The Puritans: The Massachusetts Bay Colony

[H]e which would have suer peace and joye in Christianitye, must not ayme at a condition retyred from the world and free from temptations, but to knowe that the life which is most exercised with tryalls and temptations is the sweetest, and will prove the safeste. For such tryalls as fall within compasse of our callinges, it is better to arme and withstande them than to avoide and shunne them. -John Winthrop

Deciding that religious freedom is worth the risks, the puritans crossed the sea. Puritans were reformed protestants and believed that the church of England was still too much like it was before. They believed the church of was corrupt. They didn’t break from the church but sought to reform it, so they set out for the New World in the 1630. When they arrived in the New England area they decided to start a new colony. The puritans were very strict and didn’t tolerate other religions.

Early settlement conditions – disease ridden small settlements originally established for the discovery of gold and profit. Not intended to become long term and inhabited by mainly young single men with few women or families.

The Massachusetts Bay colony was an east coast colony near current day Boston. The Massachusetts Bay colony was formed as a Puritan settlement. (Massachussettes bay) Most of the original 400 settlers of the colony were Puritans. The colony celebrated its first Thanksgiving on July 8, 1629. After this, the Massachusetts Bay colony had a period of continual growth and expansion due to many ministers reacting to the oppressive religious policies of England. (the Massachusetts Bay Colony wikipedia) Many Puritan ministries developed due in part to the influx of puritans that vastly dominated

The government of the Massachusetts Bay Colony was simultaneously theocratic, democratic, oligarchic, and authoritarian in different ways. The Puritans founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1628 and wanted a well-established government, but they ended up mixing all of these together. This colony was important because it was one of the first provincial and true governments to be introduced into the colonies. It also provided an example to other colonies to base their governments on.

England’s desire for economic gain and religious freedom sparked the beginning of their interest in colonialism in America (Gouch, LeGuin, & Walton, 1998). While some settlers came to America in search of gold or other riches, the Puritans that settled the Massachusetts Bay Colony came to escape religious persecution and have freedom to worship as they desired. In 1630, over a thousand Puritans arrived, being led by a lawyer named John Winthrop. All English settlers were required to set up charter system governments. This system allowed the settlers to organize

1. "Describe the Puritans and their beliefs, and explain why they left England for the New World." What the Puritans desired was the purification of the English church. Puritans wished to simplify worship and control the regularity of its occurrence. The protestant reformation which seemed everlasting caused conflict with the Puritans. Some Individuals believed only “visible saints” would be allowed a house in the Church. King James threatened the persecution of the separatists so the fled in search of religious freedom inside of the new found colonies.

Puritans and Pilgrims settled in the New England colonies of Massachusetts, Rode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. The Puritans came to seek religious freedom and new settlements and to escape the religious persecution they were facing in England. The colonies in New England had sandy coasts with assessable ports, forest hills, and flat woodlands. The soil was thin and rocky which was bad for farming. Lumbering, trading, shipbuilding, fishing, and whaling were all common occupations in the New England colonies. Slavery was allowed In the New England colonies, however very few people had slaves. The soil made it difficult to grow crops, so most colonist had small independent farms they could care for on their own, the colonist only grew enough food to feed their families and didn't' have enough to feed slaves. (https://prezi.com/vnfchvubifzb/the-new-england-middle-and-southern-colonies/) The New England colonist was self-governed. The government was highly influenced by religion. When New England sailed over, they found a developed region with a lot of Native Americans. The English and Native Americans didn't get along very well. The English people thought Native Americans were inferior on how they lived. The English people got farming and other skills from the Native people. The four Middle Colonies were New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. English Quakers originally settled in the Middle Colonies. People from France, Holland, Germany, Sweden, Finland,

In the 1600s there were a certain group of people that took up a vast majority of the population this group was called the Puritans. The Puritans were a strictly religious group of people who had a very strict interpretation of bible and they believed anything as long as they believed it was God's’ will to be done, they only did what the bible could tell them to do, or if they preformed anything different than what was lead to be by the bible they were punished. They had so many restrictions on the littlest of things just like dancing, no fancy clothing and no smoking. But they did have restrictions on pretty big things as well like you can’t miss church no matter what even if someone were to be sick, people had to pay to celebrate christmas.

It is in one’s moral beliefs that children are the way to a better future. It is instilled in the modern era to the minds of the human race that treating a child a certain way, will lead them to become a certain person. For instance, they will one day become society’s doctors, educators, and politicians, respectable men and women. Yet, in Puritan New England the conditions to raising children to being such was much more intense from modern day’s way of teaching and living. The life for children in Puritan New England was tough and tenacious, because of its strict beliefs in religion, the lack of individualism and expression permitted to the children, and the dire consequences leading to being abused, or at times, being punishable by death.

The Puritans led their lives according to a strict moral code, centered around religion, which they had followed and conformed to. In addition conformity, Puritans believed, was crucial to uniting the community, and therefore resulted in anti-individualistic beliefs. However, when they deviated from the religious code they were threatened with banishment from the community and often experienced public shaming. Also the Puritans, whom had come to the colonies seeking religious freedom for themselves, cultivated a society that was intolerant of the practice of religious freedom for others. The Puritan influence enabled conformist tendencies based around a religious moral code which did not tolerate for deviation of Puritan beliefs that ultimately sacrificed individualism.

The Massachusetts colony, otherwise known as the ‘Massachusetts Bay colony’ was originally settled by Puritans in 1630. They were plagued by the religious persecutions of King Charles I and the Church of England. Weary from this dogged torment, they left England under the leadership of John Winthrop. These original colonists quickly established many small towns in the name of high religious ideals and strict societal rules. They also planted churches, spread Puritanism and religiously educated the masses, as these were some of their goals. A utopian society that other colonies looked upon with high regards was the ultimate goal.

Life for the puritans was based on god's law. In god's law the he/or she could not commit any sin or if committed he/or she would be punished. Being punished in the puritan eyes was being persecuted and then sentenced to death. Puritans also were very paranoid of each other. They paranoid because they felt that the devil had something to do with things that were happening in the town. Purtians would would blame anyone for anything they felt was wrong.How is the puritans life similar to mines? In school i have have to follow the rules and procedures if not i will be punished. At school staff and teachers do not have the right to persecute and sentenced to death if I chose not to follow the rules and procedures I will be suspended or even

Puritanism was a religious movement that began in the late sixteenth century. The puritans were a group of reformed protestants who sought to “purify” the Church of England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. However, puritanism was not just a historical movement, it was a lifestyle that the puritans brought to New England. Puritanism can be defined by predestination, calling, covenant, Protestant ethic, and conversion.

With regards to their convictions that each zone of life ought to be shaped by Christian standards, the Puritans saw all noteworthy work as a method for commending God. All of life was God's, and there was no qualification in the middle of mainstream and consecrated work. God calls every individual to a specific employment or occupation, and the Christian ought to go about as a cautious steward of the abilities and blessings God has given him. Working in one's calling or business was a method for serving God and men. Absence of movement was viewed as an extraordinary sin; tirelessness in one's calling was an