The origins of America
Listen on: iTunes Subscribe on Android Stitcher and more The historical record is sparse in the years leading up to the English Civil War in Maryland. But, there are a few themes which emerge in what we do know: Catholics vs. Puritans A Catholic named William Lewis found two Puritans (one an indentured servant he managed) Read more about Maryland 6: To the edge of war[…]
Listen on: iTunes Subscribe on Android Stitcher and more And, America’s first Bill of Rights As Maryland colonists tried to establish the laws which would govern the colony, one of the biggest divisions was the issue of Church and state. The Jesuits wanted to see a very traditional interpretation of Church privilege, whereas some of the colonists Read more about Maryland 5: Church and state[…]
Listen on: iTunes Subscribe on Android Stitcher and more Struggle for the Chesapeake After a series of violent confrontations between Claiborne’s Kent Islanders and Calvert’s Marylanders, the courts of England take up the case of Baltimore’s patent vs. Claiborne’s trading rights. Virginia governor Harvey is also deposed and sent to England. Ultimately, Clobbery and Company sends George Read more about Maryland 4: The fight for Kent Island[…]
Listen on: iTunes Subscribe on Android Stitcher and more Catholicism and conflict in the Chesapeake In many ways, the establishment of Maryland was remarkably smooth. The settlers had been sent with enough supplies to get through the first growing season, and they established great relations with the local tribes. They prioritized growing corn, then building the town, Read more about Maryland 3: The first year[…]
Listen on: iTunes Subscribe on Android Stitcher and more Baltimore’s charter, Virginia’s reaction, and a rough voyage to America George Calvert’s heir, Cecil Calvert, the Second Baron Baltimore, got a charter to create a semi-feudal palatinate in America in 1632. This would give his colonists the maximum amount of independence to peacefully establish a Catholic haven. Virginia Read more about Maryland 2: The Ark and Dove[…]
Listen on: iTunes Subscribe on Android Stitcher and more Conflicting experiences The situation of Catholics as the reign of Charles I began was a complex one. He worked to reduce their persecution, but that only prompted local officials to treat Catholics even more harshly than they had before. He had a marriage treaty protecting his wife’s religion, but Read more about Maryland 1: Henrietta Maria and the Catholics[…]
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[…]