The History of the Thirteen Colonies of North America 1497-1763 Part 4

[67] Hammond, _Leah and Rachel_ (London, 1656), p. 20.

[68] White, _A Relation of the Colony of the Lord Baron Baltimore in Maryland_ (ed. 1847).

[69] _Ibid._

[70] Hammond, _ut supra._

[71] Bozman, _History of Maryland, 1633-60_ (1837), vol. ii. p. 661.

[72] Hammond, _ut supra._

[73] _Calendar of State Papers_, Colonial, 1661-1668, p. 119.

[74] _Calendar of State Papers_, Colonial, 1697-1698, p. 246.

[75] _Letters_, vol. i. p. 135.

[76] _Hakluyt's voyages_ (edit. 1904), vol. ix. p. 17.

[77] Saunders, editor of _Colonial Records of North Carolina_, p. 99.

[78] _Ibid._, p. 100.

[79] _Calendar of State Papers_, Colonial, 1669-1674, p. 186.

[80] _Calendar of State Papers_, Colonial, 1669-1674, p. 187.

[81] _Ibid._, p. 297.

[82] Doyle, _Cambridge Modern History_ (1905), vol. vii. p. 35.

[83] Fortescue, _Calendar of State Papers_, Colonial, 1677-1680, p. ix.

[84] _Ibid._, p. ix.

[85] _Calendar of State Papers_, Colonial, 1669-1674, p. 620.

[86] _Ibid._, p. 130.

[87] _Calendar of State Papers_, Colonial, 1669-1674, p. 137.

[88] _Ibid._, p. 187.

[89] _Ibid._, p. 169.

[90] _Ibid._, p. 70.

[91] _Ibid._, p. 86.

[92] _Calendar of State Papers_, Colonial, 1677-1680, p. 455.

[93] _Ibid._, p. xi.

[94] _Historical Collections of South Carolina_ (New York, 1836).

CHAPTER IV

THE PURITANS IN PLYMOUTH AND Ma.s.sACHUSETTS

It has been customary to regard the members of the colony of Virginia as Cavaliers of the most ardent type, but, as has been shown, this is scarcely correct, and amongst the Virginians there were many who did not approve of either the actions of Laud or the dissimulation of Charles.

In much the same way it would be erroneous to ascribe to the New England group a plebeian origin. The Virginian gentleman found his counterpart in the New England colonies of Plymouth and Ma.s.sachusetts. It is, however, more true to describe these two colonies as the offspring and embodiment of Puritanism, than to describe Virginia as purely monarchical. In the northern colonies, congregationalism was the chief form of religious worship, and this, as was natural, determined their political form; it was no insurmountable step from a belief in congregations to a belief in republics. The men who found this step so easy were a very different pattern to the early ne'er-do-wells of Virginian colonisation. The northern colonies were founded by the yeoman and the trader, both of whom were patient, watchful, and ready to a.s.sert with an Englishman's doggedness all political rights. These men formed small organic communities filled with the very strongest sense of corporate life. Not that these forms took an absolutely exact line, for in some cases the community was a pure democracy with limitations and restrictions; in others there was a very wide and modified oligarchy.

The men were the very best of settlers; they knew what they wanted, and were ready to work and even sacrifice their lives to gain that object.

It is not surprising that in the New England colonies prosperity raised its head long before it had come to Virginia, though the soil of the latter was far more fertile than the sterile lands of the northern group.

The Plymouth Company had been formed at the same time as the London Company, but it had accomplished very little.[95] In 1607 it dispatched an expedition under George Popham and Raleigh Gilbert to the River Kennebec, in the territory afterwards called Maine. The climate, however, did not suit the adventurers, and owing to the mismanagement of the leaders and the indifference of the Company nothing came of the undertaking. For thirteen years the Plymouth Company made no further effort, but in 1620 it was entirely reorganised, placed upon a new footing, and renamed the New England Company. This may have been caused by two things. In the first place Captain John Smith had made a voyage to New England in 1614; it was indeed that resourceful but perhaps boastful adventurer who either gave the name by which the country was afterwards known, or gave currency to an already existing though not generally accepted t.i.tle. "In the moneth of Aprill, 1614 ... I chanced to arrive in _New-England_, a parte of _Ameryca_ at the _Ile of Monahiggin_, in 43- of Northerly Lat.i.tude."[96] But even this voyage and the several others that followed would not have been sufficient to arouse the Plymouth Company. It was in truth a second and deeper cause that started the reorganisation of a corporation that had so long lain dormant. A new force had now entered into colonisation that was to do much for the establishment of the Anglo-Saxon race in America. Religion had sent men to convert the savages, but now religious persecution sent men to make homes amongst those barbarians.

