The document provides an overview of Puritan influence in colonial New England. It discusses how the Puritans emphasized religion, community, education, and limited government. Their values shaped the development of New England society through institutions like families, churches, schools, and democratic town meetings. However, by the late 1600s, second and third generation Puritans began to prioritize economic interests over religious purity, weakening Puritan influence and community cohesion.
Background on King Charles, the king the puritans hated. The second son of James VI of Scotland and Anne of Denmark. His father succeeded Queen Elizabeth I and came to the throne of England as King James I in 1603. Charles was created Duke of Albany at his baptism (December 1600) and Duke of York in 1605. With a profound belief that Kings were appointed by God to rule by Divine Right, Charles succeeded as the second Stuart King in 1625. He angrily dismissed his third Parliament in 1629, imprisoned several of his leading opponents, and declared his intention of ruling alone. The eleven-year period of the King's Personal Rule was also described as the "Eleven Year Tyranny". In religion, Charles favoured the elaborate and ritualistic High Anglican form of worship. He appointed William Laud Archbishop of Canterbury in 1633. Laud insisted upon strict compliance to the established tenets of the Church and vigorously supported the King's Divine Right. Laud also made extensive use of Star Chamber and the ecclesiastical Court of High Commisson to suppress opposition from Puritans who regarded the High Church Laudian liturgy as dangerously close to Roman Catholicism. The King's marriage to the French Catholic princess Henrietta Maria also caused consternation amongst English Protestants, particularly as she was allowed to practise her religion openly and freely. In some quarters, Henrietta Maria's influence over the King and the royal children was regarded as part of an international Papist conspiracy against the Protestant faith.
This is a community-based society. Everyone shares what they have and help each other.
Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law . Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal theorists (including legal philosophers and social theorists of law), hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions. Modern jurisprudence began in the 18th century and was focused on the first principles of the natural law , civil law, and the law of nations
Freedom of Religion was not the law in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Puritans came to America so they could practice their religion as they pleased. However, they did not allow other settlers the same religious freedom. Settlers who did not follow the Puritan ways were not allowed to own land in the colony, and were often sent away.
Mercantilists believed the world ’s wealth was sharply limited, and therefore one nation’s gain was automatically another nation’s loss. Each nation’s goal was to export more than it imported. The difference would be made up in gold, silver, in which, would make the nation strong economically and militarily. To achieve their goals, mercantilists believed economic activity should be regulated by the government. Colonies could fit into England’s scheme by providing staple crops, such as tobacco, timber, rice, sugar, and indigo that England would otherwise have been forced to import from other countries.