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William Coddington

William Coddington

William Coddington (1601 – November 1, 1678) was the first governor of Rhode Island. Coddington was born in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. He migrated to the American colonies in 1630 with the original Massachusetts Bay Company. He served as its treasurer from 1634-1636. He was a leading merchant in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1637 Coddington left Boston with some others due to religious differences. He supported Anne Hutchinson who had been exiled by the Puritans. Coddington, Hutchinson, and John Clarke conferred with Roger Williams in Providence. Williams suggested that they buy land from the Native Americans on Aquidneck Island. This group founded the town of Pocasset, which is now called Portsmouth. Coddington's name leads the list of signatories of the Portsmouth Compact of 1638. In 1639 Coddington was deposed as leader of the settlement by Anne Hutchinson and Samuel Gorton. He set out with a small group of people, including John Clarke to found another town, Newport. Aquidneck was later named the Isle of Rhodes or Rhode Island. There were four main towns in what is now the state of Rhode Island. Providence and Warwick were in an area called Providence Plantations. Portsmouth and Newport were on Rhode Island. Coddington was the Judge of Portsmouth from 1638-1639. He was the Judge of Newport from 1630-40. He was the Governor of Rhode Island (united Portsmouth and Newport) from 1640-1647. From 1643-1651 the towns of Providence Plantations were united with the towns of Rhode Island. Coddington opposed this union. In 1651 the area was divided in two again. Coddington married Mary Mosely in 1626. They had two children who both died shortly after birth. Mary died in 1630. In 1631 he married again and in 1647 this second wife "Mary" died as well. In January 1649 Coddington married Anne Brinley. Together they had eight children, two of whom died in infancy. From 1651-1653 William Coddington served as Governor and President of Portsmouth and Newport. The four towns were reunited in 1654. In 1663 they became a Royal Colony, called Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Sometime in the early 1660's Coddington became a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). He (and later his widow) often hosted Quaker meetings in his home in Newport. George Fox himself visited this house in 1672. From 1674-1676 Coddington was the Governor of the Royal Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. He was elected again in 1678 but died in office on November 1. One of Coddington's sons, William Coddington, Jr., was Governor from 1683-1685.

Sources

William Coddington in Rhode Island Colonial Affairs: An Historical Inquiry by H. E. Turner, 1878 Coddington, William Coddington, William Coddington, William Coddington, William

1601

For the Mark Twain work, see 1601 (Mark Twain).

Events

- January 1 - Windows Win32 FILETIME epoch at 00:00:00 UTC.
- February 8 - Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, rebels against Elizabeth I of England - revolt is quickly crushed
- February 25 - Robert Devereux beheaded
- Jesuit Matteo Ricci arrives in China
- Bad harvest in Russia due to rainy summer
- Dutch troops drive Portuguese from Málaga
- Battle of Kinsale, Ireland

Births

- January 8 - Baltasar Gracián y Morales, Spanish prose writer (died 1658)
- May 2 - Athanasius Kircher, German Jesuit scholar (died 1680)
- August 20 - Pierre de Fermat, French mathematician (d. 1665)
- August 22 - Georges de Scudéry, French novelist, dramatist and poet (died 1667)
- September 22 - Anna of Austria, queen of Louis XIII of France and regent (died 1666)
- September 27 - King Louis XIII of France (died 1643)
- Jan Brueghel the Younger, Flemish painter (died 1678)
- William Coddington, first governor of Rhode Island (died 1678)
- Jacques Gaffarel, French librarian and astrologer (died 1681)
- Baltasar Gracián, Spanish Jesuit philosopher and writer (died 1658)
- François Tristan l'Hermite, French dramatist (died 1655)
- Spencer Compton, 2nd Earl of Northampton (died 1643)
- Adrian Scrope, English regicide (died 1660)
- Edward Somerset, 2nd Marquess of Worcester (died 1667) See also :Category:1601 births.

