THE REFORMATION

1
THE REFORMATION

• Began in 1517 with the criticisms of Martin
  Luther of certain practices within the Roman
  Catholic Church
• Various groups of former Catholics would break
  away from the Church and form their own
  denominations
• Known collectively as Protestants

2
REFORMATION IN ENGLAND

• Reformation at first seemed to pass England by
• Situation changed during the reign of Henry VIII
• Pulled England out of Catholic Church when pope
  refused to annul his marriage to Catherine of
  Aragon so that he could marry Anne Boleyn
• Declared himself head of an independent Church of
  England and confiscated all property of Catholic
  Church

3
NATURE OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND

• Englands break with Rome had not been motivated
  by religious concerns but by personal and
  political reasons
• Did not entail a basic rejection of Catholic
  doctrine or church organization
• Priests and bishops acknowledged king as their
  leader (not the pope) but little else changed
• Church of England remained Catholic in terms of
  organization, doctrine, and rituals

4
PURITANS

• Small but influential group became increasingly
  critical of the strong Catholic flavor within the
  Church of England
• Began towards the end of the reign of Henry VIII
• Known as puritans
• Because they wanted to purify the Church of
  England of all vestiges of Catholicism

John Milton, Puritan poet
5
JOHN CALVIN

• French-born Protestant leader who made his
  headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland
• His doctrine, Calvinism, was a harsh, stern, and
  intolerant brand of Protestantism

6
CALVINISM

• Calvins God was stern, angry, and unforgiving
• Saw man has hopelessly corrupt and sinful
• Nothing could appease him and nothing could help
  man achieve salvation

7
PREDESTINATION

• All people were predestined
• God had decided at Creation whether a person
  would be saved or damned
• Nothing that anyone could do to change this fate

8
SALVATION AND BEHAVIOR

• Although all deserved it, God did not doom all
  people to damnation
• He would notify those he had chosen for salvation
  through a personal, mystical experience
• In the meantime, people should prepare themselves
  for this notification by behaving in such a way
  as to demonstrate that they are worthy of this
  divine favor
• Read the Bible, attend church, work hard,
  exercise severe self-discipline
• Refrain from gambling, play-going, dancing, and
  wearing fancy clothes

9
CONGREGATIONALISTS

• Puritans were English Calvinists
• Not a separate denomination from Church of
  England
• Belonged to the Church but believed it was impure
  and purged of all surviving Catholic customs
• Most Puritans were also Congregationalists
• Wanted to get rid of centralized structure of the
  Church of England
• Make each congregation independent
• Only wanted people who had been marked for
  salvation and lived accordingly to be full,
  voting congregation members
• The godly

Congregationalist Church
10
CHARLES I AND PURITANISM

• English rulers from Henry VIII onward did not
  like the Puritans and even persecuted them on
  occasion
• But during the reigns of James I and especially
  Charles I, sporadic persecution of leaders
  changed to a policy of persecution and harassment
  of all Puritans
• Because Charles I was sympathetic to Catholicism
  and even wanted to make Church of England more,
  not less, Catholic

11
CIVIL WAR AND EXODUS

• Pro-Catholic actions by Charles prompted more
  Puritan criticism and demands for reform
• Especially from Puritan members of Parliament
• In response, Charles dissolved Parliament in 1629
  and began to systematically persecute all
  Puritans
• Long term result would be civil war and the
  execution of Charles (1640s)
• Short term result would be massive exodus of
  Puritans for North America

12
THE PILGRIMS

• Unrepresentative of Puritan mainstream
• Separatists who had left Church of England
• Persecuted heavily in England so they moved to
  the Netherlands in 1609
• Forced to leave Netherlands in 1619 when war
  looked likely with England
• Decided at that point to go to North America

13
THE MAYFLOWER

• Received financing from friendly English Puritans
  and bought one ship
• the Mayflower.
• 101 passengers
• Landed at Cape Cod on November 11, 1620

14
A LITTLE PROTO-DEMOCRACY

• Because the area where they landed was outside
  jurisdiction of Virginia, colonists signed a
  contract and agreed to be governed by majority
  rule until a permanent colonial government could
  be established
• The Mayflower Compact
• Elected William Bradford to serve as their first
  governor

15
FIRST WINTER

• Named area where they landed Plymouth
• Arrived weakened by poor food and close
  confinement just as harsh winter hit
• 50 died during first winter from starvation,
  exposure, and, perhaps, suicide
• All probably would have died if it had not been
  for the help provided by Squanto
• Lonely tribeless Indian
• Acted as interpreter and go-between with local
  Indians

