Puritan History:
The Puritans were Christians from England who disagreed with the Church of England. They did not agree with the Church that King Henry the sixth had set up. The Church of England was set up all because of a disagreement between him and the Roman Catholic Pope. Henry wanted to divorce his wife and marry another woman. The Pope would not grant Henry an annulment, making Henry angry. In order to get what he wanted, Henry cut himself from the Roman Catholic church and made the new Church of England with himself as the head (Finley MD, Gavin). The people who came to be known as Puritans were happy with this change. They had not agreed with the Roman Catholic church and wanted change. However, little did they know that they were only exchanging one forceful religion for another. (Kizer, Kay)
As time went on, these soon to be Puritans realized what they had gotten into. They began to voice their opinion about the Church on England. They spoke out about how the church was being what they considered to be too much like the previous Catholic church, and that the Church of England was not being taught from a scriptural view. They wanted to “purify” the Church of England and bring it back to the Bible’s teachings. This got them the name “Puritan” (J.D. Luedi ) The king of England did not want them to voice their opinion, and punished them for voicing their concerns.. Many of the protesters of the English church were thrown in jail and even killed. During the early 1600s, their persecution grew worse. Besides jailing, the government was using taxation as a way to punish them (Kizer, Kay).
In 1629, twenty-six Puritan business men formed the Massachusetts Bay Company. They and much of the rest of England’s Puritans were done trying to purify the Church of England. They now decided it was best to leave England for distant shores where the king could not dictate everything they did or could believe in. They wanted religious freedom, and the New World as North America was then called, seemed the best place to get this. The only thing stopping them from leaving was that they did not have a charter for the new world. The twenty-six businessmen asked the king for a charter and he, unaware of the real reason they were leaving, granted them a charter. By 1630, nearly two thousand Puritans were settled in the New World and had become quite prosperous. The Puritan’s life was centered around their God, family, and education coming after that. Before long, troubles began to arise. New People with different belief’s were settling with the Puritans. They did not like this and made many laws to assure that their beliefs would not be trampled. The made it so only church members could vote, and they insisted that everyone attend, support, and obey the church (Berry, Elizabeth). hey had become just like the king they had fled from (Gassman, Julie). Soon new leaders arose and brought the Puritans back to their original goal and they continued to flourish, with more acceptance for those who did not believe like they did (Berry, Elizabeth).
As time went on, these soon to be Puritans realized what they had gotten into. They began to voice their opinion about the Church on England. They spoke out about how the church was being what they considered to be too much like the previous Catholic church, and that the Church of England was not being taught from a scriptural view. They wanted to “purify” the Church of England and bring it back to the Bible’s teachings. This got them the name “Puritan” (J.D. Luedi ) The king of England did not want them to voice their opinion, and punished them for voicing their concerns.. Many of the protesters of the English church were thrown in jail and even killed. During the early 1600s, their persecution grew worse. Besides jailing, the government was using taxation as a way to punish them (Kizer, Kay).
In 1629, twenty-six Puritan business men formed the Massachusetts Bay Company. They and much of the rest of England’s Puritans were done trying to purify the Church of England. They now decided it was best to leave England for distant shores where the king could not dictate everything they did or could believe in. They wanted religious freedom, and the New World as North America was then called, seemed the best place to get this. The only thing stopping them from leaving was that they did not have a charter for the new world. The twenty-six businessmen asked the king for a charter and he, unaware of the real reason they were leaving, granted them a charter. By 1630, nearly two thousand Puritans were settled in the New World and had become quite prosperous. The Puritan’s life was centered around their God, family, and education coming after that. Before long, troubles began to arise. New People with different belief’s were settling with the Puritans. They did not like this and made many laws to assure that their beliefs would not be trampled. The made it so only church members could vote, and they insisted that everyone attend, support, and obey the church (Berry, Elizabeth). hey had become just like the king they had fled from (Gassman, Julie). Soon new leaders arose and brought the Puritans back to their original goal and they continued to flourish, with more acceptance for those who did not believe like they did (Berry, Elizabeth).