The New England Colonies. Chapter 3 section 2

Transcription

1 The New England Colonies Chapter 3 section 2

2 Pilgrims and Puritans Religious tension in England: a Protestant group called Puritans wanted to purify the Anglican Church. The most extreme wanted to separate from the Church of England. Anglican leaders began to punish separatists. The Pilgrims were one separatist group that left England in the early 1600s to escape persecution. They moved to the Netherlands but were not happy that their children were learning the Dutch s language and culture. They decided to leave Europe. Pilgrims formed a joint-stock company with some merchants and in 1620, 100 men, women and children arrived in Massachusetts aboard the Mayflower.

3 The Mayflower Compact In 1620 the male on the ship signed the Mayflower Compact, a contract in which they agreed to have fair laws to protect the general good. This was one of the first attempt of self-government in the English colonies. The Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, present-day Massachusetts. Half of the colonists died during the winter. 1621: a Native American, called Samoset, introduced the colony to Squanto another Native who had lived for sometime in Europe. He taught the pilgrims how to fertilize the soil with fish remains. The Pilgrims established relations with the Wampanoag Indians. They celebrated together the first harvest, which is known as the first Thanksgiving.

4 Pilgrim community Smaller settlements were still straggling. Many became farmers, but the land was poor. Also fishing and hunting were not good in the area. The colony began to grow stronger in the mid-1620s. The Pilgrims settlement had many families. They taught the children to read. Families were the enter of religious life, health care and community well-being. Family members worked together to survive.

5 Women the colony and Puritans leave England In Plymouth women had more legal rights than in England: they could sign contracts, and bring some cases before the local courts. Widows could own property. 1620s: England s economy was suffering and many lost their jobs. The king Charles I raised taxes. The Church of England began punishing Puritans because they were dissenters. For these reasons between 1629 and 1640 about 40,000 people moved to English colonies in New England and the Caribbean. In 1630 a fleet of ships led by John Winthrop arrived in Massachusetts. They brought tools and livestock. The area around Boston had a healthful climate. They faced little resistance from local natives and traded with the Plymouth colony. By 1691 the Massachusetts Bay Colony included the Pilgrims Plymouth Colony.

6 Religion and Government in New England Massachusetts Bay Colony had to obey English laws, but it had more independence than the royal charters. They had a General Court that became a type of self-government that represented the needs of the people. Each town sent 2 or 3 delegates to the Court. After J. Winthrop served as the colony s first governor the General Court elected the governor and his assistants. In 1644 the General Court became a bicameral legislature. Government leaders were also church members. Ministers had a lot of power. Male church members were the only colonists who could vote.

7 1636:the minister Thomas Hooker and his followers went to Connecticut to found another colony. In 1639 he wrote the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut which helped made the government of the new colony more democratic. Not all puritans shared the same religious views. Another minister, Roger Williams wanted his church to separate from the New England congregation. Puritans made him leave Massachusetts. He went with his supporter to southern New England were they formed a new settlement, Providence. (It will become the colony of Rhode Island). Williams supported religious tolerance and the separation of church and state. In Boston Anne Hutchinson discussed religious ides and angered the Puritan church. She did not believe in the needs of ministers. They forced her out of the colony and she found with other people the colony of Portsmouth, later part of the colony of Rhode Island. Witchcraft trials of the early 1690s: Salem, Massachusetts.

8 New England Economy Merchants: New England Merchants traded locally, with other colonies and overseas (furs, pickled beef and pork). They gained power and wealth becoming leading members of the colony. Fishing was the leading industry of the region. Merchants exported dried fish. Colonists also hunted whales, providing valuable oil for lighting. Shipbuilding: New England had plenty of forests that provided materials for shipbuilding. They made high quality, valuable vessels. Skilled craftspeople: families sent their sons to learn blacksmithing, weavings, shipbuilding, and printing. They lived, in exchange for simple tasks, with a master craftsman and learned from him. After some time apprentices became journeymen that traveled and learned new skills in their trade. Eventually they would become masters of the trade.

9 Education in the colonies Children had to read or study the Bible. In 1647 the General Court of Massachusetts ordered that towns with 50 families or more had to have a school. The book used was the New England Primer which had characters and stories from the Bible. They learned to read and the religious values of their community. Most of the children stopped education after the elementary grades. Rural areas had no schools. 1636: John Harvard found Harvard College. By 1700, 70% of men and 45% of women in New England could read and write.