other; respect-
ing white and black Servants, which conduceth most to
the welfare and benefit of this Province: which he con-
cludes to be white men, who are in many respects to be
p referred before Blacks; who doubts that? doth it there-
fore follow, that it is altogether unlawful for Christians
to buy and keep Negro Servants (for this is the Thesis)
but that those that have them ought in Conscience to
set them free, and so lose all the money they cost (for
we must not live in any known sin) this seems to be his
opinion; but it is a Question whether it ever was the Gen-
tleman's practice? But if he could perswade the General
Assembly to make an Act, That all that have Negroes,
and do set them free, shall be Re i m bursed out of
the Publick Treasury, and that there shall be no more Ne-
groes brought into the Country; 'tis probable there would
be more of his opinion; yet he would find it a hard task
to bring the Country to consent thereto; for then the
Negroes m ust be all sent o u t of the Country, or else
the remedy would be worse than the Disease; and it is
to be feared that those Negroes that are free, i f there be
not some strict course taken with them by Author i ty,
they will be a plague to this Country . . . .
Our Author doth further p roceed to answer some
Objections of his own flaming, which he supposes some
might raise.
Object. 1 . That these B/,ackamores are of the Posterity of
Cham, and therefore under the Curse of S/,avery. Gen. 9 .25,
26, 27. That which the Gentleman seems to deny, saying,
they were the Seed of Canaan that were Cursed, etc.

H I S T O R Y
Ans. Whether they were so or not, we shall not dis-
p u te: this may suffice, that not only the seed of Cham
o r Canaan, but any lawful Captives of o ther H eathen
Nations may be made Bond men as hath been p roved.
O bj . 2. That the Negroes are brought out of Pagan
Countreys into places where the Gospel is Preached. To
which he Replies, that we must not doe Evil that Good
may come of it.
Ans. To which we answer, That it is no Evil thing to
bring them out of their own Heathenish Country, where
they may have the Knowledge of the True God, be Con-
verted and Eternally saved.
AFRICAN WARS
Obj . 3 . The Affricans have Wars one with another, our
Ships bring lawful Captives taken in those Wars.
To which o u r Author answer Conj ecturally, and
Doubtfully, for aught we know, that which may o r may
not be; which is insignificant, and proves nothing.
H e also compares the Negroes Wars, one Nation with
another, with the Wars between Joseph and his Brethren.
But where doth he read of any such War? We read indeed
of a Domestick Quarrel they had with him, they envyed
and hated Joseph; but by what is Recorded, he was meerly
passive and meek as a Lam b . This Gentleman farther
adds, That there is not any War but is unjust on one side.
etc. Be it so, what doth that signify: We read of lawful
Captives taken in the Wars, and lawful to be B o ught
and Sold without contracting the guilt of the Agressors;

fo r which we have the example o f Abraham before
quoted; but if we must stay while both parties Warring
are in the right, there would be n o lawful Captives
at all to be Bought; which seems to be rediculous to imag-
ine, and contrary to the tenour o f Scripture, and all
Humane Histories on that subject.
Obj. 4. Abraham had Servants bought with his Money,
and born in his House. Gen. 1 4. 1 4. To which our worthy
Author answers, until the Circumstances of Abraham s pur-
chase be recorded, no Argument can be drawn from it.
Ans. To which we Reply, this is also Dogmatical, and
proves nothing. H e farther adds. In the mean time Charity
Obliges us to conlude, that he knew it was /,awfu.I and good.
Here the gentleman yields the case; for if we are in Char-
ity bound to believe Abraham s practice, in buying and
keeping Slaves in his house to be lawful and good: then
it foll ows, that our im itation of him in this his M o ral
Action, is as warrantable as that of his Faith; who is the
Father of all them that believe. Rom. 4. 1 6 . . . .
By the Command of God . . . , we may keep
Bond men, and use them in our Service.
Labor in Colonial America
And after a Serious Exhortation to us all to Love
one another acco rding to the Command of Christ.
Math. 5 .4 3 , 4 4 . This worthy G entleman concl udes
wi th this Asserti o n , That these Ethiopeans as Black as
they are, seeing they are the Sons and Daughters of the
first Adam; the Brethren and Sisters of the Second Adam,
and the Offipring of God; we ought to treat them with a