It is unnecessary here to discuss the rise of the Puritans as an important sect in English history. They were those "whose minds had derived a peculiar character from the daily contemplation of superior beings and eternal interests."[97] They differed in nearly every respect from the ordinary Englishman of the Elizabethan period, and yet they were in many instances intellectual and well-bred. They saw, however, that "they could not have the Word freely preached and the sacraments administered without idolatrous gear," and so they concluded to break away from the Church. It was this separation that gained for them the name of Separatists, and brought upon them the punishment of the State.

To avoid this some sought leave from Elizabeth to settle in the land "which lieth to the west," their object being to "settle in Canada and greatly annoy the b.l.o.o.d.y and persecuting Spaniard in the Bay of Mexico."[98] Such was the knowledge of geography about 1591, and it was very fortunate for the would-be-colonists that nothing came of the scheme. Two years later some Independents of London fled to Amsterdam, where they hoped to exercise their religion unmolested. Soon after the beginning of the seventeenth century the Nonconformists of Gainsborough took refuge in the Low Countries, to be followed in 1606 by the Congregationalists from Scrooby. They first found shelter in Amsterdam, and later, some, choosing John Robinson as their minister, moved to Leyden.

The laws of England had driven these men abroad, but they never forgot the fact that they were Englishmen. They found their families growing up around them and naturally imbibing foreign ideas. This fact deeply pained the parents, who looked back upon their own happy youths in Tudor England. They determined, therefore, to leave the Netherlands, and William Bradford, their faithful chronicler, tells in quaint but honest words why they were driven to this decision. "In y^e agitation of their thoughts, and much discours of things hear aboute; at length they began to incline to this new conclusion, of remooual to some other place. Not out of any new fanglednes, or other such like giddie humor, by which men are oftentimes transported to their great hurt & danger. But for sundrie weightie & solid reasons."[99] The most serious of these reasons "and of all sorowes most heauie to be borne; was that many of their children, by these occasions (and y^e great licentiousnes of youth in y^t countrie) and y^e manifold Temptations of the place, were drawne away by euill examples into extrauagante & dangerous courses, getting y^e raines off their neks & departing from their parents. Some became souldjers, others took vpon them farr viages by Sea; and other some worse courses ... so that they saw their posteritie would be in danger to degenerate & be corrupted."[100] It was for this reason, then, in particular, that the people of the congregation of Leyden turned their thoughts to the "countries of America which are frutful & fitt for habitation; being deuoyed of all ciuill Inhabitants; wher ther are only saluage & brutish men which range vp and downe, litle otherwise than y^e wild beasts of the same."[101] And yet though they sought a home for themselves where they might worship as they pleased, they were at the same time filled with that missionary spirit which had encouraged Columbus and many another adventurer to persevere. Their great aim was to lay "some good foundation or at least make some way thereunto, for y^e propagating & advancing y^e gospell of y^e Kingdom of Christ in those remote parts of y^e world; yea, though they should be but even as stepping stones unto others for y^e performing of so great a work."[102]

With these intentions the ever famous Pilgrim Fathers came to England, bringing with them a doc.u.ment admitting the supremacy of the State in religious matters. The wording of the clauses, however, was so artful that these Puritans proved that though gentle as doves they were not without the wisdom of the serpent. They obtained leave from James I. to set out on their voyage; but they were financed by certain London traders who were to receive all the profits for the first seven years, when the partnership was to be dissolved. Until this dissolution the whole band was to live as a community with joint property, trade, and labour. A few labourers were sent out by the London partners, but the group to which the term of Pilgrim Fathers strictly applies was composed of forty-one Puritan emigrants and their families, who had, as a friend said, "been instrumental to break the ice for others; the honours shall be yours to the world's end."[103] The voyage of the _Mayflower_ is now one of the most familiar events in the history of the British Empire.

The little vessel, accompanied by the _Speedwell_, which had to return, sailed from Plymouth in August 1620. The original intention of the emigrants had been to land on part of the sh.o.r.es of Virginia; but owing to storms, the fragile character of the vessel, and the obstinacy of the captain, they reached Cape Cod, "which is onely a headland of high hils of sand ouergrowne with shrubbie pines hurts and such trash."[104] While lying off this inhospitable promontory the emigrants with forethought bound themselves together by a social compact, thus forming a true body politic.

