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 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[…]
[mc4wp_form id=”123″] Listen on: iTunes Subscribe on Android Stitcher and more When the first settlers arrived at Jamestown, it seemed like paradise. Settlers ventured through lush forests and met native peoples. Unfortunately, they’d gotten a late start, meaning they were running low on food. In addition, it was clear that some settlers weren’t exactly who they Read more about Jamestown: Paradise[…]