respect agreeable.
LOVING ALL PEOPLE EQUALLY
IS IMPOSSIBLE
Ans. We grant i t fo r a certain and undeniable verity,
That all M ankind are the Sons and D aughters of
Adam, and the Creatures of God: But it doth not there-
fore follow that we are bound to love and respect all men
alike; this under favour we must take leave to deny; we
ought in charity, i f we see o u r Neighbour in want, to
relieve them in a regular way, but we are not bound to
give them s o m uch o f our Estates, as to make them
equal with our selves, because they are our B rethren,
the S o ns of Adam, no, not our own natural Kinsmen:
We are Exhorted to do good unto all, but especially to
them who are of the Houshold of Faith, Gal. 6 . 1 0 . And
we are to love, honour and respect all men according
to the gift of God that is in them: I may love my Servant
well, but my Son better; Charity begins at home, i t
would be a violation of common prudence, a n d a breach
of good manners, to treat a Prince like a Peasant. And
this worthy G e ntleman would deem himself m uch
neglected, if we should show him no more Defference
than to an o rdi nary Porter: And therefore these florid
expressions, the S o ns and D aughters of the F i rst
Adam, the B rethren and S i s ters o f the Second Adam,
and the O ffspring of G od, seem to bemisapplied to
i mport and insin uate, that we ought to tender Pagan
Negroes w i th all love, kindness, and equal respect as
to the best of men.
B y a l l which i t d o th evidently appear both by
S cr i p ture a n d Reas o n , the p ractice o f the People o f
G o d i n a l l Ages, b o th befo re and after t h e giving o f

t h e Law, a n d i n t h e t i m es o f t h e G o s p e l , t h a t
there
were B o n d men, Women a n d Children c o m m o nly
kept by holy and good men, and improved i n Service;
and therefo re by the Command o f God, Lev. 2 4 : 44 ,
a n d their venerable Exam p l e , w e m a y keep B o n d
men, and use them in o u r Service still; yet with all can-
dour, moderation and Christian p rudence, acco rding
to their state a n d co n d i t i o n c o n s o n a n t to the Word
of God.
T H E NEGROES' C HARACTER
Cowardly and cruel are those Blacks Innate,
Prone to Revenge, Imp of inveterate hate.
He that exasperates them, soon espies
Mischief and Murder in their very eyes.
V O L . 1 : F R O M C O L O N I A L T I M E S T O R E C
O N S T R U C T I O N 42 43
Part 2
F OR G IN G A NEW NATION (1750-1800)
CHRONOLOGY
1 754
May Governor of Virginia sends militia under George
Washington i n to Ohio Valley to challenge French
expansion.
June Albany Congress held by delegates of six colonies to
discuss defense; Benjamin Frankl in drafts Albany Plan of ·

Union.
1 754-1 763
Winter French and Indian War takes place.
1 760
October 25 Geo rge III becomes king of Great Britain.
1 763
February 10 France cedes North American territories to
England in Treaty of Paris.
May Chief Pontiac of Ottawa tribe leads Indian attacks in
Great Lakes region.
October 7 Great Britain declares territory west of Appala-
chians off limits to American colonization.
1 765
March 22 Stamp Act becomes law.
May Patrick Henry attacks Stamp Act at meeting of
Virginia House of Burgesses.
August Riots against Stamp Act take place in Boston.
October 5 Stamp Act Congress meets to protest Stamp
Act.
1 766
March 18 Parliament repeals Stamp Act and passes
Declaratory Act asserting Parliament's supremacy over
colonial affairs.

1767
July 2 Quartering Act and Townshend Duties passed.
1 768
August Boston merchants adopt colonies' first nonimpor-
tation agreement against British goods.
October British soldiers stationed in Boston.
1 769
July 16 First permanent European settlement i n California
established by Fr. Junipero Serra at San Diego.
1 770
March 5 Boston Massacre occurs.
April Townsend Duties repealed, colonists lift trade
embargo.
1 771
May 1 6 North Carolina farmers known as Regulators,
rebelling against North Carolina governor William T1yon,
defeated at Battle of Alamance Creek.
1773
December 16 Boston Tea Party colonists objecting to tea
tax dump English tea into Boston harbor.
1 774
March Parliament passes Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts) .

