Massachusetts Bay Colony Practice Flashcards

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering the history, religious doctrines, and social-political structures of the Massachusetts Bay Colony as described in the lecture notes.

Puritans

Religious reformers who sought to 'purify' the policies and practices of the Anglican Church of Catholic influences.

John Endicott

Puritan Separatist who led a preliminary expedition to establish a colony at Salem in 1628.

John Winthrop

Puritan lawyer and governor who led a fleet of four ships and 700 colonists to North America in 1630 to establish Boston.

Pequot War (1636-1638)

A conflict between the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Native Americans of the region.

King Philip's War (1675-1678)

A conflict after which the colonists controlled the region and moved remaining Native Americans to reservations.

Separatists

A group of reformers who felt the Anglican Church was wholly corrupt and that a Christian must completely separate from it to serve God faithfully.

Saints

The term Puritans used for themselves because they felt they were practicing true Christianity based solely on the Bible.

Strangers

The name given to those at the Plymouth colony who were not of the separatist faith, but were Anglican.

Mayflower Compact

A document signed by colonists in 1620 that established the government for the Plymouth Colony.

Roger Conant

A former resident of Plymouth who established a new colony at the site of an abandoned native village called Salem.

Great Migration

Also known as the Puritan Migration, it refers to the fleet of ships carrying 700 colonists led by John Winthrop to North America in 1630.

Charter colony

A colony granted the right to exist and form its own government by a legal charter from the English crown.

Predestination

The doctrine holding that God is all-powerful and all-knowing, and the fate of each individual soul is known to God at birth.

The elect

Those chosen by God to be saved who would experience a "conversion" where God revealed His grace.

Harvard College

An institution established in 1636 for the purpose of training Puritan ministers.

"City on a hill"

John Winthrop's vision for the colony, drawn from Matthew 5:14, representing a model of Christian charity that the eyes of all people would watch.

A Model of Christian Charity

A famous sermon delivered by John Winthrop in 1630 emphasizing that colonists must be "knit together in this work as one man" for God's glory.

Thomas Morton

Liberal Anglican lawyer and leader of Merrymount Colony who was banished from the region by John Winthrop in 1630.

Antinomian Controversy

Meaning "against the law," this was a challenge led by dissenters against the Puritan emphasis on adherence to the spirit of the law rather than God's free grace.

Anne Hutchinson

A religious dissenter found guilty of heresy and banished in 1637 for challenging church authority and the doctrine of predestination.

Roger Williams

A pastor who preached separation of church and state and argued against the practice of taking land from local native tribes.

Thomas Hooker

A Puritan dissenter who left Massachusetts Bay and established the colony of Connecticut.

Scarlet Letter

A real form of punishment in Puritan society where adulterers might be forced to wear a scarlet "A".

Tituba

A Caribbean slave in the home of Reverend Samuel Parris whose gathering with teenage girls in 1692 sparked the Salem witchcraft trials.

Spectral evidence

A type of evidence in witch trials based on the belief that if anyone saw a ghost or spirit in the form of the accused, the person in question must be a witch.

Massachusetts Bay Colony

Founded and developed by the puritans, it was a less tolerant colony which sought to establish predestination and single minded puritan beliefs. It was a representative form of government ment though it did lean toward a theocracy due to its core puritan values.

The Protestant reformation (1517-1648)

Challenged then rejected the authority of the Catholic Church on theological grounds.

King Henry VII

Wanted to divorce his wife so he joined the reformation and replaced the pope with himself

Separatists

Thought of the catholic church as wholly corrupt and could not be reformed they established Plymouth colony after sailing over on the mayflower. And Kate signed the mayflower compact which established the colony’s gov.

Roger Conant

Established Salem after cape Ann failed as a colony

Winthrop quote

“Knit together in this work as one man”

Verse that influenced Winthrop

Matthew 5:14

What made the Massachusetts bay colony thrive?

Agriculture, trade in fur and lumbar, and later ship building.

Thomas Morton

Leader of merrymount colony who was a liberal angelican lawyer, beliefs differed from puritans and he was exiled back to England. He won a lawsuit against them but it was meaningless since Winthrop had the charter back in North America

Well known dissenters

Roger Williams, Anne Hutchison, Thomas hooker, and John wheelwright

What were the two justifications for Winthrop’s Indian policy

God cleared the land of natives with disease in order to make settlement easier for his chosen people, since the natives did not fence off their land it was free for colonizing

Puritan life

Long life expectancy, large literacy rate due to encouraged bible reading, man’s world

What were some names of women in the MBC

Patience, silence, fear, prudence, comfort, hope still, and be fruitful

Church attendance in MBC

Mandatory and you would receive a fine if you did not go; a man with a long pole would tickle old men’s chins to wake them and bop children who were giggling or sleeping

Common punishments

Hanging, public whipping, humiliation in public square

Lord’s Prayer recitation

1st type of evidence in a Salem witch trial, many girls would scream and writhe on the floor when doing so.

Physical evidence

2nd type of evidence in Salem witch trial, any birth marks, warts, moles, or other blemish were seen as possible portals through which satan could enter the body

Witness testimony

3rd type of Salem witch trial evidence, anyone who could blame misfortune to sorcery of the accused could help the case

Confession

5th type and last of Salem witch trial evidence, many would confess tearfully and promise repentance to avoid death. And would late help convict others as a form of repentance