Puritan New EnglandThe Plymouth &

Massachusetts Bay Colonies

Puritans Create a “New England”

Puritanism began during the English Reformation when King Henry VIII broke from the Catholic Church and his daughter, Elizabeth I, formed the Anglican Church.

Some wished to purify the church which they felt still resembled the Catholic church. These people were known as Puritans.

Two groups of Puritans emerged, those who chose to stay in England and try to reform the church, and those who felt they needed to leave due to persecution. The latter became known as Separatists or pilgrims.

Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay

The pilgrims left England and first went to Holland, eventually they fled to America. In 1620, the small group established the Plymouth Colony.

Other English Puritans also began thinking about New England due to persecution, political repression, and economic hardships.

In 1629, John Winthrop and others obtained a royal charter and established the HQ for their Massachusetts Bay Company in New England.In September 1630, the Arbella landed in Massachusetts and made Boston their capital.

John Winthrop and the “City Upon a Hill”

Winthrop developed his sermon in which he referred to their settlement as a “City upon a Hill,” what did he mean by this phrase?

That all the eyes of the New England people would be on them. They would be a model for others.

Winthrop did not see the need for social, political, or economic equality. However, there was a more expanded political base.

All adult males belonging to the church were given the right to vote and they voted annually for members of the General Court, who then chose the Governor.

Church & State and the Importance of Family

The Puritan church and government were very closely intertwined. Puritan officials believed they were God’s elect and carried out His will.

What laws were punishable in Puritan towns?

Drunkenness, idleness, swearing and theft could lead to time in the stocks.

The Puritans, unlike the settlers in Virginia, traveled with their families. The villages kept a watchful eye on their families and the community would step in if they felt the family was dysfunctional.

Dissent in the Puritan Community

Roger Williams was an extreme separatist, what two views did he have that led to his leaving the settlement?

1) He believed English settlers should pay for the land they took from Native Americans.

2) He felt that government officials had no right to punish settlers for their religious beliefs.

The General Court ordered his arrest, but he escaped and later set up a new colony, Providence.

Anne Hutchinson’s bible readings at her home posed a threat to the settlement when she taught that people did not need the church or its ministers to interpret the bible.

She was banished and fled to RI with some followers. She later went on to New Netherlands.

Native Americans Resist Colonial Expansion

As settlers fanned outwards from Massachusetts into Connecticut and New Hampshire, Native Americans began to feel the pressure.What led to the disputes over land between English settlers and Native Americans?

Native Americans required larger area of lands for their nomadic lifestyle, and they also viewed the idea of ownership differently.

The Pequot War was the 1st major conflict in CT (1637) and nearly led to the destruction of the Pequot Nation.

King Philip’s War (1675) occurred when Chief Metacom led an allied effort against colonists. War waged for a year before disease, starvation, deaths and food shortages forced the tribes to surrender.

King Philip’s War took its toll on both sides. Native American power in Southeastern NE was gone forever, but colonist lost 10% of their males of military age.

Conclusions

Puritans began a new type of colony in North America. Based on family and religion, they were on a much different path then the southern colonies.

Even within these new settlements, dissent would occur and led to further new colonies based on different principles.

As settlers flooded into the Massachusetts Bay area, Native Americans began resisting and went to war with them only to be pushed out.

HW: SPNotes pgs55-59