1. New England Colonies

2. Religious Freedom
• After King Henry VIII broke away from the Roman
Catholic Church and formed the Anglican Church
in 1534, there were people who disagreed, or
dissented, with the views of the new Protestant
Church. Oftentimes those who dissented would
end up being treating badly, or persecuted.
• Many groups of people wanted religious freedom
without interference. Among these groups were:
A) English Catholics – who still recognized
and wanted to follow the pope and the Catholic
Church;
B) Puritans – a group of Protestants, who
wanted to see some changes made in the
Anglican Church;
C) Separatists – they were also Protestants,
who wanted to break away from the Anglican
Church and form their own churches;

3. Religious Freedom
• The Separatists were
persecuted in England
and many ran away to the
Netherlands. Though they
found some religious
freedom there, the
Separatists had difficulty
finding work. They also
worried that their children
were losing their religious
values and their English
way of life.

4. The Pilgrim’s Journey
• Some Separatists in the Netherlands
made an arrangement with the Virginia
Company in 1620. The Separatists
could settle in Virginia and practice
their religion freely. In return they
would give the company a share of the
profits.
• The Separatists considered
themselves Pilgrims because their
journey had a religious purpose. Only
35 of the 102 passengers who
boarded the Mayflower in September
1620 were Pilgrims. The others were
called ―strangers.‖ They were common
people—servants, craftspeople, and
farmers—who hoped to find a better
life. Because Pilgrim beliefs shaped
life in the Plymouth colony, all the

5. The Mayflower Compact
• The Mayflower landed well north of the
Virginia Colony in a place called Plymouth
on Cape Cod Bay. Because winter was
fast approaching, William Bradford, their
leader, believed this would be a good
enough location to start their settlement.
• Because it was outside of the Virginia
Company and its laws, the Pilgrims wrote
a formal contract, the Mayflower
Compact. It pledged their loyalty to
England and declared their intention of
forming a civil government. The Mayflower
Compact proved to be an important step
in the development of a representative
government in America.

6. Help From the
Native Americans
• During their first winter in America,
almost half the Pilgrims died of
malnutrition, disease, and cold. In the
Spring a few Native Americans
approached the settlement. Two of
them, Squanto and Samoset,
befriended the colonists. Squanto had
been kidnapped to Europe and one
time and had learned the English
language.
• Squanto and Samoset showed the
Pilgrims how to grow corn, beans, and
pumpkins and where to hunt and fish.
Without their help the Pilgrims might
not have survived. They also helped
the Pilgrims make a treaty with the
Wampanoag people who lived in the
area.

7. • Pilgrim Rap:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlHytkZkh3E
• Mayflower II field trip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRbWKw9wzz0
• Mayflower Compact: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GU1sd6I28
• Squanto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lurvePLcrxs

8. Other New England
Settlements
• When King Charles I became King of
England, the Puritans, who wanted to
make changes in the Anglican Church,
were persecuted. A group of Puritans
formed the Massachusetts Bay
Company in 1629 and received a royal
charter to establish a colony north of
Plymouth. John Winthrop, the
governor, led about 900 people to
Massachusetts Bay. Most of this group
settled in Boston.
• Puritans faced religious persecution
and financial difficulty in England
during the 1630s. More than 15,000
Puritans left England and sailed to
Massachusetts. This became known

9. Other New England
Settlements
• The Massachusetts Bay Company was governed by a colonial
legislature. Adult male church members were allowed to vote for
the governor and representatives to the General Court. The
Puritans wanted religious freedom for themselves, yet had little
toleration for those who had different religious beliefs.
• Basically it was: Religious freedom for me, not you!

10. Other New England
Settlements
• This lack of toleration led to the establishment of
new colonies. The colony of Connecticut was
establish by Thomas Hooker, a minister
dissatisfied with the way Massachusetts was run.
He and a group went to Connecticut and adopted
a plan of government called the Fundamental
Orders of Connecticut. This was the first written
constitution in America.

11. Other New England
Settlements
• The colony of Rhode Island was settled by
people forced out of Massachusetts for their
religious differences. Their leader, Roger
Williams, established the colony to separate
church and state completely and to worship
freely. The Rhode Island Colony was the first
place in America where people of all faiths
were welcome

12. Other New England
Settlements
• Others followed William’s
example, forming colonies
where they could worship as
they pleased. In 1638 John
Wheelwright led a group of
dissidents from
Massachusetts to the north.
They founded a town of
Exeter in New Hampshire.
The same year, a group of
Puritans settled Hampton.
The colony of New
Hampshire became fully
independent of

13. Other New England
Settlements
• In review, the Northern
or New England
colonies were made up
of:
*Massachusetts (the
state of Maine is part of
it till 1820),
*Connecticut,
*Rhode Island
*New Hampshire

14. Conflict With
Native Americans
• Although there was often trade and good relations,
sometimes conflicts between settlers and Native
Americans would arise. Usually settlers moved onto
Native Americans lands without permission or
payment.

15. Conflict with
Native Americans
• The most famous and important
of these conflicts began in 1675.
New England went to war against
the Wampanoag people and their
allies. Metacomet, the
Wampanoag chief, was known to
the settlers as King Phillip. He
wanted to stop the settlers from
moving onto Native American
lands.
• The war broke out when settlers
executed three Wampanoags for
murder. King Phillip’s forces
attacked settlers across the
region, killing hundreds.

16. Conflict with
Native Americans
• The settlers and their Native American allies fought
back. King Phillip’s War ended in defeat for the
Wampanoags and their allies. The war destroyed
the power of Native Americans in New England and
the settlers were free to expand over their lands.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DCFIJ26EaI