The Pilgrims landed at a spot "fit for habitation" in Cape Cod Harbour on the 22nd of December. Exploring expeditions were undertaken by the more adventurous under Miles Standish, a man after the type of Captain John Smith, but less boastful and of sterner religious character. No definite settlement was fixed upon and the people were therefore forced to remain in the neighbourhood of Cape Cod, where they faced the winter unprepared. Although their minister, John Robinson, had described them months before as "well-weaned from the delicate milk of the Mother country and inurred to the difficulties of a strange land,"[105] yet their sufferings during those wild and stormy months must have been terrible. Several of the party died, amongst them their first governor, William Carver. His successor was the already mentioned chronicler, William Bradford, who served the colony well and faithfully for twelve years. He was the first American citizen of English birth who was selected as governor by free choice. His strength of character, moral rect.i.tude, and lofty public spirit made him worthy of the high office conferred upon him. Fortunately his first year of government was freed from the burden of Indian attacks. The truth was that the Pilgrim Fathers always preserved friendly relations with the neighbouring Redskins; partly because they had been so reduced in numbers by pestilence that they were never a serious danger, and partly owing to Edward Winslow, one of the ablest and most highly educated of the settlers, who had saved, by his knowledge of medicine, the Indian chief's life, thus establishing from the first amicable relations.

Amidst the most heart-rending adversity the Pilgrim Fathers worked at the communal industry, and struggled through those months of cold and semi-starvation, helped no doubt by the fact that they were religious enthusiasts filled with a sense of a divine mission. In May 1621 Bradford records the first marriage amongst the settlers, which was conducted on somewhat novel lines, for "according to y^e laudable custome of y^e Low-c.u.n.tries, in which they had liued was thought most requisite to be performed, by the magistrate."[106] In November fifty additional settlers came out from the Leyden congregation, and these not only increased the difficulty of supplying food for everyone, but also introduced a feeling of dissatisfaction with what they found. Bradford had, however, the laugh on his side. On Christmas Day the Governor called them to work as usual, but "the new company ... said it wente against their consciences to work on y^t day." They were therefore allowed to remain at home, the rest of the colony going out to work; but when the governor came home at noon, "he found them in y^e streete at play openly; some pitching y^e barr & some at stoole-ball and such like sports. So he went to them and tooke away their Implements and tould them that it was against his conscience, that they should play & others worke."[107]

The settlers had indeed laboured hard and not in vain, for a definite grant of their territory was issued by the New England Company, and there was now no fear of their log-fort, their houses, or their twenty-six acres of cleared ground being seized by the original members to whom the land had been granted by James I. The little plot of ground thus carefully tended seems to have been a real oasis in the wilderness.

An eye-witness, Edward Winslow, has drawn an ideal picture of the settlement. "Here are grapes, white and red, and very sweet and strong also; strawberries, gooseberries, raspas, etc.; plums of three sorts, white, black and red, being almost as good as a damson; abundance of roses, white, red and damask; single but very sweet indeed. The country wanted only industrious men to employ."[108] With such a tempting account it is not surprising that thirty-five new settlers went out in 1622.

The communal principle gradually began to break down. The younger men did not care to work so hard and find that they gained no more than the weak and aged; nor were the married men pleased with the idea of their wives cooking, washing, and sewing for the bachelors. As early as 1623, signs of the disappearance of the system were beginning to show themselves; and by 1627 its break up was completed when the interests of the London partners were transferred to six of the chief settlers with a general division of land and live stock. The government of the settlement was now placed on an a.s.sured footing; the laws were pa.s.sed by the whole body of freemen, who had also the double right of electing the governor and a committee of seven a.s.sistants. Under the new methods the colony throve apace, and three years after the change, two new townships were formed and these sent delegates to an a.s.sembly which was primarily composed of the whole body of freemen, but which, owing to the existence of these delegates, gradually developed, until in New Plymouth there was a proper bicameral legislature with a governor at its head.

The Plymouth colonists set "the example of a compact religious brotherhood."[109] In 1636 they pa.s.sed a code of laws which in no way clashed with those of England, but applied more especially to the style of life which they had adopted. The brotherhood extended its bounds year by year, and hardly a score of years had pa.s.sed since their first landing before eight prim, clean, and comfortable towns had been built, containing a population of about 3000 inhabitants. By this time the Civil War had broken out in England, but the settlers were little affected by it, for they lived their own quiet lives and went on their way, filled with religious fervour and working hard to support themselves.

