
America's First Banned Book - Thevet
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/americas-first-banned-book
======
wyxuan
Title is slightly misleading. This is during the time when America wasn't very
united, and couldn't even be called a country. A better title would be New
England's first banned book.

~~~
andredz
To consider as well are the _Index librorum prohibitorum_ and the Index of
Prohibited Books of the Spanish Inquisition which applied to Spanish America
(the first one to Portuguese America as well?) and appeared in the 16th
century.

Also, it seems that in the 15th century Itzcoatl, a Mexica tlatoani, ordered
the burning of many historical codices. I was not able to find earlier
instances of banned books. Also, I do not know whether Indians in what is now
the US or Canada had books (that could then be banned).

------
brokenkebab
Good news nowadays noone would seriously demand banning an opponent's speech!
Oh wait...

------
duxup
Recently my local library had a "banned books" display with a collection of
the books available.... but I don't recall seeing Morton's book.

------
sabalaba
Fascinating read. Thankfully the puritans won out. Imagine a ‘demartialed’
colony. Not one that would be very fit to rebel.

~~~
KozmoNau7
I suspect the native Americans would disagree, and perhaps would have
preferred Morton's alternative to the Puritans. Of course, when one looks at
the exploitation by the British of indigenous people in other parts of the
world, it would likely be equally grim.

It does make me wonder what the world would have looked like today, had Morton
and his allies won out against the puritans. He was still old world money
after all, and could have anchored commerce in Britain's interest. Very likely
the "New World" would be under British rule, or perhaps would have rebelled at
a later point in time.

