As a follow up to my three-part blog on the Massachusetts Bay Colony, this blog will focus on historic sites to visit in Boston, which was settled in 1630 and became the major city of the region. In 2020, I took a History course on Colonial America, and for one of the projects, I had to research colonial sites to visit in Jamestown, VA, Charleston, SC, and Boston, MA. In researching Boston sites, I primarily used the Freedom Trail website (https://www.thefreedomtrail.org). Then in August 2022, my family and I were able to travel to Boston for the first time, and see most of the sites on the Freedom Trail, and those that I had researched two years prior. Boston is the most historic city in the country, and one of the oldest. When considering the lead up to the American Revolution, most of the major events took place in the city of Boston, including the many protests against British acts such as the Stamp Act (1765) , the Townshend Acts (1767) and the Tea Act (1773). Boston witnessed the Boston Massacre (1770) and the Boston Tea Party (1773). It was the epicenter of agitations between the colonists and the British crown between 1765- 1775 leading to Lexington and Concord. Boston was always a city that I felt that I needed to visit and it was wonderful to finally get there last summer. The structures and landmarks that still stand are reminders of those events that led up to the conflict, and the people who fought for freedom.
I highly suggest visiting Boston and going on the Freedom Trail with a tour guide. I particularly recommend you take your tour with Jeremiah Poope. He was extremely knowledgable and entertaining. In all of his anecdotes, he added engaging and sometimes comical tidbits. He truly made it a worthwhile experience for anyone with any level of interest and knowledge in history. We went on the “Walk Into History” Tour but there are other options as well. Below is a list of sites on the “Walk Into History” Tour. The tour ends at #11 Fanueil Hall, but Paul Revere’s House and the Old North Church are just a short walk away. Next to each site is a link to its page on the Freedom Trail website for more information about its history and significance. I’ve also included our personal photos from some of the sites.
Other sites to see that we didn’t have a chance to see this time included the USS Constitution and the Bunker Hill Monument. I’d also love to go to Fenway Park some day.
Besides the Freedom Trail, we also went to the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum and I would highly recommend getting tickets. You first enter the “Meeting House” where live reenactors plan the Boston Tea Party and rally you and the other visitors as the colonists. You then have an opportunity to go on board and explore an 18th century ship and then throw British Tea into the harbor. You also watch, on a theater screen (Minutemen Theater) the events of Lexington and Concord. They also had a great gift shop and tea room. Overall, we had a wonderful Boston trip considering that this was our first time. For the kids, we also went to the Boston Aquarium and the Children’s Museum which we all really enjoyed. We’re looking forward to going back!
In Parts 1 (Read Here) and 2 (Read Here) of my blog post about the Massachusetts Bay Colony, I addressed why the Puritans settled there, what the conditions were like, and what daily life was like in the colony. I also discussed the Salem Witch Trials and dissent within the colony. In the third and final part, I will discuss major conflicts that the colony had with the Native Americans, as well as the long-term impact of the colony.
In Massachusetts, as other American colonies, the English settlers changed the landscape of the colony with little regard for the Native American way of life. The English cleared forests for farms, and built fences, houses, barns and churches. They killed wild animals that preyed on their domesticated animals. (Taylor, p. 188) Most Puritans viewed the natives as heathens who needed to be converted. “The New English saw the Indians as their opposite- a pagan peoples who had surrendered to their worse instincts to live within the wild, instead of laboring hard to conquer and transcend nature.” (Taylor, p. 188) In the first years of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the new settlers relied on trade with the local Native American groups such as the Narraganset, Massachusetts, Wampanoag, Nipmuck and Patuxet. (Taylor, p. 189) However, the first major conflict between the colonists and the Natives broke out in 1636 with the Pequot War. Allied with the Narragansett and Mohegan peoples, the English demanded a heavy tribute from the Pequot tribe and surrender of suspects accused of killing a trader. (Taylor, p. 195) The English and their Native allies surrounded a Pequot village, setting it ablaze and killing many Pequot Natives either in the flames or in flight. The Pequots were nearly destroyed and the survivors were forced to assimilate with other local tribes.
In the 1640s, Puritan missionaries began the task of converting Native Americans to Christianity. The Natives were expected to give up their customs and religious beliefs, and become assimilated into English culture. Missionary John Eliot “warned the Indians that they were doomed if they remained in ‘so unfixed, confused, and ungoverned a life, uncivilized and unsubdued to labor and order.” (Taylor, p. 197) Natives who converted were called “Praying Indians” and they created new settlements called “praying towns.” Christianity and an alliance with English settlers appealed to some Natives of the smaller and weaker tribes. However, Praying Indians were in a difficult position, looked upon with a degree of suspicion from many English Puritans, as well as other Native Americans who held onto their traditional customs. Traditional Natives viewed the Praying Indians as traders.
