The Settlement of the New England Colonies

This is the area we are concerning ourselves with today…the area known as New England. As you can see, it’s earliest settlement began in the 1600s.

The distinctive aspect of New England’s settlement is that its roots lie in a quest for a religious utopia.

New England was settled by what were essentially religious fundamentalists looking to build a holy society far away from the corruption and persecution they faced in Europe.

These folks called themselves Puritans, though there were a group of Puritans so hard core they even separated from the other Puritans in their church. We call the splitters “Separatists.” They are known in US history as the Pilgrims.

So, who were the Puritans and what did they want?

Roman CatholicChurch

ProtestantsBaptists

Presbyterians

Episcopalians

Lutherans

Church ofEngland

PuritansSeparatists (Pilgrims)

This chart merely illustrates how the Puritans were a branch off the English Church, which was itself a result of the Protestant Reformation during the 1600s.

So…what made you a Puritan?

First, you were most likely a middle class, or even wealthy, merchant or tradesman in 17th c England.

You liked Protestantism because its values of hard work, sobriety, thrift (that means saving money), and respectability were good values for working people--especially those who relied on credit and financial trading, since you needed to appear trustworthy if you were handling large sums of cash or securing loans.

You were also concerned with what you thought was the breakdown in English society during the enclosure movement.

You remember the enclosure movement?

“Enclosure” simply refers to the process of dividing up the countryside into private plots which were marked by hedges and fences. This land was then to be plowed or pastured for profit. This was the origin of the Industrial Revolution.

However, this meant throwing landless peasants off land they had worked for years. The evicted peasants had to emigrate, and many went to London and other cities, where they looked for work, or begged, and/or went homeless, and/or resorted to crime, drinking, etc.

The Puritans, living in the cities, were horrified by these events, and concluded that the way to save English society was to reinforce the word of God in their communities. Initially, they hoped to reform all of England according to their understanding of scripture, which was essentially the following…

Every person is responsible for his or her own salvation, therefore, you needed to read the Bible instead of relying on priests to tell you what to do. Because what if priests were wrong?

All that excess in the Catholic Church, like golden altars, stained glass windows, statues, communion, etc., just got in the way of your direct contact with God. All that had to go. Religion should simple, pure. (hence--Puritanism)

Since God was all-powerful, it stood to reason he already knew whether you were to be saved or not, so your fate was already decided. This was known as Predestination. So Puritan life was based on looking for signs you were one of the “elect,” or the saved. Fortunately, those who lived a virtuous life could be assumed to be saved, and thus you could be known as elect based on how you behaved, or dressed, or even how successful you were in life (wealth was a sign of God’s favor)

This is John Winthrop, author of the document you will read shortly.

As you can tell by his dress, Puritans dressed modestly, preferring black clothing as they felt bright colors were indicative of pride (one of the seven sins). However, since he paid for a portrait, you can be sure was fairly wealthy for his time.

They ran into trouble with two kings of England, James I and Charles I (depicted below), who ruled from about 1600-1640s.

James and Charles sought to increase their power over England, and to potentially bring back Catholicism into Protestant England. At the very least, they wanted to have bishops in charge of the Church of England. The Puritans, in particular, protested these religious changes, as they feared anyone with power to tell them how to worship, and thus they were targeted as potential rebels by the English kings.

Ok--here’s where it gets confusing. A group of Puritans had become convinced by 1609 that England could not be saved from going to Hell, and they “separated” themselves form England by moving to Holland. They were therefore called Separatists.

However, they quickly became concerned that their children were being led astray from Puritanism by the Dutch lifestyle,

So they opted to separate once more, this time so far away they couldn’t be tempted by anybody

As Virginia had by this time been “discovered,” they contracted with the Virginia Land Company to settle there in exchange for guaranteeing a return on the company’s investment (the land, wood for houses, supplies) by their hard work and trade.

So, in 1620, they departed, along with some of the Company’s investors and officers, and a raffle of sailors and workers, in the ship Mayflower.

