Puritan Settlement in New England in the 17th Century - Research Paper Example

? PURITAN SETTLEMENT IN NEW ENGLAND IN THE 17th CENTURY Number The English Puritans are central to American mythology, from the “creation story” of the landing of the Mayflower on Plymouth Rock in 1620, to the much-loved national holiday of Thanksgiving, to being considered the much-derided source of moralism and (Freudian) repression. The Puritans have been both honored and vilified for the creation of American culture, politics, and society over nearly four centuries, although it has been debated as to extent that this may be true, and whether we in fact understand Puritanism accurately today (cf. Robinson 2005). This essay will examine Puritan settlement in New England in the 17th century asking the following questions: Who were the Puritans? Where and why did they settle in the New World? What type of settlements did they create? What was their effect on the newly emerging country? The Puritans were English followers of the French religious reformer, John Calvin (Bremer 1995; Bunker 2010). In the 16th and 17th centuries, England (indeed, all of Europe), had been involved in fierce battles over religion, most particularly the supremacy and legitimacy of the Catholic Church. Wars within and between countries over this burning conflict – whose fire was continuously rekindled by the sparks from myriad particular events – were commonplace until the 18th century. Arguably, the peak of the confrontation in Britain occurred with the English Civil War from 1642-51, which saw the regicide of King Charles I by the Parliament (which was essentially under the influence of the Puritans), the establishment of a republican Commonwealth in effect under Puritan rule, and the re-establishment of the Monarchy under James II in 1660. The term “Puritan” was initially meant as an insulting term, but was later embraced by the English Calvinist Protestants (Bunker 2010; Heyrman 1991). Puritan referred not to moral priggishness (cf. Robinson 2005), but to being sticklers with regard to religious doctrine. They were called Puritans those who disagreed with the Religious Settlement proclaimed by Queen Elizabeth I in 1559, as being not reformed enough from the “Popish” practices of Catholicism with its rituals, hierarchy, and spiritual intermediaries (Bremer 1995). The Puritans believed that God had commanded the reform of both church and society. They condemned drunkenness, gambling, theatergoing, and Sabbath-breaking. They denounced popular practices rooted in pagan custom, like the celebration of Christmas, and deplored the “corruptions” of Roman Catholicism that still pervaded the Church of England – churches and ceremonies they thought too elaborate, and clergymen who were poorly educated (Heyrman 1991). The Puritans were not driven by mere doctrinal purity, but by a sincere belief that the millennium, or end of the world, was near, and that they must prepare for Christ’s return by building his Church and society here on Earth (Zakai 1994). Puritanism became a strong force in England (indeed, throughout Europe), with many powerful members of English society, including Members of Parliament, aristocrats, and middle class merchants as adherents (Bunker 2010). Equally, if not more, powerful members of English society, including the Monarchy, were against the movement (Bremer 1995). Importantly, most Puritans did not see themselves as separate from the Church of England, but rather as a reforming force within the English Church. As such, Puritanism was not a denomination, and in fact many Presbyterians, Quakers, and Congregationalists were part of the Puritan movement (Bremer 2010). After the death of Queen Elizabeth, the Puritans unsuccessfully tried to persuade the new King James to implement more than 30 changes in the Church to take it down a more Puritan path. This “Millenary Petition” was rejected, except for the request to translate the Bible into English (Bunker 2010). Without hope of reforming the English Church from within, and with the expected coming of Christ immanent, the Puritans left in large numbers to go to America, where they could “establish Christ’s Kingdom upon the stage of the world” (Zakai 1994, 23). Before this period, during the reign of the Catholic Queen Mary I (1516 – 1558), more than 800 English Dissenters (religious predecessors of the Puritans) began to leave England and settle in the Low Countries (the Netherlands) and other places in Europe that were more receptive to Calvinism. Not long after Queen Elizabeth and Parliament made Separatism a crime in 1593, a Separatist Puritan group (who later became known as the Pilgrims) also established a settlement in the Low Countries (the Netherlands). Many of these exiled English Puritans were not satisfied as they still had to contend with an older, established, dominant, and unreformed European culture in their new countries. Also of importance was the lack of economic dynamism in their European settlements (Heyrman 1991), which meant that they could not materially sustain their community in a way that would allow them to sustain their communities of worship. The sparsely settled parts of America were ideal settings for the Puritans to realize their goals. The first settlement of English Puritans in the New World began in 1618 in Virginia. In 1620, the Separatist English Puritans from the Low Countries sailed from the Netherlands to the New World, on their way to Virginia, but ended up in present day Massachusetts where they formed Plymouth Colony (Bunker 2010). Though this was the most famous Puritan Colony, the most important colonies came from the Great Migration of (non-Separatist) Puritans from 1630 to 1642 (the beginning of the English Civil War), amounting to roughly 20,000 persons (Heyrman 1991). During this period, Puritan Colonies were established in Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, Salem, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and surrounding areas. This new group, by and large, was dedicated to the reform of the Church in England, launching their reform across the Atlantic from their new “city on the hill” (Bremer 1995). Notably, these settlements were legally secured by Charters from the King, who granted these to specially formed joint stock companies whose purpose was to settle in new lands for the purpose of engaging in commerce (Bremer 1995; Watras 2008). During this early period of English colonization, notably, there was no Imperial administration based in Britain overseeing the administration of colonies (cf. Murray 1965). The short, 12-year settlement spurt allowed the Puritan colonies to develop their government, commerce, and society without having to incorporate a continuous stream of new settlers with different experiences and ideas. After the English Civil War and until the American Revolution, immigrants from throughout the British Isles came to New England at the rate of only a few hundred each year, resulting in the region being peopled mainly by the descendants of members of the Great Migration (Heyrman 1991). This natural increase was actually remarkable