PEOPLE

Anne Hutchinson

. Controversial dissenter from dominant Puritan teachings in early Mass.

. Believed the individual's relationship to God was paramount, authority of church not needed

. Declared a heretic by Puritan leaders, driven out of Massachusetts to Rhode Island, 1637

. Some historians regard her as an early feminist figure, though this is debatable

Cotton Mather

. Prominent Boston Puritan clergyman; son of Increase Mather, also a prominent Puritan minister

. Wrote Magnalia Christi Americana, an ecclesiastical history of New England, 1702

. Fascinated by both mysticism and science; presided over witchcraft trials but also oversaw scientific inoculations against smallpox

King Philip (a.k.a. Metacom)

. Wampanoag chief, led Indian alliance against New England settlers in so-called King Philip's War, 1675

. 20,000 whites and Indians killed in bloody conflict; proportionate to size of population, this was deadliest war in American history

. Indians were defeated, Metacom quartered and beheaded

Squanto

. Native American from Pawtuxet tribe

. Captured by English to be sold into slavery, learned English before being freed in 1619

. Taught Puritans how to grow maize and to fish, allowing them to survive first winter in America, 1621

. Died of smallpox, 1622

Roger Williams

. Dissident Puritan clergyman and founder of Rhode Island

. Banished from Massachusetts for "heretical" religious views, 1635

. Believed in complete separation of church and state

John Winthrop

. Most powerful early Puritan leader; first governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony

. Delivered famous sermon describing America as a "city upon a hill," 1630

. Exiled Anne Hutchinson from Massachusetts

EVENTS

1620 Landing of Mayflower at Plymouth

. Puritans established first English settlement in New England at Plymouth Plantation, near Cape Cod

. Survived brutal first winter only with help of Indians, who taught agricultural techniques

1630 Massachusetts Bay Co. Founded

. Led by John Winthrop, well-organized colony had full charter from British government

. Grew to 1,000 people by end of first year

. Massachusetts Bay colony eventually absorbed older Plymouth colony

1636 Providence Founded

. Rhode Island settlement founded by Massachusetts exile Roger Williams

. Rhode Island grew as refuge for religious dissenters

1637 Pequot War

. English colonists and Narragansett allies attacked rival Pequot Indians

. Burned Pequot fort with 400 men, women, children inside

. Demonstrated Puritan potential for violence against Indians

1662 Halfway Covenant

. Boston ministers declared children of church members could have "halfway" membership in church, which previously required an individual conversion experience

. Second-generation Puritans who lacked a conversion experience could be baptized but could not vote or take communion

. A concession by Puritan leaders to their own waning power in the face of secularizing forces

1675 King Philip's War

. Intense yearlong conflict between Puritans and Wampanoag Indians

. Killed 20,000 people, almost wiping out Wampanoags and setting back colonization by a decade

. Half of all Puritan towns hit by Indian raids

. Wampanoag chief Metacom (a.k.a. King Philip) killed in 1676, family sold into slavery

. Indians increasingly seen as "bloodthirsty savages" by Puritans; their defeat became a religious duty

GROUPS

Pequot Indians

. Went to war against Puritans, 1637

. Vast majority of tribe burned to death, the rest sold into slavery

Wampanoag Indians

. Led by Metacom (a.k.a. King Philip)

. Long friendly toward English, but relations deteriorated into full-fledged war against Puritans, 1675

. Defeat in war led to decline of tribe

Non-Separatist Puritans

. Sect led by John Winthrop; formed Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630

. Fled increasing persecution under King Charles I of England

. Believed Anglican Church was too similar to Catholic Church but that it could be reformed from within

Separatist Puritans

. Sect led by William Bradford; founded Plymouth Plantation, first English settlement in New England, in 1620

. Believed Anglican Church was beyond reform, wanted to form new civilization on edge of wilderness

. Like Non-Separatists, believed firmly in predestination and communal salvation

. Like Non-Separatists, splintered and formed new towns

CONCEPTS

Predestination

. Puritan and Calvinist theological tenet declared that an individual's salvation or damnation was predetermined by God

. Held that good acts could not change whether or not an individual would be saved, but could nonetheless be an indication of whether a person has been saved or not

"Bloodthirsty Savages"

. Before King Philip's War, Indians were seen in ambiguous light, neither good nor evil

. After war, they were seen as inherently evil and bent on destruction of Puritans

. Destruction of Indians was then considered part of Puritan compact with God

Community of Saints

. Full membership in Puritan church was highly restricted

. Members had to demonstrate a conversion experience

. Only those who joined the "community of saints" through full membership in a church would actually be saved

PLACES

Boston, Massachusetts

. Primary settlement and soon largest city and capital of Massachusetts Bay Colony

Plymouth Plantation, Massachusetts

. Location of first Puritan settlement in New England

. Later absorbed into larger Massachusetts Bay Colony

Providence, Rhode Island

. Founded by religious dissenters expelled from Massachusetts Puritan leaders