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The Bay Colony Bible Commonwealth
In 1629, some non-Separatist Puritans got a royal charter from England to settle in the New World. Secretly, they took the charter with them and later used it as a type of constitution. It was a well-equipped group of 11 ships that carried about 1,000 people to Massachusetts. -
Puritaians
From 1629 to 1642, 11,000 Puritans swarmed to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In contrast to the indentured servants, Puritans migrated in family groups, not alone
Puritans brought the way of life from England with them to America. -
Nataniel Bacon
In 1676, Nathaniel Bacon led a few thousand of these men in a rebellion against the hostile conditions.
These people wanted land and were resentful of Virginia governor William Berkeley’s friendly policies toward the Indians. Bacon’s men murderously attacked Indian settlements after Berkeley refused to retaliate for a series of savage Indian attacks on the frontier. -
Salem Witch Trail
n the early 1690s, a group of Salem girls claimed to have been bewitched by certain older women. What followed was a hysterical witch-hunt that led to the executions of 20 people (19 of which were hanged, 1 pressed to death) and two dogs.
Back in Europe, larger scale witch-hunts were already occurring.
Witchcraft hysteria eventually ended in 1693. -
Slaves
In 1712, a slave revolt in New York City cost the lives of a dozen whites and 21 Blacks were executed. -
Makers of America
Africans worked in the rice fields of South Carolina due to their knowledge of the crop and their resistance to disease.
The first slaves were men; some eventually gained freedom.
By 1740, large groups of African slaves lived together on plantations, where female slaves were expected to perform backbreaking labor and spin, weave, and sew.
Most slaves became Christians, though many adopted elements from their native religions.
