Download New England Colonies

New England Colonies
1620 - 1700
Themes
• Motivations for traveling; religion was
important
• Early histories and life in Plymouth Colony and
Massachusetts Bay Colony
• New England society
• Interaction between Native Americans and
colonists in New England
Major Religions in Europe (1560)
• In 1530s King Henry VIII
of England established
Anglican Church
(Church of England)
Religion in England
(Puritans)
• Puritans’ Goals:
1. Purify the Church of England to eliminate
corrupting Catholic influences
2. Membership should be limited only to an
elect view who had undergone a conversion
experience
Religion in England
(Pilgrims)
• Pilgrims’ Goals:
1. Agree with goals of Puritans, but were
radicals
2. Believed they must separate from the
Anglican church in order to practice their
religious beliefs.
Pilgrims in England
• Being to radical, Queen Elizabeth exiled the
Pilgrims
• Some went to Germany, Netherlands, and
France before returning to England in 1615
Destination: Plymouth?
• In 1614, Plymouth Company hired John Smith
to give them a start
• Smith travels up and down the coast and
writes, “A description of New England”
• Encourages people to settle there
Pilgrims Take Action
• Negotiated with Plymouth Company to establish
a settlement north of Virginia
• Mayflower sets sail in October 1620
• Lands at Plymouth Plantation in December 1620
• It had been a site of a former Indian tribe which
had been abandoned because of disease
• Signed the Mayflower Compact
- When we establish a colony, it will be
governed by the rule of law and not the
individual
Colonizing New England
(1620 – 1691)
Mayflower Compact
• Signed by all men on the Mayflower:
1. Declared their support for King James
2. Created a government to establish rules for
the colony
3. Local government
4. Step towards self government in North
America
Plymouth
• Late 1620 comes a harsh winter
• The Pilgrims are beginning to find out that
little grows on their land
• Food supply begins to run low; first three
months over half the Pilgrims die
• Between winter and spring the Pilgrims realize
there are others settled here as well
Pokanoket Tribe
• They do not want any enemies
• They begin to teach the settlers how to plant
crops in the soil by using fish oil as fertilizer
• All the Pokanoket ask in return is help against
a rival tribe
• Pilgrims can provide guns
• August 1621: Both launch an attack against
the rival tribe
Plymouth
• Included 24 families and 102 settlers
• William Bradford was elected Governor 30
times
• Two local Indians helped
• In 1621 they celebrated following their first
harvest; Thanksgiving
• Remained very small, but important
settlement in New England
Early Interaction with Native
Americans
• Squanto – acted as interpreter because he was
captured by fisherman and taken to Europe,
helped them plant corn and squash, and
negotiate an agreement with Massasoit
• Massasoit – Wampanoag leader, signed a
treaty of friendship with the Pilgrims
Plymouth Economy
• Puritans could not turn to farming
• Farming does not make profit, can’t grow
tobacco
• The Puritans at Plymouth will turn to fishing
and whaling and ships/lumber, furs
• By 1630, thriving Puritan colonies in
Massachusetts
• This economic boom draws other Puritans
from England
Decline in Real Wages in England
(1500 – 1700)
• Living standards declined along with wages
• Population increased and land became more
scarce
English Migration
(1610 – 1660)
• Persecution in England
by King Charles I in
1625 led to dramatic
increase in settlement
• By 1700 New England’s
population was about
93,000
Puritan Diaspora
(1630s – 1640s)
• Puritans begin to expand in Mass
- Rhode Island, Connecticut, Salem, Boston
• Boston- Major shipping business city.
Transforms Boston’s harbor to one of the
world’s most massive ports
Colonizing New England
(1620 – 1674)
Colonizing New England
(1620 – 1674)
• Most important settlement was Boston by the
Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630
• Settlers here were given a charter to establish
a self governing colony
• About 700 arrived in 1630 in about 11 ships
Massachusetts Bay Colony
• John Winthrop – one influential leader
• Advocated the Puritans to establish a “city
upon a hill” after his sermon entitled “A Model
of Christian Charity”
• Served as Governor and held additional
leadership positions
“A Model of Christian Charity”
•
•
•
•
Outlined the Goals of Puritan Settlers
Establish a religious utopia dedicated to the
teachings of Christianity
To be successful, ALL would have to work
together
If they succeeded, they would be a model for
others; but if they failed, they would be
shame to themselves and to God
Philosophy of: “Do whatever it takes”
Church and State in New England
• No separation of church and state
• Taxes funded ministers’ salaries and churches
“Blue Laws:”
- Required church attendance; also prohibited
drunkenness, card playing, public kissing, etc.
New England Wealth
• 1620 – 1650 New England becomes the
wealthiest region of the English colonies. How?