A violent and bloody war called King Philip’s War broke out between the English of New England, and the Wampanoag Natives. Both sides fought alongside other Native allies. The name King Philip refers to the English nickname of Wampanoag chief, Metacom. The English were previously allies with Metacom’s father, Massasoit, but when Metacom became the head chief, he quietly prepared for a war that he believed was inevitable. (Taylor, p. 198) “In the spring of 1675 the Plymouth colonists provoked the confrontation by seizing, trying, and hanging three Wampanoag for murdering a praying town Indian who had served as a colonial informant.” (Taylor, p. 198) Violence exploded as brutal and bloody fighting took place for over a year. Food shortages, disease and a heavy casualty rate eventually weakened the Natives, and Metacom was killed in battle. Although an English victory, the colonists paid a heavy price. (McDougal, p. 54) The war is considered, per capita, the deadliest war in American history. “The figures are inexact, but out of a total New England population of 80,000, counting both Indians and English colonists, some 9,000 were killed—more than 10 percent.” (Lauterborn, historynet.com) The war ended widespread conflicts in New England, but the devastation had a lasting impact on both the English and Native populations. It would be years before Massachusetts and the other New England colonies could fully recover. (McDougal, p. 54)
Lasting Legacy
The Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, along with their successes and failures, have left behind a lasting legacy on the modern-day United States. The Restoration of the English monarchy in 1660 “terminated and discredited the short-lived revolutionary regime led by English Puritans during the 1640s and 1650s. After the Restoration, English Puritans dwindled in number, prominence, and ambition.” (Taylor, p. 185) The Great Awakening (religious revival) of the 1730s and 1740s further challenged Puritan beliefs and customs, as new Protestant sects emerged such as the Methodists and Presbyterians. While the Puritans dwindled in number, their impact on American history cannot go understated. In the early days of the Massachusetts colony, only male, Puritan Church members could vote. However, this constituted 40% of adult males, which was a large electorate compared to Europe of the 1640s. (McDougal, p. 51) Distribution of land and wealth was more even among the populace compared to the Chesapeake colonies which had wealthy planters obtaining a majority of the wealth. (Taylor, p. 171) The foundations of democratic ideals were being laid in Massachusetts with Town Meetings, in which colonists could discuss and debate current issues in their local government. (Davidson, p. 98) Massachusetts and the other New England colonies were the first colonies in which entire families came to settle and start new lives, which set the stage for further colonization and settlement. The emphasis on literacy and religion led to the earliest universities such as Harvard to educate aspiring ministers. With all of its accomplishments, there were also the dark and negative sides of intolerance for dissenters and the hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials. Democratic ideals have grown since 1630 and lessons have been learned from the shortcomings of Massachusetts. Modern Americans can never take for granted the impact that these early settlers had on the United States. The risk that they took to sail across the Atlantic Ocean for a new and better life laid the foundations for the character, heritage, and strong-will of the American spirit. They planted the seeds of democracy and freedom that Americans hold dear. The ideas that they developed for their representative governments, inspired America’s founding fathers who wrote these ideas into the Constitution.
Works Cited
Taylor, Alan/ Foner Eric (EDT). American Colonies The Settling of North
America. Penguin Group USA, 2002.
Mcdougal, Holt. Americans, Grades 9-12 New Jersey: Mcdougal Littell the
Americans. Holt Mcdougal, 2007.
Davidson, James West., et al. The American Nation. Prentice Hall, 2000.
Bremer, Francis, J., John Winthrop: America’s Forgotten Founding Father,
Oxford University Press, 2005
Lauterborn, David. “Blood and Betrayal: King Philip’s War.” HistoryNet,
In Part 1 (Read Here) of my blog post on the Massachusetts Bay Colony, I addressed why the Puritans settled there, what the conditions were like, and what daily life was like for the settlers. In Part 2, I discuss the Salem Witch Trials and Dissent within the colony.
As a result of strict adherence to the Puritan religious practices, laws in Massachusetts were also strict. Many crimes carried the death penalty, including witchcraft. (Davidson, p. 99) Drunkenness, swearing, theft and idleness were against the law, and the courts would decide the punishment. (Davidson, p. 99) Throughout New England, some colonists could be accused of crimes on faulty evidence. “In 1642 the New Haven authorities suspected George Spencer of bestiality when a sow bore a piglet that carried his resemblance. He confessed and they hanged both Spencer and the unfortunate sow.” (Taylor, p. 181) The religious fanaticism of Massachusetts led to one of the most bizarre and well-known episodes in American history, the Salem Witch Trials.