4 5
Pm·t I: Colonial America (1582-1750)
Libidinous, Deceitfol, False and Rude,
The Spume Issue of Ingratitude.
The Premises consider 'd, all may tell,
How near good Joseph they are parallel.
FOR F URTHER READING
Ira Berlin, Many Thousands Gone: The First Two Centuries of
Slavery in North America. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press
of Harvard U niversity Press, 1 998.
Winthrop Jordan, White over Black: American Attitudes Toward
the Negro, 1550-1812, New York: Norton, 1 977.
T. Benson Strandness, Samuel Sewall: A Puritan Portrait.
East
Lansing: Michigan S tate University Press, 1 967.
Larry Tise, Proslavery: A History of the Defense of Slavery in
America,
1701-1840. Athens, U niversity of Georgia Press, 1 987.
Betty Wood, The Origins of American Slavery: Freedom and
Bondage in the English Colonies. New York: H i l l and Wang,
1 997.
H I S T O RY 44

Part 1: Colo nial America (1582-1750)
they came unarmed i n to o u r h o uses, witho u t bows o r
arrows, or other weapons, w i t h deer, turkey, fi s h , fur,
and other provisions to sell and trade with us fo r glass,
beads, and other trifles. Yet i n some places, they sat
down at breakfast with o u r people a t the i r tables,
whom immediately with their own tools and weapons
either laid down, or standing i n their houses, they basely
and barbarously murdered, not sparing either age or sex,
man, woman, or child, so sudden i n their cruel execution
that few or none discerned the weapon or blow that
brought them to destructi o n . I n which manner they
also slew many of our people then at their several work
and husbandries in the fields, and without their houses,
some in planting corn and tobacco, some in gardening,
some i n making brick, building, sawing, and other
kinds o f husbandry, they well knowing in what places
and quarters each of our men were, in regard o f thei r
daily fam iliarity and resort to us for trading and other
negotiations, which the more willingly was by us contin-
ued and cherished for the desire we had o f effecting that
great masterpiece of works, their conversion. And by this
means that fatal F r iday morning, there fel l under the
bloody and barbarous hands of that perfidious and inhu-
man people, contrary to all laws of God and men, o f na-
ture and nations, three hundred forty seven men, women,
and children, most by their own weapons. And not being
content with taking away life alone, they fell after again
upon the dead, making as well as they could, a fresh mur-
der, defacing, dragging, and mangling the dead carcasses
into many pieces, and carrying some parts away in deri-
sion, with base and brutish triumph . . . .

That the slaughter had been u niversal, i f God had
not put it into the heart o f an Indian belonging to one
Perry to disclose it, who living in the h o use of one
Pace, was urged by another I ndian his brother (who
came the night before and lay with him) to kill Pace. Tell-
ing further that by such an hour i n the morning a number
would come from different places to finish the execution,
who failed not at the time, Perry's Indian rose out of his
bed and revealed it to Pace, that used him as a son. And
thus the rest o f the colony that had warning given them
by this means was saved. Such was (God be thanked for
it) the good fruit of an i n fidel converted to Christianity.
For though three hundred and more of o u rs died by
many o f these pagan infidels, yet thousands o f o u rs
were saved by the means of one of them alone which
was made a Christian. Blessed b e God fo rever, whose
mercy endureth forever. . . .
LESSONS OF THE MASSACRE
Thus have yo u seen the particulars o f this massacre,
wherein treachery and cruelty have done their worst to
us, o r rather to themselves; for whose understanding is
so shallow, as not to pe rceive that this m us t needs be
1 8
for the good of the plantation after, and the loss o f this
blood to make the body more healthful, as by these rea-
sons may be manifest.
F i rst, because betraying i n nocence never rests
unpunished . . . .
Secondly, because our hands, which before were tied
with gentleness and fair usage, are now set at liberty by

