Transcript Chapter 3/5 Notes - Our Lady of the Wayside

Chapter 3/5 Notes
Pages 93-97
European States and Religion
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In France the Protestants and Catholics fought each other for nearly 40 years
 Thousands upon thousands were killed because of their religious beliefs
Most European rulers
 Believed they could not maintain order unless the state supported a
particular religion
 Chosen religion known as the established church
 In England the church was called the Anglican Church or Church of
England
 1530s
 Parliament passed laws making the English monarch the head of
the Church of England
 If people did not follow the established religion they were persecuted
 Persecuted people had to worship secretly
 If they were discovered they were imprisoned or even executed by
being burned at the stake
Separatists Seek Religious Freedom
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Pilgrims
 One group who faced persecution
 Once known as the Separatist
 They were called that because they were Protestants and they
wanted to separate from the Church of England
In early 1600’s a group of Separatists left England for Leyden a city in the
Netherlands
Dutch
 Allowed the newcomers to worship freely
 Pilgrims missed their English way of life
 They worried their children would grow up more Dutch then English
The Pilgrim Colony at Plymouth
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A group of Separatists who had returned to England joined some other
English people and won a charter to set up a colony in Virginia
 September 1620 more than 100 men, women, and children et ail aboard
a small ship called the Mayflower
 November 1620 the Mayflower landed on the cold, bleak shore of Cape
Cod, in present day Massachusetts
 Passengers had planned to settle farther south along the Hudson
River
 Colonists decided to travel no further
 Settlement called Plimoth or Plymouth because the Mayflower had
sailed from the port of Plymouth, England
The Mayflower Compact
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Before going ashore the Pilgrims realized that they would not be settling within the boundaries of
Virginia
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As a result their charter would not apply to their new colony
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Not all colonist on the Mayflower were Pilgrims
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Some of the strangers as the Pilgrims called them, said they were not bound to obey the Pilgrims,
“for none had power to command them”
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Pilgrims
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Joined together to write a framework for governing their colony
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November 11, 1620, the 41 male passengers – both Pilgrims and non-Pilgrims signed the
Mayflower Compact
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Pledged themselves to unite into a “civil body politic” or government
They agreed to make and abide by laws that insured “the general Good of the
Colony”
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Mayflower Compact
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Established an important tradition
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They banded together themselves to make laws
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Later they set up a government in which adult male colonists elected a governor and
council
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Strengthened the English tradition of governing through elected representatives
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Tradition of Religious Freedom
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Pilgrims
 Were the first English settlers who came to North America in order to
worship as they pleased
 The Pilgrims’ desire to worship freely set and important precedent or
example for others to follow in the future
Religious freedom did not spread quickly through England’s colonies
Early Hardships
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Pilgrims built their settlement on the site of a Native American village that had
been abandoned because of disease
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Colonists found baskets filled with corn that they were able to eat
First Winter in Plymouth
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Pilgrims
 Corn was not enough to get the Pilgrims through their first winter
 Failed to bring enough food with them and it was too late in the season to plant new
crops
 Harsh season also difficult to survive because they did not build proper shelter due
to lack of enough time
 Most threw together crude houses of sod, or clumps of earth
 Some dug themselves into pits in the ground, covered by branches to protect them
from the weather
 Nearly half of the settlers perished of disease or starvation
 The colony’s first govern died that winter
 William Bradford was chosen to take his place
 His leadership helped the colony to survive
 He was reelected many times and would lead Plymouth for most of the next
36 years
 Despite the great suffering of the “Starving Time” the Pilgrims’ religious faith
remained strong
 They believed it was God’s will for them to remain in Plymouth
Help From Native Americans
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Pilgrims
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In the spring they began to clear the land and plant crops
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They received help from neighboring Native Americans
Native Americans
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Pemaquid Indian, Samoset had learned English from earlier explorers sailing along the coast
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He introduced the Pilgrims to Massasoit, chief of the local Wampanoag Indians
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The Wampanoag who helped the Pilgrims the most was Squanto
Squanto had been captured by an English expedition led by John Smith
Squanto lived for a time in England, where he learned to speak the language
He brought them seeds of native plants – corn, beans and pumpkins and showed
them how to plant them
He also taught them how to catch eels form the mud at the river bottom and then
snatch them up with his hands
Pilgrims called Squanto “a special instrument sent of God”
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Fall
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Pilgrims had a very good harvest
They believed that God had given them this harvest
They set aside a day for giving thanks
In later years the Pilgrims celebrated after each harvest season with a day of
thanksgiving
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