In 1692, two girls, ages 9 and 11, and related to the village minister, began to act strange; convulsing, screaming and uttering strange sounds. They blamed their condition on the witchcraft practiced by a slave woman named Tituba. From there, the accusations spread. Most of those who were first accused were society’s outcasts and those who didn’t follow all of the Puritan norms. They could be poor beggars or single women considered too independent. When the girls accused others of witchcraft, the situation grew out of control, and those who were accused tried to save themselves by naming other “witches”. The accusations continued until the girls accused such prominent citizens as the governor’s wife. (McDougal, p. 82) The causes of these events have been debated by historians and have highlighted both the religious zeal, as well as the social and economic divisions in Salem. Many of the accusers were from Salem Village which had small farms. Many of the accused were from Salem Town, a port town where its merchants and traders were becoming wealthier. Therefore it appears that the accusations reflected the grudges held between members of differing social classes within Salem. During the trials, the court allowed Spectral Evidence. Witnesses could claim that the spirit of the accused witch visited and tormented them in their dreams. This was seen as legimiate evidence by the court and could be used to condemn the accused. The witch trials displayed the religious enthusiasm of a people who believed that both God and Satan were amongst them and that Satan would use individuals to terrorize others. As a result, nineteen people were hanged and another, Giles Corey, was crushed to death with stones. Four or five accused witches died in jail, and about 150 more were imprisoned. (McDougal, p. 82) Finally, after about a year of witch hunts, the trials finally came to end when people began to conclude that the trials and accusations had gotten out of control. While this was a horrifying and tragic event, Americans learned many lessons from what transpired in Salem, such as the right to a fair trial, innocent until proven guilty, the importance of the separation of church and state, and religious freedom. Witch hunts were not new in 1692. Witch trials had occured in Europe for centuries. They were exceptionally prevalaent during The Thirty Years War (1618- 1648), a war fought mostly in modern-day Germany between Protestants and Catholics.
I’ve always loved teaching about the Salem Witch Trials because I am always amazed by the hysteria that struck Salem. To me, the events of the Salem Witch Trials show the damage that can be done when people lose a sense of reality and are completely overcome with madness like the settlers of Salem. I’m intrigued by the different characters of the Salem Witch Trials story, as well as the different motivations that people had to accuse others of witchcraft. In 2022 my family and I were able to visit Salem. A couple of the sites that we saw there included the Salem Witch House (which is the only structure still standing with direct ties to the trials), the Salem Witch Trials Memorial, and the Old Town Hall, shown in the pictures below.
The Witch HouseHouse seen in the movie “Hocus Pocus”Salem Witch Trials MemorialSalem Witch Trial MemorialOld Town HallThe Witch House
Disagreeing with the Puritans
Early in the history of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, a few influential individuals felt that the Puritan-led government had too much power. Those who spoke out against the colony’s leaders or their religious practices could be arrested or banished from the colony. The Puritans were “dismayed by people who publicly promoted an alternative form of Protestantism.” (Taylor, p. 181) In 1636, Roger Williams was a Puritan preacher who held two controversial views: English settlers had no right to claim land unless they paid the Native Americans, and government officials had no right to punish settlers for their religious beliefs. (McDougal, p. 52) Williams’s belief in religious toleration angered the General Court, and he was to be arrested and returned to England. However, Williams fled Massachusetts and headed south to the Narragansett Bay, where he purchased land from the Natives and set up a new colony, called Providence, later the capital of the Rhode Island colony. There, Roger Williams guaranteed a separation of church and state, and religious freedom. (McDougal, p. 52)
Another dissenter was Anne Hutchinson who became a threat to the Puritan Church when she began having meetings at her house, expressing her own religious views and even criticizing Sunday sermons. According to Puritan belief, women did not have a right to explain God’s law, and she was put on trial. In 1638, she was banished from the colony and headed to Rhode Island. (McDougal, p. 52) Another Puritan minister, Thomas Hooker also believed that the government had too much power. He led about 100 settlers out of Massachusetts Bay and headed west. They built a town on the Connecticut River and called it Hartford. In the Connecticut Colony, all men who were property owners could vote, including those who were not members of the church. They limited the power of the Governor, and extended the idea of representative government. (Davidson, p. 96)
In Part 3 (Read Here), I will address conflicts that Massachusetts Bay settlers had with Native Americans, including a devastating war called King Philip’s War. I will also discuss the legacy of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Anne Hutchinson on Trial
Works Cited
Taylor, Alan/ Foner Eric (EDT). American Colonies The Settling of North
America. Penguin Group USA, 2002.