the treacherous violence o f the savages, not untying the
knot, but cutting it. S o that we, who hitherto have had
possession of no more ground than their waste, and our
p urchase at a valuable consideration to their own content-
ment gained, may now, by right of war and law of nations,
i nvade the country, and destroy them who sought to de-
stroy us. Whereby we shall enjoy their cultivated places,
possessing the fruits of others' labors. Now their cleared
grounds i n all their villages (which are s i tuated in the
fruitfulest places o f the land) shall be inhabited by us,
whereas heretofore the grubbing of woods was the greatest
labor.
The way of conquering them is much more
easy than of civilizing them by fair means,
for they are a rude, barbarous,
and naked people.
Thirdly, because those commodities which the Indi-
ans enjoyed as much or rather more than we, shall now
also be entirely possessed by us. The deer and other beasts
will be in safety, and infinitely increase, which heretofore
not only i n the general huntings of the King, but by each
particular Indian were destroyed at all times o f the year,
without any difference o f male, dame, or young.
There will be also a great increase o f wild turkeys,
and other weighty fowl, fo r the Indians never put differ-
ence of destroying the hen, but kill them whether i n sea-
son or not, whether in breeding time, or sitting on their
eggs, or having new hatched, it is all one to them . . . .
F o urthly, because the way o f conquering them is
much more easy than o f civilizing them by fa i r means,
for they are a rude, barbarous, and naked people, scat-

tered in small companies, which are helps to victory,
but h i ndrance to civility. Besides that, a conquest may
b e o f many, and a t once; but civil i ty i s i n particular
and slow, the e ffect o f l o ng time, and great i n d ustry.
M o reover, victory o f them may be gained many ways:
by force, by surprise, by famine in burning their corn,
by destroying and burning their boats , canoes, and
houses, by breaking the i r fishing wares, by ass a i l i ng
them in the i r huntings , whereby they get the greatest
part of their sustenance in winter, by p u rs u i n g and
H I S T O R Y
V i e w p o i n t 4A
A Puritan Missionary s Account of Indians (1 646)
John Eliot ( 1 604-1 690)
I N T R O D U C T I O N A Puritan who migrated to the
Massa-
chusetts Bay Colony in 1 631, john Eliot was a minister
at Roxbury, a community close to Boston. In the 1 640s
he learned the Algonquian language from an Indian
servant and began missionmy work among the Native
Americans-work that he continued until his death.
Widely known both in America and in England as the
"Apostle to the Indians, " Eliot translated the Bible into
the Algonquian language, founded numerous villages
where "praying Indians " could learn English handi-
crafts and laws as well as Christian teachings, and wrote
numerous pamphlets and tracts about his missionary
work. The following viewpoint is taken from a pam-
phlet first published in London in 1 646 It provides his
descriptions of Native Americans and his efforts to
convert them to Christianity. Pan of the pamphlet's

purpose was to gather financial support from England
for his missionary work.
What assumptions about European and American
cultures does Eliot demonstrate? What reasons does he
give for optimism in his missionary work among the
Indians?
Methinks now that it is with the Indians as it was
with o u r New English ground when we first came
over-there was scarce any man that could believe that
English grain would grow, or that the plow could do
John Eliot, "The Day-Breaking, I f Not the Sun-Rising, of the
Gospell with the
Indians i n New-England." (Massachusetts Historical Society,
Collectiom, Vol. 3.)
Contact and Conflict with Native Americans
any good in this woody and rocky soil. And thus they
continued in this supine unbelief for some years, till
experience taught them otherwise; and now all see i t to
be scarce i n ferior to Old English tillage, but bears very
good burdens. So we have thought of our Indian people,
and, therefore, have been discouraged to put plow to such
dry and rocky ground, but God, having begun thus with
some few, i t may be they are better soil for the gospel than
we can think.
I confess I think no great good will be done till they
be more civilized. But why may not God begin with some
few to awaken others by degrees? N o r do I expect any
great good will be wrought by the English (leaving secrets
to God, although the English surely begin and lay the first
stones of Christ's kingdom and temple among them ) ,

