Early colonial writing focused on aspects of colonization and interactions with the Native Americans. Notable authors include the Spanish writer Alvar Nunez, who published "La Relacion" in 1542 documenting his journey across Texas into Mexico and the tribes he came into contact with. John Smith also published works about his adventures in Virginia and perhaps most famously his meeting with Pocahontas.
Religion was also a common theme among early writers. Religious writers included the English puritan Edward Winslow, who arrived aboard the Mayflower and wrote "Mourt's Relation: A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, 1622." Roger Williams, a chaplain in the Church of England who founded Providence, Rhode Island, and later became a Separatist, published works arguing for the church's separation from the state. Williams also had a great deal of respect for the Native Americans, as did Thomas Morton, whose book "New English Canaan" (1637) describes the tribes and the natural surroundings and scorns the New England colonists.
As the colonies grew during the 18th century and moved toward a break from England, more literature began to focus on the idea of an American identity. "Letters from an American Farmer," by the French immigrant J. Hector St. John de Crèvecœur is central to this discussion. He highlights the insecurities of the American people as they built a new civilization in the wilderness and the conflict between freedom and oppression that comes from the establishment of government and society.
The revolutionary period saw a number of political writings. Most notable were those of Benjamin Franklin, whose "Poor Richard's Almanac" and "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin" were central in the establishment of the American identity. His abandonment of puritanism in favor of rationalism reflects a shift in American society in the 18th century, and his work also showed how the values and interests of America were developing distinct from those of England.