Mcdougal, Holt. Americans, Grades 9-12 New Jersey: Mcdougal Littell the
Americans. Holt Mcdougal, 2007.
Davidson, James West., et al. The American Nation. Prentice Hall, 2000.
Bremer, Francis, J., John Winthrop: America’s Forgotten Founding Father,
Oxford University Press, 2005
Lauterborn, David. “Blood and Betrayal: King Philip’s War.” HistoryNet,
I am always intrigued to read and learn about the Puritans and the Massachusetts Bay Colony. I find the Puritans to be one of the most fascinating groups of people to study. On one hand, they disagreed with the strict practices and intolerance of the Church of England (The Anglican Church). And so they came to America for “religious freedom” but were very strict and intolerant towards other branches of Christianity themselves. Their religious fanaticism is evident in the events of the Salem Witch Trials. On the positive side, the Puritans’ ideas of representative government helped lay the foundations of the institutions that we still hold dear. From the Massachusetts Bay Colony, settlers branched out to settle the rest of New England. Like the Jamestown settlement of 1607, the Plymouth and larger Massachusetts settlements are truly remarkable stories. The odds of these first colonies surviving did not look promising at the start and the early settlers had to overcome extreme hardships. The early colonists found a way to survive and create the first permanent English settlements in North America. In my three-part blog post I address the following questions relating to the Massachusetts Bay Colony: Why did they settle there, what were the conditions like, and how did the colony become sustainable? I take a look at a typical day in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. I also discuss the significant historical events of the Salem Witch Trials and King Philip’s War. Finally, I discuss the long-term legacy of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Why did they settle there?
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded in 1630 by a group of Puritans from England. Its founding had its history in the religious disagreements of the English Reformation. English Puritans wanted to “purify” the Anglican Church from within, ridding the religious practices that resembled Catholicism. Separatists didn’t think this was possible, and instead, chose to create their own congregations. While facing persecution, the Separatists, or “Pilgrims” sought freedom in the New World, where they could practice their religion as they pleased. Ten years before the Massachusetts Bay Colony got underway, a previous colony called the Plymouth Colony was settled on the coast of Massachusetts in 1620 for the same reasons of religious freedom and new economic opportunities. En route to Plymouth, 41 settlers signed the Mayflower Compact, an agreement for the colonists to govern themselves, a beacon for early representative government. The early Pilgrims faced a difficult first winter and nearly half of the colonists died. (Davidson, p. 89) The survival of the Plymouth colonists laid the foundations for the later Massachusetts Bay Colony. As an early leader of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, John Winthrop, citing scripture, claimed that the new colony would be a “City upon a Hill.” (Bremer, p. 171) The strong religious convictions of the early Puritans impacted all aspects of colonial life in New England. Eventually, the Plymouth Colony was absorbed into the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
John Winthrop
What were the initial conditions at first landing?
The colonists at the Massachusetts Bay Colony faced an unfavorable climate in New England. “A northern and hilly land of dense forests, sharp slopes, stony soils, and a short growing season, New England demanded hard labor to make a farm and offered little prospect of getting rich.” (Taylor, p. 159) Unlike the settlers of Virginia, who benefitted from long growing seasons and fertile soil, the Massachusetts Bay Colony had to deal with more challenging conditions, and they made the most of the resources available to them. While the Virginia colony was founded mostly by men searching for gold and wealth, the settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony consisted of entire families, looking to begin a new life in North America. In the first year of the colony’s settlement, seventeen ships arrived with about 1,000 English men, women and children, who were mostly Puritan. (McDougal, p. 50) The emigration of Puritans to Massachusetts starting in 1630 is referred to as the “Great Migration.” (Taylor, p. 165) The migration was greater in size and more thorough in planning than all previous expeditions to North America. The port town of Boston became the capital. (McDougal, p. 50) Throughout the 1630s and 1640s, the Puritans began to spread out from the coastal towns, and eventually founded new colonies such as Connecticut and Rhode Island. By 1660, 20,000 of the region’s 33,000 inhabitants resided in Massachusetts. (Taylor, p. 166)
How did the colony become sustainable?