because G o d i s wont ordinarily t o convert nations and
peoples by some of their own countrymen who are near-
est to them and can best speak, and, most o f all, pity their
brethren and countrymen . But yet, if the least beginnings
be made by the conversion of two o r three, it is worth all
our time and travails, and cause o f much thankfulness for
such seeds, although no great harvests should immediately
appear. . . .
We see the Spirit of God working mightily
upon the hearts of these natives
in an ordinary way.
HOPEFUL BEGINNINGS
The observations I have gathered by conversing with
them are such as these:
1. That none o f them . . . derided God's messenger:
Woe unto those English that are grown bold to do that
which Indians will not-heathens dare not.
2. That there i s need of learning i n ministers who
preach to I ndians, m uch m o re [than] to Englishmen
and gracious Christians, for these had sundry philosoph-
ical questions which some knowledge o f the arts must
help to give answer to; and without which these would
not have been sati s fie d . Worse than I n d i a n igno rance
has blinded the i r eyes that renounce learning as an
enemy to gospel ministries.
3. That there is no necessity of extraordinar y gifts nor
miraculous•signs always to convert heathens . . . for we see
the Spirit o f God working mightily upon the hearts of
these natives i n a n ordinary way, and I hope will, they

being but a remnant, the Lord using to show mercy to
the rem nant. For there be but few that are left alive
from the plague and pox, which God sent i n to those
V O L . 1 : F R O M C O L O N I A L T I M E S TO R E C
O N S T R U C T I O N 1 9
Part 1: Colonial America (1582-1750)
parts; and, if one o r two can understand, they usually talk
of it as we do of news-it flies suddenly far and near, and
truth scattered will rise in time, for ought we know.
4. If Englishmen begin to despise the preaching of
faith and repentance and h u m i liation for s i n , yet the
poor heathens will be glad o f i t and i t shall do good to
them; for so they are and so it begins to d o . The Lord
grant that the foundation o f our English woe b e n o t
laid i n the r u i n and contempt of those fundamental doc-
trines of faith, repentance, humiliation for sin, etc., but
rather relishing the novelties and dreams o f such men as
are s u rfeited with the ordi nary food of the Gospel o f
Christ. Indians shall weep t o hear faith a n d repentance
p reached, when Englishmen shall mourn, too late, that
are weary of such truths.
5. That the deepest estrangements of man from God
is no hindrance to His grace nor to the spirit of grace; for
what nation or people ever so deeply degenerated since
Adam ' s fall as these Indians, and yet the S p irit o f God
is working upon them? . . .
CREATING A CHRISTIAN

INDIAN TOWN
We have cause to be very thankful to G o d who has
moved the hearts o f the General Court to p u rchase so
m uch land for them to make thei r town i n which the
Indians are much taken with. And it is somewhat observ-
able that, while the court were considering where to lay
out their town, the Indians (not knowing of anythi ng)
were about that time consulting about laws for them-
selves, and their company who sit down with Waaubon
[a local Christian Indian leader] . There were ten o f
them: two of them are forgotten.
Their laws were these:
1 . That if any man be idle a week, at most a fortnight,
he shall pay 5s [shillings] .
2. If any unmarried man shall lie with a young woman
unmarried, he shall pay 20s.
3. AI f any man shall beat his wife, his hands shall be tied
behind him and [he shall be] carried to the place of
j ustice to be severely punished.
4 . Every young man, if not another's servant and if
unmarried, he shall be compelled to set up a wigwam
and plant for himself, and not live shifting up and
down to other wigwams.
5 . If any woman shall not have her hair tied up but
hang loose or be cut as men's hair, she shall pay 5s.
6 . I f any woman shall go with naked breasts, [she] shall
pay 2s. Gd [2 shillings 6 pence] .

7. All those men that wear long locks shall pay 5 s .
8 . I f a n y shall kill their lice between their teeth, they
shall pay 5s. This law, though ridiculous to English
ears, yet rends to preserve cleanliness among Indians.
It is wonderful i n our eyes to understand by these
two honest Indians [helpers o f Eliot] what p rayers Waau-
bon and the rest of them use to make, for he that p reaches
to them professes he never yet used any of their words i n
his prayers, from w h o m otherwise i t m i g h t be thought
that they had learned them by rote. One is this:
Amanaomen Jehovah tahassen metagh.
(Take away Lord my stony heart.)
Another:
Chechesom Jehovah kekowhogkew.
(Wash Lord my soul.)
Another:
(Lord lead me, when I die, to heaven.)
These are bur a taste. They have many more, and
these more enlarged than thus expressed, yet what are
these but the sp rinklings of the spirit and blood o f Christ
Jesus i n their hearts?
And it is no small matter that such dry, barren, and
long-accursed ground should yield such kind o f increase
in so small a time. I would not readily commend a fair
day before night, nor p romise much o f such kind o f

