Ethan Walker
The New England colonies were predominantly inhabited by Puritans, who were Protestants escaping religious persecution in England. They established the Massachusetts Bay colony, which was a theocratic society with blurred lines between church and state. The Puritans brought with them a high level of religious idealism, establishing churches that ran their own affairs and taxed the community. While the New England colonies were largely Puritan, there were some instances of religious tolerance, such as in Rhode Island, which was founded explicitly for religious toleration, and Pennsylvania, which guaranteed freedom of worship. However, anti-Catholic sentiment was prevalent in the colonies, with laws, disabilities, and hatred directed towards Catholics. Catholics were banned by the charter of the Plymouth Council and denied the right of freemen, facing persecution and discrimination throughout the colonial period.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Religious tolerance | The hallmark of most colonies, but did not extend to Catholics |
| Religious persecution | Extensive religious persecution of Catholics by Protestant sects |
| Anti-Catholic laws | Catholics were banned by the charter of the Plymouth Council; Catholic priests and teachers were ordered to stay away from the province |
| Catholic population | In 1700, Maryland recorded fewer than 3,000 Catholics out of a population of 34,000 (around 9% of the population); in 1757, Pennsylvania recorded fewer than 1,400 Catholics out of a population of about 200,000 |
| Catholic colonies | Maryland was founded as a Catholic colony; Rhode Island was founded explicitly for religious tolerance |
| Pilgrim settlement | A group of Pilgrims (Puritans) left England on the Mayflower in 1620 to escape religious conformity and forge a new life in Plymouth, Massachusetts |
| Puritan religion | The Puritans brought a high level of religious idealism to their first colony, with compulsory church attendance and a rigorous examination of spiritual beliefs |
| Education | The Puritans prioritised education due to its importance for Bible study; laws were passed to establish grammar schools, and Harvard College was founded in 1636 |
| Church of England | The Church of England was recognised by law as the state church in the Carolinas, Virginia, and Maryland |
| Anti-Catholicism | Anti-Catholic sentiment was pervasive in the colonies, with propaganda and political conditions contributing to the enactment of proscriptive laws against Catholics |
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What You'll Learn
Religious persecution of Catholics
The New England colonies were predominantly Protestant, with Puritans and Congregationalists making up a large portion of the population. These groups had themselves fled religious persecution by the Church of England, but they brought with them an anti-Catholic bias. The New England colonies have often been called "Bible Commonwealths" because they sought to regulate all aspects of their citizens' lives using scripture as a guide. This resulted in a harsh treatment of religious dissenters, including Catholics.
Catholics were banned by the charter of the Plymouth Council, which excluded those who had not taken the Oath of Supremacy from New England. Catholics were also denied the right of freemen under the Royal Commission of 1679, which required the Oath of Supremacy. This was further endorsed by the General Assembly held at Portsmouth the following year, and in 1696 a test oath was imposed under pain of fine or imprisonment. The proscription of Catholics continued even after the adoption of the federal constitution.
In Massachusetts, laws passed in 1647 and 1700 forbade Catholic priests to reside in the colony, under pain of imprisonment and execution. As a result, Catholics avoided Massachusetts during the colonial period. The Puritan magistrates of Massachusetts Bay also hanged four Quakers in the 1650s or 1660s, demonstrating the extreme intolerance of religious dissent in the colony.
Maryland, a colony founded by Catholics, and Rhode Island, a colony founded explicitly for religious toleration, were notable exceptions to the religious persecution of Catholics. In 1639, the Maryland Assembly decreed that "Holy churches within this province shall have all their rights and liberties." However, the situation in Maryland was complicated, and in 1645, Protestant trader Richard Ingle led an anti-Catholic army to attack St. Mary's City, causing nearly two years of chaos. Jesuit priests were seized and sent to England, and Catholic property was plundered and burned. In 1654, Protestants overthrew the proprietary government of Maryland and outlawed the Catholic faith, repealing the Act of Toleration of 1649. It was only in 1658 that the Calvert family was able to regain control and re-institute the Toleration Act.
In summary, while there were some exceptions, the New England colonies were predominantly Protestant and characterised by religious persecution of Catholics, who were banned from certain colonies and subjected to harsh penalties, including imprisonment and execution.
