2.4

Discuss why the Pilgrims left England and why they signed the Mayflower Compact. Summarize the government and society in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Explain why Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire were founded. Analyze the relationship between New Englanders and Native Americans.

Puritans and the Church of England Puritans Arrive in Massachusetts Conflict With the Native Americans

Take 10 min to read section 2.4 and at your table create a chart to identify the reasons the Pilgrims left Europe. Example pg. 50 bottom left corner of page.

Puritans are known for wanting to purify the Anglican church. Though the Anglican Church was protestant the puritans believed they still conducted to many ceremonial traditions and still had bishops that controlled the local congregations. Some puritans tried to reform the church, the others became separatists and created their own churches.

Puritans came from all social classes, however most come from the middle class. As the Puritans gained influence, King Charles I began to persecute them. He began to burn some of the Puritan books and dismissed some of the ministries. This pushed them to go to New England where they would not have as many issues with persecution.

In 1620 the Puritan emigrants (Pilgrims) crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the Mayflower. They founded the Plymouth Colony on the north shore of the Massachusetts bay. One hundred of the colonist made an agreement called the Mayflower Compact. This was a form of self-government.

In 1630 Jon Winthrop led a much larger group of Puritans to America. On this North Shore the Puritans created a settlement that would later become Boston. They continue with their self-government by electing a governor and deputy governor and assembly to help control the colony in the appropriate way. This was a radical move for the colonist in a great way.

Puritans began having trouble with the Catholics, Baptists and Quakers moving into their lands. They began to make statements regarding these people they called “dissenters” saying they need only to live in Rhode Island. Puritans also began purging their own people who were expressing radical religious opinion.

Whenever cattle or children began to get sick and died they thought that it was due to some evil magic. For the safety of the colonists the witches had to be Identified. In addition to the accusations that occurred in New England dissenters, there were new accusations being made in Salem Massachusetts in The authorities tried, convicted and executed 19 suspected witches.

The puritans view of Native Americans as lazy savages that accepted life in the wild instead of laboring to conquer nature. The puritans cleared lands and built fences, mills, houses; all resembling England. They also introduced domesticated cattle, sheep, horses, and pigs.

The Pequot’s and other Indian nations began trading furs with the Puritans. It was an uneasy relationship. In 1636 the Puritans accused the Pequot of killing an English trader, and the Pequot deny it. This made the Puritans attack their village and then the Pequot raided back. This made the Puritans take things to a whole new level.

The Puritans go to another Pequot village and kill around 700 Indians and burn the village. The village was mostly women and children, this surprised the other Indian tribes that were helping the puritans. They did not realize the ferocity that the English would fight with.

The Puritans worked to convert and transform the Indians into replicas of English Christians. They pressured the Indians to move into special praying towns where they would be closely supervised by missionaries. There were 14 praying towns in total with approximately 1,600 Indian inhabitants.

In 1675, a massive Indian rebellion erupted. The colonists called it King Phillip’s War after Indian Chief Metacom. The Indians had aquired guns from traders and devastated the English settlers at first by taking out 12 towns. In 1676 the tides turned in the favor of the settlers. The Indians began to starve and run out of ammunition because they lost contact with English traders.

The death toll for the settlers was around 1,000 and the Indians 3,000. The Indians lost most all of their land and lived in small lands in a minority and some fled north to the French. Who would later fight against the English when the French and English begin to fight after 1689.