beginnings, i n all persons, n o r yet in all o f these, for we
know the profession of very many is b u r a mere paint,
and thei r best graces nothing but mere flashes and
pangs, which are suddenly kindled and as soon go out
and are extinct agai n . Yet God, does not usually send
His plow and seeds-man to a place b u t there is at least
some li ttle piece of good ground, although three to one
b e naught. And methi nks the Lord Jesus would never
have made so fit a key for the i r locks, unless He had
intended to open some o f their doors, and so to make
way for His coming in. H e that God has raised up and
enabled to p reach unto them is a man (you know) o f a
most sweet, humble, loving, gracious, and enlarged spirit,
whom God hath blessed, and surely will still delight in
and do good by.
V i e w p o i n t 4 B
A Puritan Captive 's Account of Indians (1 682)
Mary Rowlandson (ca. 1 637-ca. 1 7 1 1 )
I N T R O D U C T I O N Mary Rowlandson was the author of
one
of the most popular and widely read books published
during the colonial era-an account of her three-month
captivity by Indians in 1 676 She was captured during
King Philip 's War, a conflict in which Metacom (called
King Philip by the English) led the last major challenge
to white settlement in New England.
Rowlandson was the wife of Joseph Rowlandson, a
Puritan minister in Lancaster, a small village on the
western frontier in Massachusetts. On February 1 0,
1 676, while her husband was traveling to Boston,

H I S T O R Y
a band of Indians attacked and burned the village and
took many captives, including Mary Rowlandson and
her three children. The youngest soon died of wounds
sustained during the initial attack. For almost three
months Rowlandson was held prisoner; on May 2 she
was released for a sizable ransom. She was shortly
thereafter reunited with her husband and surviving
children. Little is known of her later life, aside from a
second marriage after her first husband's death in 1 678.
Her book, first published in 1 682, was the first of
many "captivity narratives ''-popular accounts of
white settlers (often women) surviving against great
odds the experience of being taken by "savage " Indians.
It is noteworthy for its descriptions of capture and
imprisonment, its ruminations on suffering and God's
power and its descriptions of Indian life. ft also pro-
vides evidence of changing Puritan attitudes toward
Native Americans. In the relatively peaceful decades
before 1 675, many Puritans viewed the Indians as
unbelievers who needed to be taught Christianity by
missionaries such as john Eliot. After the shock of King
Philip 's War, Indians-including those who professed
Christianity and who lived in missionary-sponsored
communities-came to be seen as enemies who needed
to be exterminated.
How does Rowlandson describe the actions of the
"praying Indians" she encounters? How did the expe-
rience affect her religious faith? What observations does
she make concerning the English army sent to fight the
Indians?
On the tenth of February 1 67 5 [ 1 676 in modern

reckoning] came the Indians with great numbers upon
Lancaster. Their first coming was about sunrising. Hear-
ing the noise o f some guns, we looked out; several houses
were burning and the smoke ascending to heaven. There
were five persons taken in one house; the father and the
mother and a sucking child they knocked on the head;
the other two they took and carried away alive . . . .
Another there was who r u n n i ng along was shot and
wounded and fell down; he begged o f them h i s l i fe,
p r o m i s i ng them money (as they told m e) , but they
would not hearken to h i m but knocked him in [the]
head, stripped h i m naked, and split open his bowels . . . .
Thus these murderous wretches went o n , burning and
destroying before them . . . .
My eldest sister [Elizabeth] being yet i n the house
and seeing those woeful sights, the infidels hailing mothers
o ne way and children another and s o m e wallowing
i n the i r blood, and her elder son telling her that her
son Wi lliam was dead and myself was wounded, she
said, "And, Lord, let me die with the m . " Which was no
From The Soveraignty a11d Good11m of God . . . Being a
Narrative of the Captivity a11d
Rma11ratio11 of Mrs. Mary Rowla11dso11 (Cambridge, 1 682).
Contact and Conflict with Native A mericans
sooner said, b u t she was struck with a bullet and fell
down dead over the threshold. I hope she is reaping the
fruit of her good labors, being faithful to the service o f
God i n her place . . . . B u t to retu rn: the I n d ians laid
hold o f us, pulling me one way and the children another,
and said, " Co m e go along with us . " I told them they
wo uld kill me. They answered, i f I were will i ng to go
along with them they would not hurt m e . . . .

