Saints and Strangers: Holy Watchfulness or Sheer Nosiness?
The communities created in New England are more tightly clustered than the English villages they had left. Generally families have two plots of land, one in the center for their home and one on the outskirts of the community for farming. In such clo...
Saints and Strangers: Difficulties of Establishing a Godly Community
The Puritans find it difficult to establish the godly community they had envisioned for several reasons. In order to have a viable colony, they admit craftsmen and artisans who are not necessarily godly but have the skills they need. Also many churc...
Strained Relations: British Experience the Burdens of Empire
Imperial authorities come away from the Seven Years' War convinced that they need to assert more control over the colonies. They demobilize colonial troops and attempt to control western territories by themselves, provoking massive resistance among ...
Strained Relations: Imperial/Colonial Relationship, The
Few Americans in the 1750s are bothered by their connection to the British empire. It provides opportunities for trade and commerce as well as military protection and political stability. Although the English government leaves the colonies alone for...
Saints and Strangers: Types of People Who Journeyed to New Land
The people who embark on these journeys are quite different from those who signed on for passage to the Chesapeake. Most are intact family groups who had owned property in their native England and could pay for their own passage. Often a large subse...
Saints and Strangers: Puritans, a Product of Their English Culture, The
The new world transforms the lives of the Puritans in many respects, but they still remain a product of their culture. For example, the fact that some of the colonists had encountered Irish resistance to colonization influences their attitude toward...
Saints and Strangers: Mayflower Compact: Structure for a Colony, The
Over the course of the first ten years, the Puritans convert the charter of the Massachusetts Bay Company into a functioning constitution for their colony The town meeting becomes the cornerstone of community life as local issues are decided by adul...
Growing Pains: Crown Tries to Tighten Its Control, The
In the British colonies along the Atlantic seaboard new agricultural and commercial interests begin to thrive. This success comes at a time when Britain is in conflict with its European neighbors over trade. In an attempt exclude other nations from ...
Coming to America: Portrait of Colonial Life: Indentured Servants
The United States has been a magnet for immigrants throughout its history. In the colonial period, many who embarked on the journey found it necessary to indenture themselves just to pay for the passage. As we hear a first-hand account of the diffic...
Family History: Family in Colonial America
In some ways, the family unit in colonial times played much the same role that it does today, but there are some notable differences. For example, the colonial era family took on many roles generally played today by public agencies. There was als...