Massachusetts was sustainable because of the Puritan work ethic as “the religious and the economic were interdependent in the lives of people who saw piety and property as mutually reinforcing.” (Taylor, p. 166) While New England demanded more labor and produced smaller profits, it also permitted longer and healthier lives in comparison to the Chesapeake colonies. This was caused by faster-flowing rivers and streams which reduced diseases such as malaria or dysentery. (Taylor, p. 170) By 1700, New England’s colonial population was the healthiest, most populous and the most democratic in terms of the distribution of property. Because of the shorter growing season and rocky soil, Massachusetts colonists could not grow the cash crops of the South. Instead, Massachusetts raised small crops such as wheat, rye, maize, beans, potatoes, pumpkins, squash, and other garden plants, but these crops were mostly for the family. (p. Taylor, p. 171) The Massachusetts colonists also raised livestock such as pigs, sheep, cattle, oxen, and horses. (p. Taylor, p. 171) They hunted wild turkey and dear and fished for shellfish, oysters, and lobsters. (Davidson, p. 99) The colonists hunted whales for products such as oil and ivory. (Davidson, p. 99) New England had extensive forests and the wood was used for shipbuilding. During the 1640s, Massachusetts and the rest of the New England region developed a complex and profitable network of commerce due to excess agricultural products, the fishing industry, and shipbuilding. (Taylor, p. 175) Massachusetts played a major role in these sectors of the English economy.
What Was a Typical Day for the Colonists?
The challenging environment of Massachusetts had an impact on the daily lives of the settlers. “It took a family to cope with the diverse and constant demands of building and maintaining a farm in New England.” (Taylor, p. 172) There were fixed roles for men and women. Men cleared trees, constructed the infrastructure necessary to run the farm, tended to the livestock, harvested the hay and cultivated the grain crops. (Taylor, p. 172) The women maintained the home and garden, cared for what was often a large family, made clothing and soap, and prepared and preserved food. (Taylor, p. 172) Similar to England, Massachusetts was a patriarchal society. Men were considered heads of the household and had more extensive rights in the colony. Women could not vote or hold public office. However, Puritanism viewed women as spiritual equals to men and after 1650, women outnumbered men as full church members. (Taylor, p. 174) “Women played a leading role in the oral circulation of news and opinion that determined the standing of men, as well as fellow women, in the community…” (Taylor, p. 174) Women could appear as plaintiffs, defendants, and witnesses in New England courts, and appear to have had more influence in their society in comparison to the Chesapeake colonies. (Taylor, p. 174) Family life was very important in the Puritan culture. The average family had 7 or 8 kids. (Davidson, p. 98) From a young age, children were expected to help with the family farm or trade. Children were also encouraged to read the Bible and follow the ways of the Puritan teachings.
Religion was at the center of life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. There was no separation of church and state in the early colonial period of Massachusetts. Influential Puritan religious leaders held important government posts in the General Court, in which male church members elected representatives to an assembly. (Davidson, p. 95) While the Puritans left England to practice their religion freely, they did not plan to extend religious freedom to other groups such as Anglicans, Quakers, or Catholics. “More than the colonists in any other region, the orthodox New English maintained that they had a divine mission to create a model society in America: a Bible Commonwealth dedicated to the proper worship of God and to the rules of a godly society.” (Taylor, p. 178) The Puritans believed that they had been a chosen people by God, and all circumstances, whether good or bad, were direct consequences of their level of piousness and holiness. They viewed outsiders with suspicion and sought to keep non-Puritans out of government. (Davidson, p. 95) With a strong emphasis on reading the Bible, the Massachusetts colonists established the first press in English America at Cambridge in 1640. (Taylor, p. 179) Book ownership was higher in New England than anywhere else in the world. The high literacy rates of New England would impact the pre-Revolutionary period when tracts like Thomas Paine’s Common Sense circulated the populace.
The Puritans’ religious fanaticism and devotion to the spirtual world led directly to the events of the Salem Witch Trials, and the lack of religious freedom led to dissent within the colony. These topics will be discussed in Part 2… (Read Here)
Works Cited
Taylor, Alan/ Foner Eric (EDT). American Colonies The Settling of North
America. Penguin Group USA, 2002.
Mcdougal, Holt. Americans, Grades 9-12 New Jersey: Mcdougal Littell the
Americans. Holt Mcdougal, 2007.
Davidson, James West., et al. The American Nation. Prentice Hall, 2000.
Bremer, Francis, J., John Winthrop: America’s Forgotten Founding Father,
Oxford University Press, 2005
Lauterborn, David. “Blood and Betrayal: King Philip’s War.” HistoryNet,
HistoryNet, 12 July 2015, www.historynet.com/blood-and-betrayal-king-
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