I had often before this said that i f the Indians should
come I should choose rather to be killed by them than
taken alive, bur when it came to the trial, m y m ind
changed; their glittering weapons so daunted my spirit
that I chose rather to go along with those (as I may
say) ravenous beasts than that moment to end my days.
And that I may the better declare what happened to me
during that grievous captiviry, I shall particularly speak
o f the several removes we had up and down the
wilderness.
THE FIRST REMOVE
Now away we must go with those barbarous creatures
with our bodies wounded and bleeding and our hearts
no less than our bodies. About a m ile we went that
night up u p o n a hill within sight of the town where
they i n tended to lodge. There was hard by a vacant
house (deserted by the English before for fear of the Indi-
ans) . I asked them whether I might not lodge i n the house
that night, to which they answered, "What, will you love
English men still?" This was the dolefullest night that ever
my eyes saw. Oh, the roaring and singing and dancing
and yelling o f those black creatures i n the night, which
made the place a lively resemblance of hell. And as mis-
erable was the waste so close unto my spirit that i t was
easy for me to see how righteous it was with G o d to
cut the thread of my life and cast me out of His presence
forever. Yet the Lord still showed mercy to m e and
upheld me, and as H e wounded me with one hand, so
He healed me with the other. . . .
DEATH OF A CHILD
Nine days I sat upon my knees with my babe i n my lap

till my flesh was raw agai n; my child being even ready to
depart this sorrowful world, they bade me carry i t out to
another wigwam (I suppose because they would not be
troubled with such spectacles) , whither I went with a
heavy heart, and down I sat with the picture of death
i n my lap. About two hours i n the night my sweet babe
like a lamb departed this life on Feb. 1 8 , 1 67 5 [ 1 676] ,
it being about six years and five months o l d . Ir was
nine day from the first wounding in this miserable condi-
tion without any refreshing o f one nature or other except
a little cold water. I cannot but take notice how at another
rime I could not bear to be i n the room where any dead
person was, b u r now the case is changed; I m ust and
V O L . 1 : F R O M C O L O N I A L T I M E S TO R E C O
N S T R U C T I O N 20 2 1
Part 1: Colonial Ame1·ica (1582-1750)
could lie down by my dead babe side by side all the night
after. I have thought since of the wonderful goodness of
God to me i n p reserving m e in the use o f my reason
and senses i n that distressed time that I did not use wicked
and violent means to end my own miserable l i fe.
I n the morning when they understood that my child
was dead, they sent for me home to my master's wigwam.
(By my master in this writing must be understood Quano-
pin who was a sagamore and married [to) King Philip's
wife's sister, not that he first took me, but I was sold to
him by another Narragansett Indian who took me when
first I came out o f the garriso n . ) I went to take up my
dead child i n my arms to carry i t with me, but they bid
m e let i t alone. There was no resisting, but go I must

