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Between 1629 and 1642, 31,000 Puritans flooded into New England. In just over a decade, they’d set up their long-term government, formed a cohesive set of values and ideas, and established institutions to ensure they continued for generations.
Listen on: iTunes Subscribe on Android Stitcher and more Samuel Gorton Samuel Gorton was pretty much an anarchist, and someone who espoused all the most radical religious views of his day. He agitated in every town he went to, until even Roger Williams couldn’t tolerate him. He was getting popular, though, so a group of Rhode Islanders Read more about Massachusetts Bay 17: Samuel Gorton’s heresy[…]
Listen on: iTunes Subscribe on Android Stitcher and more Democracy vs. Aristocracy The magistrates embodied a spirit of aristocracy in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The deputies embodied a spirit of democracy. Two institutions protected the magistrates’ power, and made them the more powerful of the two bodies: the Standing Council, and the negative voice, so the deputies worked Read more about Massachusetts Bay 17: Deputies vs. Magistrates[…]
Listen on: iTunes Subscribe on Android Stitcher and more Ward, Welde and Peters Nathaniel Ward wrote Massachusetts’s first constitution, a document which inspired future political developments in America. Thomas Welde and Hugh Peters also returned to England to seek economic benefits for the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and to agitate in favor of Parliament and spread the Read more about Massachusetts Bay 15: The Body of Liberties[…]
Listen on: iTunes Subscribe on Android Stitcher and more Politics, economics and the trial of a wealthy merchant Massachusetts Bay still hadn’t finalized its political and economic path, but in 1639 the trial of Robert Keayne for economic oppression helped it develop its answers to remaining questions. Keayne had been accused of overcharging for nails, and ministers, magistrates Read more about Massachusetts Bay 14: Robert Keayne’s overpriced nails[…]
Listen on: iTunes Subscribe on Android Stitcher and more The Treaty of Hartford After a few months of clean-up, taking down various tribes of Pequots and killing the tribe’s remaining warriors, Connecticut met with the Narragansetts and Mohegans to establish peace and distribute the spoils of war. Connecticut claimed the won lands, something which prompted a Read more about Massachusetts Bay 13: The Pequot War pt. 3[…]
Listen on: iTunes Subscribe on Android Stitcher and more From Saybrook to Mystic After the Block Island Raid, the Pequots sieged Saybrook, and attacked Wethersfield. Massachusetts and Connecticut declared war, and prepared a surprise attack in the heart of Pequot territory. They marched to the tribe’s biggest fort, Mystic, and over the course of an hour, Read more about Massachusetts Bay 12: The Pequot War pt. 2[…]
Listen on: iTunes Subscribe on Android Stitcher and more A series of unfortunate misunderstandings In 1637, the Pequots were a tribe on the decline. A plague had killed 80% of their population, the Dutch had started trading with other tribes, and in a trade dispute, the Dutch had killed their leading sachem – Tatobem. Tatobem’s death had Read more about Massachusetts Bay 11: The Pequot War pt. 1[…]
Listen on: iTunes Subscribe on Android Stitcher and more Court and synod Four days after New England ministers held a relatively successful synod to determine theological truths, the General Court decided to eliminate the Opinionist movement – however necessary. It kicked out wavering or pro-Opinionist members, and then put John Wheelwright and Anne Hutchinson on trial for Read more about Massachusetts Bay 10: The Antinomian Controversy pt. 3[…]
Listen on: iTunes Subscribe on Android Stitcher and more Controversy becomes crisis The Antinomian Controversy spread beyond Boston and grew more and more heated in 1637. As it did, it took on similarities to problems at home. Shady political maneuvering, private court cases, considering silencing preachers for dissenting opinions and passing the Alien Law. By August, Read more about Massachusetts Bay 9: The Antinomian Controversy, pt. 2[…]
Listen on: iTunes Subscribe on Android Stitcher and more The Free Grace Controversy In 1636, Henry Vane was elected governor. Young, intellectual and charismatic, he was an exciting choice for the new colony, and his term started well. He smoothed relations with the mariners who frequented the colony, as conflict over the looming Civil War put Read more about Massachusetts Bay 8: The Antinomian Controversy pt. 1[…]