16
FIRST THANKSGIVING

• Pilgrims survived first winter, established small
  settlement, and began to grow their own food
• Celebrated first Thanksgiving in mid-October 1621
• Purpose was to thank God, not the Indians, for
  their survival
• Indians were not even invited but showed up
  anyway and were allowed to participate

17
INDIAN RELATIONS

• By second Thanksgiving, the severed head of local
  chief decorated the walls of Plymouth
• Pilgrims incapable and unwilling to understand
  Indian culture
• Gradually took Indian land and slaughtered them
  if they tried to resist
• Local Indian population quickly wiped out
• Also by disease

18
PILGRIM LEGACY

• Pilgrims did manage to establish a viable little
  colony at Plymouth
• Supported by farming, fishing, and fur trading
• But they refused to have anything to do with
  outside world
• Hostile to education
• Powerful legend but Plymouth remained a cultural
  and intellectual backwater and had little impact
  on the subsequent development of English
  civilization in North America

19
GREAT MIGRATION
Mainstream Puritans who settle Massachusetts Bay
Colony north of Plymouth during late 1620s and
1630s
Goal was to set up city upon a hill to serve as
model that would show English how their sinful
lande could be transformed and purified
Over 20,000 moderate Congregationalists who fled
persecution in England under Charles I
20
MASSACHUSETTS BAY COMPANY

• In 1628, well-off Puritans bought shares in New
  England Company
• Had authorization to settle and govern area known
  as Massachusetts Bay, north of Plymouth
• Company reorganized in 1629 into Massachusetts
  Bay Company
• Puritan shareholders gained majority control of
  company
• Thereby gained power to govern themselves in
  Massachusetts Bay

Seal of Massachusetts Bay Company
21
PURITAN SETTLEMENT

• Shareholders elected John Winthrop as their first
  governor
• Winthrop and 1000 other Puritans landed in
  Massachusetts Bay in 1630
• Within a year they had founded settlements at
  Boston, Dorchester, Roxbury, Watertown,
  Cambridge, and Charlestown
• All parts of metropolitan Boston today
• Within ten years, 20,000 more Puritans would come
  over, making Massachusetts Bay the largest
  English colony in North America

John Winthrop
22
RELIGION AND POLITICS

• Church became foundation of colony
• Everyone require to attend church services
• Full church membership limited to saints
• People who had passed test and proven they were
  marked for salvation
• Only full church members could participate in
  politics

23
THE GENERAL COURT

• Vote granted only to male, adult, full church
  members
• Called freemen
• Originally, all freemen met together four times a
  year in the General Court to make laws
• In between meetings, Winthrop and 18 elected
  assistants managed the colony
• General Court became too large and cumbersome in
  time and was transformed into a representative
  assembly
• Two representatives elected from each settlement
• Executive branch made up of governor, a deputy,
  and council of assistantsall elected by freemen
  in the colony at large

24
THE PURITAN REPUBLIC
Anne Hutchinson

• Puritan republic had problems in early years
• Anne Hutchinson
• Roger Williams
• But the colony hung together because colonists
  agreed on basic issues
• Wanted congregational churches
• Wanted government that enforced Ten Commandments
  and supported their true religion
• But, contrary to legend, they never allowed
  clergymen to hold public office

Roger Williams
25
ECONOMY

• Colony developed thriving economy based on
  selling supplies to new settlers
• English Civil War cut off flow of immigrants to
  colony and plunged it into a depression
• As a way out, colonists found they could sell
  fish, grain, and timber to Spain, Portugal, and
  Caribbean islands
• Created solid and diversified economic foundation
  based on international trade, shipbuilding, and
  shipping

26
GROWTH OF NEW ENGLAND

• Population grew rapidly after 1650, reaching
  100,000 by the 1690s
• Began to spill over into neighboring areas
• Connecticut (founded by Thomas Hooker)
• Rhode Island (founded by Roger Williams)
• Southern New Hampshire
• All these new colonies retained the Massachusetts
  form of government and had diversified economies
  based on international trade

27
REASONS FOR POPULATION GROWTH

• Population growth helped by lower death rate than
  in Virginia
• Caused by brisk climate
• Safe and abundant drinking water
• Strength of family units and evenly balanced
  gender ration
• More stable family life and less carousing and
  drinking
• Puritan values

28
CONCLUSION

• Population growth and economic development
  eventually undermined the Puritan principles upon
  which Massachusetts Bay had been founded
• Evolved into a secular and materialistic state
• But some of its traditions would live on to have
  a massive impact on the future of this new land
• Most importantly, the tradition of self-government