New England Colonies

Religious Freedom• After King Henry VIII broke away from the Roman

Catholic Church and formed the Anglican Church in 1534, there were people who disagreed, or dissented, with the views of the new Protestant Church. Oftentimes those who dissented would end up being treating badly, or persecuted.

• Many groups of people wanted religious freedom without interference. Among these groups were:

A) English Catholics – who still recognized and wanted to follow the pope and the Catholic Church; B) Puritans – a group of Protestants, who wanted to see some changes made in the Anglican Church; C) Separatists – they were also Protestants, who wanted to break away from the Anglican Church and form their own churches;

Religious Freedom

• The Separatists were persecuted in England and many ran away to the Netherlands. Though they found some religious freedom there, the Separatists had difficulty finding work. They also worried that their children were losing their religious values and their English way of life.

The Pilgrim’s Journey• Some Separatists in the Netherlands

made an arrangement with the Virginia Company in 1620. The Separatists could settle in Virginia and practice their religion freely. In return they would give the company a share of the profits.

• The Separatists considered themselves Pilgrims because their journey had a religious purpose. Only 35 of the 102 passengers who boarded the Mayflower in September 1620 were Pilgrims. The others were called “strangers.” They were common people—servants, craftspeople, and farmers—who hoped to find a better life. Because Pilgrim beliefs shaped life in the Plymouth colony, all the early settlers were lumped together and called Pilgrims.

The Mayflower Compact• The Mayflower landed well north of the

Virginia Colony in a place called Plymouth on Cape Cod Bay. Because winter was fast approaching, William Bradford, their leader, believed this would be a good enough location to start their settlement.

• Because it was outside of the Virginia Company and its laws, the Pilgrims wrote a formal contract, the Mayflower Compact. It pledged their loyalty to England and declared their intention of forming a civil government. The Mayflower Compact proved to be an important step in the development of a representative government in America.

Help From the Native Americans

• During their first winter in America, almost half the Pilgrims died of malnutrition, disease, and cold. In the Spring a few Native Americans approached the settlement. Two of them, Squanto and Samoset, befriended the colonists. Squanto had been kidnapped to Europe and one time and had learned the English language.

• Squanto and Samoset showed the Pilgrims how to grow corn, beans, and pumpkins and where to hunt and fish. Without their help the Pilgrims might not have survived. They also helped the Pilgrims make a treaty with the Wampanoag people who lived in the area.

• Pilgrim Rap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlHytkZkh3E

• Mayflower II field trip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRbWKw9wzz0

• Mayflower Compact: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9GU1sd6I28

• Squanto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lurvePLcrxs

Other New England Settlements

• When King Charles I became King of England, the Puritans, who wanted to make changes in the Anglican Church, were persecuted. A group of Puritans formed the Massachusetts Bay Company in 1629 and received a royal charter to establish a colony north of Plymouth. John Winthrop, the governor, led about 900 people to Massachusetts Bay. Most of this group settled in Boston.

• Puritans faced religious persecution and financial difficulty in England during the 1630s. More than 15,000 Puritans left England and sailed to Massachusetts. This became known as the Great Migration.

Other New England Settlements

• The Massachusetts Bay Company was governed by a colonial legislature. Adult male church members were allowed to vote for the governor and representatives to the General Court. The Puritans wanted religious freedom for themselves, yet had little toleration for those who had different religious beliefs.

• Basically it was: Religious freedom for me, not you!

Other New England Settlements• This lack of toleration led to the establishment

of new colonies. The colony of Connecticut was establish by Thomas Hooker, a minister dissatisfied with the way Massachusetts was run. He and a group went to Connecticut and adopted a plan of government called the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut. This was the first written constitution in America.

Other New England Settlements

• The colony of Rhode Island was settled by people forced out of Massachusetts for their religious differences. Their leader, Roger Williams, established the colony to separate church and state completely and to worship freely. The Rhode Island Colony was the first place in America where people of all faiths were welcome

Other New England Settlements

• Others followed William’s example, forming colonies where they could worship as they pleased. In 1638 John Wheelwright led a group of dissidents from Massachusetts to the north. They founded a town of Exeter in New Hampshire. The same year, a group of Puritans settled Hampton. The colony of New Hampshire became fully independent of Massachusetts in 1679.

Other New England Settlements

• In review, the Northern or New England colonies were made up of: *Massachusetts (the state of Maine is part of it till 1820), *Connecticut, *Rhode Island *New Hampshire

Conflict With Native Americans

• Although there was often trade and good relations, sometimes conflicts between settlers and Native Americans would arise. Usually settlers moved onto Native Americans lands without permission or payment.

Conflict withNative Americans

• The most famous and important of these conflicts began in 1675. New England went to war against the Wampanoag people and their allies. Metacomet, the Wampanoag chief, was known to the settlers as King Phillip. He wanted to stop the settlers from moving onto Native American lands.

• The war broke out when settlers executed three Wampanoags for murder. King Phillip’s forces attacked settlers across the region, killing hundreds.

Conflict with Native Americans

• The settlers and their Native American allies fought back. King Phillip’s War ended in defeat for the Wampanoags and their allies. The war destroyed the power of Native Americans in New England and the settlers were free to expand over their lands.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DCFIJ26EaI