The main reason the colonists left England was because of their disagreement with the religion in England. Those who left began their own religion and were known as Puritans. In the early 1650's the Massachusetts Bay Colony was run by Puritans, so therefore there was no religious tolerance whatsoever. Later in 1656 English colonists began to arrive forming the Religious Society of Friends, currently remembered as the Quakers. Arriving to the Boston harbor they immediately requested religious freedom and to live in Massachusetts with equal rights as the other citizens. Obviously the Puritans did not grant the Quakers their wish. They treated the Quakers as brutally as possible to send a message to either become Puritans and live in Massachusetts or otherwise stay away. Quakers began being persecuted due to the rebellion toward the Puritans. The Quakers disregarded the message. They still pursued the immigration into Massachusetts any way possible, from the east, south, and north. The Massachusetts Puritans soon began creating new laws to prevent the Quakers from entering the state and disrupting their religious tolerance. The Massachusetts jails were filled with Quakers, and plenty of persecutions of Quakers performed daily. When Quakers were being tried in court, many other Quakers would run in to disrupt the proceedings. They would attempt any possible act of rebellion to get their rights in Massachusetts, usually ending in executions. The image below depicts the persecutions of Quakers with Puritans gathered to watch the executions.
No comments:
Post a Comment