They strayed off course a bit, sailed North, and ended up landing at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts, probably trying to keep the king off their trail. I don’t really care about them, actually, but these are guys we are supposed to celebrate during Thanksgiving. And they are supposed to be the “first” or whatever, but that’s not really true, either. Especially if you ask the Indians

The reality? Plymouth stayed small and economically unimportant.

As late as 1691 only 7,000 people lived there

Eventually, Plymouth merged with Massachusetts Bay Colony.

The guys who really matter are the Puritan non-Separatists, who followed them out to New England ten years later.

Also despairing of seeing England reformed, they decided to set up a little utopia in hopes of being a good example for the rest of England to aspire to.

They received a royal charter and set up the Massachusetts Bay Company in 1629. The first ships, carrying 200 settlers, left that year. John Winthrop was among them.

During the next 15 years, 20,000 Puritans immigrated to Massachusetts.

Boston was established in 1630 as a trading center.

The Civil War in England during this time helps explain the large numbers of immigrants.

The Puritan communities shared some basic similarities:

In every village, the Church was the center geographically, and of public life.

The community was called a “congregation,” and its leaders tended to be older, wealthier men (those were visibly saved, or “elect”)

Education was a high priority, so everyone could read the Bible

The land itself was apportioned out, with the wealthy receiving most of it

Finally, most of the seaport towns quickly became centers of trade and shipping, as Puritan leaders replicated the lives they had lived in England.

Land Division inSudbury, MA: 1639-

1656

Land Division inSudbury, MA: 1639-

1656

You’ll notice the centrality of the meeting house, the regular division of land, and the unequal sized lots

The spread from Massachusetts

Further colonies were created as:

a) The population of the first towns increased past the point they could be sustained

b) Or when dissenters against the rule of the Elect were thrown out, which happened often enough.

Wonderful as this sounds, New England was also home to thousands of Indians (most of their tribal names survive as town names in New England. The Indians weren’t so lucky.)

The Indians had been weakened before the Puritans ever The Indians had been weakened before the Puritans ever arrived, as epidemics brought by the Dutch had wiped arrived, as epidemics brought by the Dutch had wiped out ¾ of the native population.out ¾ of the native population.

The decimated Wampanoags [near Plymouth,] afraid of The decimated Wampanoags [near Plymouth,] afraid of their more powerful enemies, known as the their more powerful enemies, known as the Narragansetts, befriended the settlers, who may have Narragansetts, befriended the settlers, who may have been seen as a potentially lethal ally due to their guns.been seen as a potentially lethal ally due to their guns.

Earlier, they had actually saved the Pilgrims, who all Earlier, they had actually saved the Pilgrims, who all nearly died of starvation in 1621. This became known nearly died of starvation in 1621. This became known as the first “Thanksgiving.” The Pilgrims were shown as the first “Thanksgiving.” The Pilgrims were shown how to eat corn, beans, squash and pumpkins, and how to eat corn, beans, squash and pumpkins, and turkey. In return, the Pilgrims gave the Indians more turkey. In return, the Pilgrims gave the Indians more diseases, and then forced them to turn over tribal land.diseases, and then forced them to turn over tribal land.

Puritans vs. Native Americans

Puritans vs. Native Americans

The First Thanksgiving?

The First Thanksgiving?

This is probably the last happy scene This is probably the last happy scene between Indians and the European between Indians and the European

settlerssettlers

The Pequot Wars: 1636-1637

The Pequot Wars: 1636-1637Pequots Pequots very very

powerful tribepowerful tribein CT river valley.in CT river valley.

1637 1637 Pequot PequotWarWar

Whites, withWhites, withNarragansettNarragansettIndian allies,Indian allies,attacked Pequotattacked Pequotvillage on Mystic village on Mystic River.River.

Whites set fire Whites set fire to homes & shot fleeing survivors!to homes & shot fleeing survivors!

