Papist Devils

Catholics in North American British Colonies

8. The Peaking of Anti-Catholicismand the Seven Years’ War

© 2016 George E. Blanford Jr.

British Anti-Catholicism Anti-Catholicism became an integral element of British identity in the 17th

and 18th centuries It began with Catholic attempts to overthrow Elizabeth I and James I Compounding the problem was the British citizens’ fear of Catholic

enemies France and Spain It was assumed British Catholics would support these Catholic

powers rather than England Celebrations of Guy Fawkes Day, eventually renamed Pope’s Day,

became widespread in New England and New York during the 18th

century Anti-Catholicism was a unifying force defining the society by an

“other” that contradicted all that the society stood for Three things, a Jacobite uprising, a religious revival and a war with France,

acted as catalysts to intensify anti-Catholicism in the mid 18th century

Jacobite Uprising of 1745 There were a significant number of British citizens,

Jacobite's, who wanted to restore the Stuart dynasty The largest concentration was in the Scottish

Highlands At the time, Britain was fighting in the War of

Austrian Succession and most of its troops were occupied on the Continent

Jacobite’s found some support from the French government

Charles Edward Stuart, grandson of James II, invaded Scotland with a rag-tag army in August, 1745 and was joined by Highland clansmen

They had initial success, including the capture of Edinburgh

They planned to invade England, but they were routed at the Battle of Culloden, April 16, 1746 Charles Edward Stuart (1720 – 1788), the Young

Pretenderby Allan Ramsay

The Great Awakening

This religious renewal movement started in England and swept back and forth across New England during the early 1740’s It seemed to many that this religious renewal was the precursor

to an immanent apocalypse They believed that there would be an Armageddon-like

struggle between the forces of Christ and the anti-Christ In their interpretation of the Book of Revelation, this would

be the beginning of the end of time Catholics were viewed as the anti-Christ

This view was fed by a series of lectures by a distinguished Massachusetts justice, Paul Dudley

The War with France was seen as the precursor to this final battle

Anti-Catholicism in Maryland In contrast to most other British colonies, Maryland had a visible Catholic presence

In Maryland, hostility toward Catholics arose from a different combination of issues The War with France The Proprietor’s tax claims

Catholics were accused of Supporting the Young Pretender and, in general, they did Encouraging the French to invade which was untrue The Jesuit superior, Richard Molyneux, was accused of traveling to conspire with the

French In fact, he went to Pennsylvania and returned with some German Jesuits But, he did give work to prisoners from the Jacobite uprising

The unwritten truce between Catholics and Protestants since 1720 came to an end Instigated by a dispute between Dr. Charles Carroll, an apostate, and his cousin, Charles

Carroll of Annapolis, the Maryland Assembly passed a bill in 1751 reapplying the Anti-Popery Act of 1704

Illegally participating in politics, Catholics defeated enough opponents in the 1753 elections to get the bill repealed

Anxieties about Catholics decreased with the defeat of the Young Pretender and the end of the War with France

Prelude to War: The Ohio Valley In 1754, Virginia sent Col. George Washington with a

small force into western Pennsylvania to guard against a French invasion He erected Fort Necessity just above the Maryland

border A superior French force from Fort Duquesne

(Pittsburgh) forced him to surrender This defeat induced the London government to send an

invasion force on Fort Duquesne to drive the French out of the Ohio Valley In 1755, Edward Braddock led a 2000 man force They were ambushed by Indians before reaching

the fort Only 577 men made it back to Virginia; Braddock

was one of those killedMajor-General Braddock's death at the Battle of the Monongahela, July 9, 1755.