• Predestination- leads Puritans to question
salvation. Led them to believe in “Good Works”
- every moment that you are awake do what is
necessary
- don’t waste money and buy expensive things be
humble and save money
• Puritans save money to provide for community
and future generations
New England Wealth
• Puritan Work Ethic
- Treat your job as if it were your family
- A system that everyone has to abide to
• Leads to modern day Capitalism
Dissenters
(Roger Williams)
• Minister who called for separation of church and state
• Declared the colony had no legal right to own land
because they have no purchased it from the Native
Americans
• Banished in 1635; moved to “Providence” and began
his own colony
• Purchased the land from Native Americans inhabiting
the area and received a charter from England to begin
a settlement
• Rhode Island practiced the first religious toleration in
America
Colonizing New England
(1620 – 1674)
Dissenter
(Anne Hutchinson)
• A mother of 14 children
• Arrived in Mass in 1634 and began preaching in her
home
• It very uncommon for women to hold any prayer
meetings or be the head of a religious group at that
time
• Challenged the authority of ministers and was placed
on trial
• Declared she had received revelations from God
• New England’s Puritans believed Hutchinson’s
statements to be heresy.
Anne Hutchinson and Gender
• One critic commented, “You have stepped out
of your place; you [would] have rather been a
husband than a wife, a preacher than a
hearer; and a magistrate than a subject.”
Dissenters: Williams and Hutchinson
• Many of New England’s residents relocated to
practice their religion freely
• That was however not the case
• If people were not of Puritan faith, they were
persecuted or banished
• The people that were persecuted went on to
establish colonies of their own to practice
their own religion
Native Americans
(Pequot War, 1636 – 1637)
• Tension developed between Pequots and
colonists as the English expanded into
Connecticut
• Pequots, who were dominant in the fur trade,
were being threatened by English expansion
• Colonists from Massachusetts and Connecticut
attacked the Pequot Village in Mystic
• About 400 Pequots died as the village was burned
• Ended Pequot resistance to English expansion
Colonizing New England
(1620 – 1674)
Native Americans in Colonies
• Indian populations drop dramatically
- From about 125,000 in 1600 to 10,000 in 1675
• English settlement continued to expand
• Wild animals were replaced by domesticated
animals
• Another conflict emerged by 1670s
Native Americans
(King Phillip’s War, 1675 – 1676)
• Metacom known as King
Phillip
• Son of Massasoit (an ally
of the Pilgrims)
• Attempted to form an
Indian alliance against
English
• Over 50 towns in English
settlements were
attacked and burned
Native Americans
(King Phillip’s War, 1675 – 1678)
• English retaliated by destroying stores of food
and burned down villages
• English formed alliances with other Indians tribes
(Mohawks)
• Metacom was killed and Indians were defeated
• Effectively ended Indian resistance in New
England which meant expansion without
resistance
• Indian women and children were sold into slavery
King Phillip’s War
(Aftermath; 1678-1690)
• Crisis of religion in Puritan society
• Won the war; God is on our side
• We must be ever vigilant for evil in our
community
• Look out for the devil in our homes and towns
• Puritans now fearful of everything that is odd
Salem, Massachusetts
• Located in the northern region of New
England Colony
• By 1690, 2nd largest port in the region
• The area of Salem was made up of two
settlements
• Salem Village and Salem Town
• Salem Town being the more wealthy – port
and farm land
Colonizing New England
(1620 – 1674)
The Geography of Witchcraft: Salem
Village, 1692
Witchcraft: Background
• Similar to most Europeans, Colonists believed
in wizards and witchery
• Before 1690s there had been some witchcraft
accusations but none of importance
• Witchcraft hysteria grew in Salem (1692)
Salem Witch Trials
(1692)
• In April, several girls
began to act strangely
• All trails led to Tituba, an
African slave, and two
others were accused of
witchcraft; accusations
began to grow
• Over 300 were accused of
witchcraft and 20 were
executed
• 2 dogs were executed
Salem Witch Trials
(1692)
• If accused –
1. accusation atomically meant guilty verdict
2. Guilty verdict meant execution
3. To avoid execution, a confession was
needed
Salem Witch Trials
(How could this happen?)
• If one was to look at the map of Salem most
accusations took place in Salem Village
• Social Class/Income – Accusers tended to be
from Salem Village; a poorer region
• Puritan’s goal was to be “A City Upon a Hill”
- Dissenters had previously been dealt with
harshly
- Witches interfered with success of Puritans
Goals of Puritan Settlers
• Establish a religious utopia dedicated to the
teachings of Christianity
• To be successful, ALL would have to work
together
• If they succeeded, they would be a model for
the colonies. If they failed they would bring
shame to themselves and to God
Review
• Religion was an important factor for
settlement in New England colonies
• Puritan’s Goals: City Upon a Hill (model for
others)
• Native Americans continued to resist
expansion in the New England area until King
Phillip’s War