After the Restoration, however, they felt bound to bestir themselves in political affairs, and in June 1661 their general court sent a pet.i.tion to Charles II., asking him to confirm their liberties, explaining to him that they were his faithful subjects "who did hither transport ourselves to serve our G.o.d with a pure conscience, according to His will revealed, not a three days' journey as Moses, but near three thousand miles into a vast howling wilderness, inhabited only by barbarians." They concluded their pet.i.tion in the quaintest words, saying that if only the King will grant their wishes, "we say with him, it is enough, our Joseph (or rather) our Charles is yet alive."[110] The poverty of the Plymouth brethren about this time is evidenced by their lack of funds necessary for the renewal of their charter in 1665; and also in the fact that the people were not able to maintain scholars for their ministers, "but are necessitated to make use of a gifted brother in some places."[111]

Nevertheless in this same year they are computed to have had a fighting force of 2500 men; and on two later occasions (1676 and 1690) they were strong enough to make strenuous but ineffectual attempts to obtain a charter from the Crown. The little colony that has perhaps the proudest of all positions in American history was finally, in 1691, merged in its more arrogant and pushing neighbour Ma.s.sachusetts, and the land of the Pilgrim Fathers lost its ident.i.ty.

Just as Puritanism had been the cause of the foundation of New Plymouth, so it was in the case of Ma.s.sachusetts. Lord Macaulay has pointed out that "the Puritan was made up of two different men, the one all self-abas.e.m.e.nt, penitent grat.i.tude, pa.s.sion; the other proud, calm, inflexible, sagacious."[112] The first type represented New Plymouth, where Puritanism was distressed, and where its followers struggled manfully but were self-abased. Ma.s.sachusetts, on the other hand, resembled the second type; here Puritanism was vigorous; the upholders of the belief were aggressive, strong, determined, and pushing. Thus the two colonies were not only different in character, but for that very reason were destined to differ in prosperity.

As early as 1620, Sir Ferdinando Gorges and others had been interested in the colonisation of New England; and in a doc.u.ment issued in the following year, strict injunctions were laid down for the carrying out of material fit for the foundation of a settlement. Thus, every "shipp of three score tons shall carry w^{th} them twoe Piggs, two Calves, twoe couple of tame Rabbetts, two couple of Hens and a c.o.c.ke."[113] Nothing, however, seems to have been permanently established, and within two years this New England Company is said to have been "in a moribund condition."[114] In 1623 some Dorchester traders started a fishing station at Cape Ann, Ma.s.sachusetts Bay. The manager was Roger Conant, who had disagreed with his brethren in New Plymouth and had separated from them. Three years later the scheme was abandoned; most of the settlers returned except Conant and a small band who "squatted" at Naumkeag, better known in later years as Salem. The failure of the merchants did not discourage John White, inc.u.mbent of Dorchester, and he determined to form a settlement for Puritans, from which there sprang the colony of Ma.s.sachusetts. Matters were at once hurried on, and in 1629 six Puritan partners obtained a grant of land from the New England Company, which was to extend westward as far as the Pacific Ocean, then believed to be but a short distance. One of the partners, John Endecott, was selected to occupy the land. On his arrival he had some trouble with an earlier but somewhat disreputable squatter called Morton, who had formed a little colony, Merry Mount, where, apparently, his perfectly innocent sports, such as dancing round the Maypole, annoyed the stern New Englanders, and made them cla.s.s such diversions as "beastly practices." Endecott took strong measures, and as the Maypole was particularly disgusting to the Puritan mind, he settled the matter by hewing "down the _infelix arbor_."[115]

A royal charter was readily granted in March 1629, establishing the Governor and Company of Ma.s.sachusetts Bay, but omitting to insist on the Company's meetings being held in England. It was not a very great step, therefore, to transfer the schemes of a mere trading company to the principles of a self-sufficing colony; and before the end of the year the interests of the traders pa.s.sed into the hands of ten persons who were particularly concerned in the prosperity of the colony, which in the future was regarded as perfectly distinct from the Company. The necessary preliminaries having been satisfactorily concluded, emigration began at once. The character of the colonists was very superior to that of the "riff-raff" that had been sent to Virginia. Some of the most intellectual clergymen of the day took a deep interest in the undertaking, a few indeed actually accompanied the three hundred and fifty settlers who embarked for their new homes.