Pequot tribe virtually annihilatedPequot tribe virtually annihilated an an uneasy peace lasted for 40 years.uneasy peace lasted for 40 years.

A sign of things to come?

Population of the New England Colonies

Population of the New England Colonies

Population increase

This was due to several factors• The immigration of Puritan families, rather

than single men, as in Virginia• The emphasis on large families (6 children on

average)• The economic success of the colonies led to

more immigration, even though most of these new arrivals were not Puritans, but tended to be Anglicans, Scots-Irish Protestants, or Germans.

Population Comparisons:New England v. the

Chesapeake

Population Comparisons:New England v. the

ChesapeakeNew England was a paradise compared to Virginia, and even compared to England, especially for the poor.

All these people had to go someplace, but that someplace tended to belong to the Indians, especially the Pokenoket and Narragansetts (the Puritans’ old allies against the Pequots.)

The Pokenokets united with the Narragansetts after Puritan The Pokenokets united with the Narragansetts after Puritan leaders forced the Pokenoket to concede control over leaders forced the Pokenoket to concede control over their own territorytheir own territory

MetacomMetacom [King Philip to white settlers] became the leader [King Philip to white settlers] became the leader of this allianceof this alliance

The Indians staged The Indians staged coordinated attacks coordinated attacks on white settlements throughout New England, burning on white settlements throughout New England, burning farms and killing cows. Cows were especially hated farms and killing cows. Cows were especially hated since they tended to destroy Indian crops as they since they tended to destroy Indian crops as they grazed.grazed.

Frontier settlers were forced to retreat to Boston.Frontier settlers were forced to retreat to Boston.

King Philip’s War (1675-1676}King Philip’s War (1675-1676}

The colonists struck a deal with the Iroquois tribes in what is The colonists struck a deal with the Iroquois tribes in what is now New York and squeezed their enemies between them.now New York and squeezed their enemies between them.

Metacom was beheaded then his body drawn and quartered.Metacom was beheaded then his body drawn and quartered.

His son and wife sold into slavery.His son and wife sold into slavery.

The united tribes were never a serious threat in New England again!!The united tribes were never a serious threat in New England again!!

King Philip’s War (1675-1676}King Philip’s War (1675-1676}

Don’t worry guys! The Indians lost!

Yay!

Land Use in New England

By the way--there were no plantations in New England such as we saw in the Chesapeake.

Neither was slavery as important to production (though New York in the Mid-Atlantic region, and Rhode Island, in New England did have substantial numbers of slaves, usually working on the docks)

Why is that?

Because…New England soil is rocky and of poorer quality than that in the American South

Plus you get stuff like this…

which is to say that large-scale agricultural production just wasn’t going to work out.

So New England residents tended to be “subsistence” farmers who supplemented their income by making goods for market, while others turned to shipping as means of wealth.

This will be of major importance later on…

A victim of its own success?

• By the early 18th century, some trends had appeared

• The puritan settlers were fairly rich, but were now a minority among all these new immigrants

• The newer generations were less interested in the Church

• New England was running out of room for all these new people

Between immigration, the loss of interest in religion among the later generations of Puritans, and the economic success brought to New England by the burgeoning Southern slave economy, by the beginning of the 18th century Boston had changed from a quaint Puritan to a thriving seaport that looked exactly the same as port cities in London

Bristol England, in an 18th c view

Boston, in an 18th c view

So…

• If the Puritans didn’t really exist after the 17th century, why do we care about them?

Because their descendants became the wealthiest leaders of Boston society, its writers and educators, and some of those Puritan beliefs never really went away …

… which means that the Puritans succeeded in bequeathing their culture and philosophy to the United States, even if many of their churches have disappeared.

Class assignmment

• In class tomorrow, you are going to read a pair of documents written by a Puritan leader named John Winthrop, and I will argue they are to of the more illuminating documents you will ever read -- illuminating in that they explain quite a lot about the way the US looks at the world and itself.