Tag: Puritans

The Massachusetts Bay Colony (Part 3): Conflicts with the Native Americans and the Colony’s Lasting Legacy

July 18th, 2023

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,

HistoryNet, 12 July 2015,

http://www.historynet.com/blood-and-betrayal-king-philips-war.htm.

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The Massachusetts Bay Colony (Part 2): The Salem Witch Trials and Dissent Within the Colony

July 16th, 2023

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 House

House seen in the movie “Hocus Pocus”

Salem Witch Trials Memorial

Salem Witch Trial Memorial

Old Town Hall

The 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,

HistoryNet, 12 July 2015,

http://www.historynet.com/blood-and-betrayal-king-philips-war.htm.

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