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The Mayflower and the Pilgrims
The Mayflower was an English sailing ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, to the New World in 1620. The ship first set sail in August 1620 alongside another merchant ship called the Speedwell. The Mayflower left Plymouth, UK, on 16 September 1620, with around 100 passengers and a crew of about 30. The passengers were in search of a new life, some seeking religious freedom, and others a fresh start in a different land. The Pilgrims became known as people who undertake a religious journey.
The Pilgrims had originally hoped to reach America by early October using two ships, but delays and complications meant they could use only one, the Mayflower. Arriving in November, they had to survive unprepared through a harsh winter. Only about half of the original Pilgrims survived the first winter at Plymouth. The following year, the 53 survivors celebrated the colony's first fall harvest along with 90 Wampanoag Native Americans, an occasion declared in later centuries as the first American Thanksgiving.
The Pilgrims were not the first to land in America, nor did they discover it. There were already established colonies at the time, including Jamestown, founded in 1607. However, the Mayflower story is renowned for its themes of freedom and humanity, including the relationships first formed between the Wampanoag tribe and the colonists. The Pilgrims also had a profound influence on the lives of the people who already lived in America.
Before disembarking from the Mayflower, the Pilgrims wrote and signed the Mayflower Compact, an agreement that established a rudimentary government, in which each member would contribute to the safety and welfare of the planned settlement. Myles Standish was selected to make sure the rules were obeyed, as there was a consensus that discipline would need to be enforced to ensure the survival of the planned colony. Once they agreed to settle and build a self-governing community, they came ashore.
The Mayflower pilgrims were not all seeking a separation from the Church of England. Some were merely sympathetic to the cause and seeking a new life. Others were skilled workers, such as craftsmen or soldiers, who served vital roles in the success of both the voyage and the new settlement. Importantly, the Pilgrims were not Catholics. In fact, Catholics were banned by the charter of the Plymouth Council, which excluded them from New England.
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Catholic colonies
The New England colonies were predominantly Puritan, with the Massachusetts Bay colony being the most prominent. The Puritans were a product of the English Civil War in the 1600s, which saw a split between Anglicans and Puritans. The Puritans advocated for a complete break with the Church of England, which they believed had not sufficiently reformed and still perpetuated Catholic doctrine and practices.
The Plymouth colony, established in 1620 by a group of Pilgrims, was the first permanent settlement in New England. The Pilgrims were a small group of Separatists who opposed any accommodation with the Anglican Church. They were soon eclipsed by the larger wave of Puritan immigration that followed. The Puritans brought a high level of religious idealism to their colonies, with compulsory church attendance and an intimidating test to determine who was qualified to be a church member.
The New England colonies were characterized by religious persecution of Catholics, who were banned by the charter of the Plymouth Council. Catholics were denied the right of freemen and were subject to fines or imprisonment if they did not take the Oath of Supremacy. This persecution continued even after the adoption of the federal constitution. While Rhode Island and Pennsylvania were founded on the principle of religious tolerance, and Maryland was established as a haven for Catholics, these colonies were the exception rather than the rule.
The anti-Catholic sentiment in the New England colonies was influenced by the political and religious situation in England, where anti-Catholic laws and propaganda were prevalent. Catholics were viewed with suspicion and hatred, considered potentially dangerous due to their loyalty to the Pope. This resulted in the enactment of proscriptive laws against Catholics, including the ordering of Catholic priests and teachers to stay away from the province under threat of severe penalties.
Despite the persecution, Catholics were a part of colonial history from the beginning, with the first Catholic settlers arriving in Maryland in 1634. By 1790, the newly founded United States recorded fewer than 65,000 Catholics out of a population of almost four million.
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Anti-Catholic laws
The New England colonies were predominantly Protestant, with Puritans and Separatists (also known as Pilgrims) making up a large portion of the population. These groups had fled religious persecution in England, seeking religious liberty in the New World. However, they often brought with them an intense dislike of the Catholic Church, which resulted in the enactment of several anti-Catholic laws in the colonies.
One of the earliest examples of anti-Catholicism in the New England colonies was the charter of the Plymouth Council, which banned Catholics from settling in New England by excluding those who had not taken the Oath of Supremacy. Catholics were further marginalised under the Royal Commission of 1679, which endorsed the denial of the right of freemen to Catholics and imposed a test oath on the people under pain of fine or imprisonment.