Prelude to War: Nova Scotia The British considered the 15,000 Catholic Acadians on

Nova Scotia, which England had controlled since 1713, as the worst security threat to her colonies The French had been there for nearly 150 years The first permanent settlement was l’Acadie in 1636 They intermarried with the indigenous Mi’kmaq It was a melting pot which had developed its own

distinct culture Before 1713, control had swung back and forth between

England and France The locals adopted neutrality to survive Even so, their ethnicity and their commerce

threatened English colonies Samuel Vetch, a New England trader from Scotland,

fostered transplanting the Acadians to Martinique This would remove an economic threat of

potentially disloyal people It would open up their lands to the British

Acadia (1754)

Prelude to War: Nova Scotia

The British sent a fleet with 2000 men to invade Nova Scotia in September, 1710 They offered transport for those who would leave, but few did

In 1713, the Treaty of Utrecht gave control of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland to England The French wanted the locals to move to Île Royale (Cape

Breton Island), but only about 50 families did The British wanted them to swear a loyalty oath, but they

resisted In 1730, the British finally persuaded them to take the oath by

letting them refuse to bear arms (thus preserving neutrality) Afterwards, the Acadians thrived with the population growing

from 6,000 to 15,000 in 25 years

Prelude to War: Nova Scotia In 1755, in response to the French capture of Fort Necessity, the British captured

Fort Beauséjour where Nova Scotia joined mainland Canada The people of Acadia were now asked to take an unconditional oath When they refused, the British forced them on to ships saying they would take

them to France or French Canada Instead the British dispersed them throughout the English colonies to keep

them from organizing a return Over the next 3 months, by ruse or force, the British separated men over 10 from

women and children The men were informed that they would be relocated and their land, cattle and

property were forfeited to the crown In a few places, some of the Acadians escaped

In October 1755, a convoy of ships carrying ~4000 Acadians headed south With a series of convoys, a total of ~7000 Acadians were relocated Between 5000-6000 Acadians eluded the dragnet

Prelude to War: Nova Scotia

The ships went to various ports along the Atlantic Those considered the most likely to attempt a return were sent far

south to Charleston and Savanah The cramped conditions on the ships led to the spread of smallpox

which killed ~20% of those transported Most of the colonies let the refugees shift for themselves

Many of the children who had lost their parents were sold as indentured servants or taken and placed with Protestant families

It is estimated that ~10,000 Acadians died, mostly children The majority of the survivors eventually left British colonies

By 1770, nearly 6000 Acadians were in Canada spread between Quebec and Nova Scotia

Louisiana, controlled by Spain, became the new “l’Acadie”, where nearly 4000 Acadians immigrated by the end of the 18th century

The Seven Years’ War—The French and Indian War In 1756, the last of 5 wars between Great Britain and France since 1689 began

It was the first truly global war in history: Great Britain, Prussia and Portugal vs. France, Spain, Austria, Russia and Sweden

It produced the high-water mark of anti-Catholicism in America The Great Awakening led many in New England to expect this to be the

fight against the anti-Christ (i.e., the French, Indians and all Catholics) Anti-Catholic paranoia grew in New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland Laws were passed to increase taxation of Catholic immigrants and double

property taxes on Catholics to support the war in spite of generous contributions for the war by wealthy Catholics

Jesuits were suspected of conspiring with Indians Fines were increased for proselytizing and for sending children to

recusant schools in Europe Wealthy Catholics, including Charles Carroll of Annapolis, threatened to

leave British America When, in 1759, the tide of war turned in England’s favor, anti-Catholicism

began to subside

Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore (1731–1771) In 1751, Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore died His son Frederick succeeded him as Baron

Baltimore and Lord Proprietor of Maryland His only interest in Maryland was for the

revenue it gave him He lived a dissolute life-style

In 1768, he was accused by Sarah Woodcock of abducting and raping her

Although acquitted, he left England in disgrace and never returned

When he died in Naples, he had a virtual harem of women living with him

Although he had many children, they were all illegitimate

He was the last Baron BaltimoreLord Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore

Henry Harford, 6th Proprietor of Maryland (1758–1835)

In his will, Frederick Calvert named Henry Harford, his son with Hester Whelan, as his heir Being illegitimate, he could not succeed to the Barony By Frederick’s will, Harford inherited all of his property including

Maryland Frederick’s will was challenged by a legitimate descendent of Charles Calvert

After 9 years, the Court of Chancery recognized Henry as Frederick’s heir In 1780, Parliament decreed that Henry was owed rents in Maryland as of

1771 In 1781, the State of Maryland confiscated all of Henry’s Maryland estates and

revenues He challenged these actions, but by 1786, he had lost all of his attempts to

regain his property. He was supported by Charles Carroll of Carrollton Afterward, he was awarded £ 100,000 by England as a Loyalist who lost

property in America