and came about most probably due to their eventual economic success combined with the healthy climate. The Puritan settlers lived on average nearly twice as long as Virginians and about ten years longer than men and women in England itself. That longevity, combined with relatively low rates of infant mortality and roughly equal numbers of men and women (a rarity in migrant communities), resulted in rapid population growth. While the people of Europe and the Chesapeake colonies barely reproduced themselves, the number of New Englanders doubled about every 27 years; a typical family raised seven or eight children to maturity (Bremer 1995). Notably, the distribution of land was also unusually even, with each family allotted an average of 150 acres (Heyrman 1991). As lots became smaller from dividing them among children over generations, a growing number of young families moved on to found new communities on the frontiers of western Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire. While each settlement was distinct, there were broad similarities about which we can generalize. For instance, like many human settlements before the modern secular period, the Puritans in general wished to form a political community that was a reflection of the Divine Order. The Puritans were very much against the hierarchical structures of the Catholic Church, and also of the Church of England, which they believed did not go far enough in its reforms. They established strong nuclear families with fathers and husbands clearly at the head. Each town also developed a group of village leaders. The heads of certain families, usually men with university degrees or craftsmen with some practical skill, received a little more than the average land allotment. These “town fathers” took the lead in directing local affairs, and their sons and grandsons often inherited their power and influence. But though only a handful of families monopolized local offices, the decisions of the town meeting, the basis of local self-government, required the unanimous agreement of the entire body of townsmen (Bremer 1995; Heyrman 1991). The church was central to each town. Although ministers exerted much informal influence over public and private life, they did not serve as officers in the civil government, and in the churches, the laity claimed ultimate power. Each village church conducted its own affairs, answerable to no higher authority (Heyrman 1991). Much has been made by historians and commentators about the supposed “theocracy” (cf. Zakai 1994), but it has been argued that the Puritans were not outside of the range of the norms of the time (for instance, the Catholic Inquisition was not ended until 1837). By no means should it be considered that all the New England Puritan settlements were the same. We have already indicated the difference between the Plymouth Colony and the others. Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, for example, was established by a dissident, Roger Williams, who believed in the extreme separation of the Church from politics. That settlement became a haven for the most radical religious outcasts of the day (Bremer 1995). A widespread argument is that the Puritan settlements were rigidly conformist and did not brook dissent, and that this eventually led to the rejection of their values by later generations (cf. Heyrman 1995). Indeed, after the middle of the seventeenth century, full church membership declined, especially among men. Religious uniformity broke down, as new generations developed divergent ideas and movements, while the secular and commercial society around them grew and developed, providing economic and social alternatives (Bremer 1995). Significantly, too, the intense “King Philip’s War” between the neighboring natives and the Puritans ended in 1677 with the British Government ending the Puritan monopoly over New England and establishing military garrisons for the protection of the colonists (McNamee 2010). In 1681, the charters of several colonies, including those in New England, were revoked by the King. This was important as the Puritan colonies, particularly in Massachusetts, were reluctant to admit that the King had any sort of authority over its governance. All these developments eroded the Puritan world (cf. Oaks 1978). Though the Puritan settlements became diluted by the 18th century, they have been widely credited with or blamed for bequeathing to America its central values and character. Admirers speak of a strong work ethic, strong families, values of humility and hard work, capitalist prosperity, democratic decision-making, and devotion to God (Bendroth 2009; Bremer 1995). Critics point to misogyny, patriarchy, capitalist exploitation of nature and society, hostility to refined, civilized, high culture, and an unhealthy abhorrence of sexuality (Merchant 1989; Schweitzer 2005). The reality is most likely much more complex, not least because we have such a caricatured picture of Puritanism as simplistic and naive, and little appreciation of its intellectual rigor and depth. Marilynne Robinson (2005) elaborates a strong position against the commonly held view: Puritanism was a highly elaborated moral, religious, intellectual, and political tradition … While it flourished on this continent … [Puritanism] established great universities and cultural institutions and an enlightened political order. It encouraged simplicity in dress and manner and an aesthetic interest in the functional which became bone and marrow of what we consider modern. … Puritan civilization in North American quickly achieved unprecedented levels of literacy, longevity, and mass prosperity, or happiness, as it was called in those days. To isolate is special character we need only compare colonial New England and Pennsylvania … with the colonial South. Or let us compare them with ourselves… (150-51) The task of finding out the truth of the Puritan inheritance will probably never be completed, as each generation may look upon and take inspiration of that past in its own way (cf. DiCuirci 2010). What is incontrovertible, however, is that the Puritan settlements of New England have been central to the American sense of itself, and it is almost certainly the case that the nature and importance of Puritan settlements will continue to be debated for many years to come. 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The West Indies and the Development of Colonial Government, 1801-1834. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Oaks, Robert F. 1978. “‘Things Fearful To Name’: Sodomy and Buggery In Seventeenth-Century New England.” Journal of Social History, 12(2): 6-10. Robinson, Marilynne. 2005. The Death of Adam: Essays on Modern Thought. New York: Picador. Schweitzer, Ivy. 2005. “John's Winthrop's ‘Model’ of American Affiliation.” Early American Literature, 40(3): 441-469. Watras, Joseph. 2008. “Education and Evangelism in the English Colonies.” American Educational History Journal, 35(1): 205-19. Zakai, Avihu. 1994. “Theocracy in Massachusetts: The Puritan Universe of Sacred Imagination.” Studies in the Literary Imagination, 27(1): 23-32. Read More