The political and religious turmoil in England during the 17th century, such as the conflict between King Charles I and Parliament, also influenced the treatment of Catholics in the New England colonies. The execution of King Charles I in 1649 led to a period of severe anti-Catholicism in England, which was mirrored in the colonies. In 1654, Protestants overthrew the Catholic-led government of Maryland, outlawing the Catholic faith and repealing the Act of Toleration of 1649.
Anti-Catholic sentiment was further institutionalised through various laws and customs that excluded Catholics from public life. For example, in 1704, a statute was passed allowing Mass to be said only in private homes. Catholics were also prohibited from practising law and teaching children. Severe taxes were imposed on hiring Irish “Papist” servants, and in 1718, Catholics were stripped of their right to vote due to test oaths with anti-Catholic declarations. Additionally, Catholic priests and teachers were ordered to stay away from certain provinces, and severe penalties, including long imprisonment, were imposed for disobedience.
The New England colonies, particularly Massachusetts Bay, were characterised by a blurring of the lines between church and state, with church attendance being compulsory. The Puritan leaders of these colonies brought a high level of religious idealism, establishing churches that ran their own affairs and taxed the community. This religious fervour, combined with the influence of Elizabethan propaganda and England's struggles against Catholic powers in Europe, contributed to the pervasive anti-Catholic sentiment in the New England colonies.
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Religious tolerance
The New England colonies were predominantly inhabited by Separatists and Puritans, who were Protestant sects that had broken away from the Church of England. The Separatists, also known as the Pilgrims, were a small group from the English town of Scrooby who rejected any accommodation with the Anglican Church. They believed in a complete break with the Church of England and initially settled in the Netherlands before migrating to the New World. The Puritans, on the other hand, were Non-Separatists who still had ties to the Church of England. They established the Massachusetts Bay colony and brought with them a high level of religious idealism, with compulsory church attendance and strict membership requirements.
The religious landscape of the New England colonies was characterized by religious persecution and a lack of tolerance for Catholics. The Plymouth Council charter banned Catholics from New England, and they were denied legal rights and freedoms under various acts and commissions. Anti-Catholic sentiment was pervasive, and Catholics were subject to discriminatory laws, fines, imprisonment, and even violence. This animosity towards Catholics stemmed from the Reformation, with British colonists opposing both the Catholic Church and the Church of England, which they saw as retaining Catholic influences.
Despite the predominance of Protestant sects in New England, there were some notable exceptions to religious intolerance. Rhode Island, founded by Roger Williams, was explicitly established as a colony for religious tolerance, welcoming people of all faiths. Similarly, Maryland, founded by Cecil Calvert, a Roman Catholic Anglo-Irish Peer, was originally intended as a haven for Catholics. However, in 1654, Protestants overthrew the Catholic government of Maryland and repealed the Act of Toleration. It was only in 1658 that the Calvert family regained control and re-instituted religious tolerance.
While the New England colonies may have had a predominantly Protestant character, the reality of religious tolerance was complex. The increasing diversity of religious groups, including Quakers, Baptists, Anglicans, and others, made it necessary for colonies to adopt a more inclusive stance, at least in practice if not always in principle. The principles of religious tolerance, as seen in Rhode Island and Pennsylvania, would eventually become the foundation of the United States' approach to religion, despite the historical persecution faced by Catholics in the New England colonies.
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Frequently asked questions
No, the New England colonies were predominantly Puritan. The Plymouth colony was founded by a group of religious separatists who rejected what they considered Roman influences in the Church of England.
Yes, but they were few and far between. Catholics were persecuted and marginalised in the New England colonies. They were banned by the charter of the Plymouth Council and denied the right of freemen under the Royal Commission of 1679.
Maryland was founded as a Catholic colony by Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, in 1634. However, in 1654, Protestants overthrew the proprietary government of Maryland and outlawed the Catholic faith.
The New England colonies were predominantly Puritan, with Congregationalist meeting houses serving as places of worship. However, there was a degree of religious diversity, including Quakers, Baptists, Anglicans, Jews, and Lutherans.
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