and leave it. When I had been at my master's wigwam, I
took the first opportuniry I could get to go look after
my dead child. When I came, I asked them what they
had done with i t. Then they told m e it was upon the
hill. Then they went and showed me where i t was,
where I saw the ground was newly digged, and there
they told me they had buried it. There I left that child
i n the wilderness and must commit i t and myself also in
this wilderness condi tion to Him who is above all. . . .
THE EIGHTH REMOVE
On the morrow morning we must go over the river, i . e .
Connecticot, t o meet with King Philip . . . .
We traveled on till night, and i n the m o r n i ng we
must go over the river to Philip's crew. When I was in
the canoe, I could not but be amazed at the numerous
crew o f pagans that were o n the bank on the other side.
When I came ashore, they gathered all about me, I sitting
alone in the midst. I observed they asked one another
questions and laughed and rejoiced over their gains and
victories. Then my heart began to fail and I fell a-weeping,
which was the first time to my remembrance that I wept
before them. Although I had met with so much affliction
and my heart was many times ready to break, yet could I
not shed one tear in their sight but rather had been all this
while in a maze and like one astonished. But now I may
say as Psal. 1 37: 1 , "By the rivers of Babylon there we sat
down; yea, we wept when we remembered Zio n . " There
one o f them asked me why I wept: I could hardly tell
what to say, yet I answered they would kill me. " N o , "
said h e , " n o n e will h u r t yo u . " Then came one o f
them
and gave me two spoonfuls of meal to comfort me, and
another gave m e half a p i n t o f peas which was more

worth than many bushels at another time. Then I went
to see King Philip. He bade me come i n and sit down
and asked me whether I would smoke i t (a usual compli-
ment nowadays among saints and sinners), but this no
way suited me. For though I had formerly used tobacco,
yet I had left i t ever since I was first taken. It seems to be a
bait the devil lays t o make m e n lose their precious time.
I remember with shame how formerly when I had taken
two or three pipes I was presently ready for another, such
a bewitching thing it i s . B u t I thank God He has now
given me power over it; surely there are many who may
be better employed than to lie sucking a sti nking
tobacco pipe.
Now the I n d ians gather their forces to go against
N o rthampto n . Overnight o n e wen t about yelling and
hooting to give n o tice o f the design, whereupon they
fell to boiling o f groundnuts and parching o f corn (as
many as had it) for their provision, and i n the morning
away they went. D uring my abode i n this place Philip
spoke to m e to make a shirt for his boy, which I did,
fo r which he gave m e a shilling. I offered the money to
my master, but he bade me keep it, and with i t I bought
a piece o f horseflesh. Afterwards he asked me to make a
cap for his boy, fo r wh i ch he invited me to dinner.
I went, and he gave me a pancake about as big as two fin-
gers; i t was made o f parched wheat, beaten and fried in
bear's grease, b u t I thought I never tasted pleasanter
meat i n my l i fe . There was a squaw who spoke to m e
t o make a s h i r t f o r her san n up [husband] , f o r which
he
gave m e a p i ece o f bear. Another asked m e to knit a
p a i r of stockings, fo r which she gave me a quart o f
peas. I b o iled my p e a s and b e a r together and invited
my master and mistress to dinner, but the proud gossip

[ i . e . , compan i o n ] , because I served them both i n one
dish, would eat nothing except one bit that he gave her
upon the point of his knife . . . .
THE TREACHERY OF PRAYING
INDIANS
Then came Tom and Peter [Christian Indians) with the
second letter from the [Massachusetts authorities] about
the captives. Though they were Indians, I got them by
the hand and burst o u t into tears; my heart was so full
that I could not speak to them, but recovering myself,
I asked them how my husband d i d and all my friends
and acquaintances. They said they [were] all very well
but melancholy . . . .
When the letter was come, the sagamores met to con-
sult about the captives and called me to them to inquire
how much my husband would give to redeem me. When
I came, I sat down among them as I was wont to do as
their manner is. Then they bade me stand up and said
they were the General Court. They bid m e speak when
I thought he would give. Now knowing that all we had
was destroyed by the Indians, I was in a great stra i t .
I thought if I should speak o f but a l i ttle, i t would b e
s l i ghted and h i nder the matter; i f o f a great s u m ,
I knew n o t where i t would be procured. Yet at a venture,
I said twenty pounds yet desired them to take less, but
they wo uld n o t hear o f that b u t sent that message to
H I S T O R Y

110 Project Management Journal ■ DOI 10.1002pmj TE

110 Project Management Journal ■ DOI 10.1002pmj TE

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to 110 Project Management Journal ■ DOI 10.1002pmj TE

Similar to 110 Project Management Journal ■ DOI 10.1002pmj TE (20)

More from SantosConleyha

More from SantosConleyha (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

110 Project Management Journal ■ DOI 10.1002pmj TE