Deaths

- February 25 - Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, English politician (born 1566)
- April 10 - Mark Alexander Boyd, Scottish poet and soldier of fortune (born 1562)
- May 19 - Costanzo Porta, Italian composer (born 1528)
- August 9 - Mihai Viteazul, Prince of Wallachia (born 1558)
- October 24 - Tycho Brahe, Danish astronomer (born 1546)
- Scipione Ammirato, Italian historian (born 1531)
- Girolamo Dalla Casa, Italian composer
- John Farmer, English composer (born 1570)
- Claude Fauchet, French historian and antiquary (born 1530)
- Joris Hoefnagel, Dutch painter and engraver (born 1545)
- Juan de Fuca, Greek explorer
- Thomas North, English translator of Plutarch (born 1535)
- Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, English statesman (born 1534)
- John Shakespeare, English glover and farmer, father of William Shakespeare (born 1529)
- Ogawa Suketada, Japanese daimyo (born 1549) See also :Category:1601 deaths. Category:1601 ko:1601년

1678

Events

- August 10 - Treaty of Nijmegen ends the Dutch War.
- September 6 - Titus Oates begins to present allegations of the "Popish Plot", a Catholic conspiracy to assassinate king Charles II of England
- October 17 - British magistrate Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey is found murdered in Primrose Hill, London. Titus Oates claims it as a proof of his allegations.
- About 1200 Irish families sail from Barbados to Virginia and the Carolinas
- First chrysanthemums in Europe
- John Bunyan publishes his novel, The Pilgrim's Progress.

Births

- March 4 - Antonio Vivaldi, Italian composer (d. 1741)
- March 7 - Filippo Juvara, Italian architect (d. 1736)
- May 16 - Andreas Silbermann, organ builder (d. 1734)
- July 26 - Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1711)
- September 16 - Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke, English statesman and philosopher (d. 1751)
- September 29 - Adrien-Maurice, 3rd duc de Noailles, French soldier (d. 1766)
- October 10 - John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll, Scottish soldier (d. 1743)
- November 26 - Jean Jacques d'Ortous de Mairan, French geophysicist (d. 1771)
- December 8 - Horatio Walpole, 1st Baron Walpole of Wolterton, English diplomat (d. 1757)
- December 13 - Yongzheng Emperor of China (d. 1735)
- December 14 - Daniel Neal, English historian (d. 1743)
- December 30 - William Croft, English composer (d. 1727)

Deaths

- January 29 - Jeronimo Lobo, Portuguese Jesuit missionary (b. 1593)
- May 4 or May 14 - Anna Maria van Schurman, Dutch poet and scholar (b. 1607)
- August 5 - Juan García de Zéspedes, Mexican musician and composer (b. 1619)
- August 16 - Andrew Marvell, English writer (b. 1621)
- August 28 - John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton, English soldier (b. 1602)
- October 12 - Edmund Berry Godfrey, English magistrate (b. 1621)
- October 18 - Jacob Jordaens, Flemish painter (b. 1593)
- October 19 - Samuel Dirksz van Hoogstraten, Dutch painter
- November 1 - William Coddington, first Governor of Rhode Island (b. 1601) Category:1678 ko:1678년

Rhode Island

:"RI" redirects here. For alternate uses: see RI (disambiguation) The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (commonly known as Rhode Island) is geographically the smallest state in the United States, and the state with the longest official name. Rhode (pronounced "Road") Island is part of the New England region, and was one of the thirteen original American colonies that declared independence against British rule to begin the American Revolution. The state's common name, Rhode Island, actually refers to the largest island in Narragansett Bay, also known as Aquidneck Island, on which the city of Newport is located. The origin of the name is unclear. Some historians think that Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, upon discovering Block Island, just southwest in the Atlantic Ocean, named it Rhode Island because of its similarity in shape to the Greek island of Rhodes. Later settlers, mistaking which island Verrazzano was referring to, gave the name to Aquidneck Island instead. Other historians believe that the name is derived from Roodt Eylandt, Dutch for "red island," given to the island by Dutch explorer Adriaen Block due to the red clay on the island's shore. Despite the fact that most of the state is part of the mainland, the name Rhode Island leads some out-of-staters to erroneously believe that the entire state is an island. Nicknamed "The Ocean State," every point in the state is within 30 miles of sea water.

History

In 1614 the Dutch explorer Adriaen Block visited the island that is now called Block Island. Native American inhabitants included the Naragansett tribe, occupying most of the state, and the closley-related Niantic tribe. Some Wampanoags lived near the Massachusetts border, and other tribes, usually associated with Connecticut, such as the Mohegan were found in the west. Near the border with both Connecticut and Massachusetts, some bands of Nipmuc Indians were found. Most of the Native Americans were decimated by introduced diseases, intertribal warfare, and the disastrous King Philip's War, but remnants of the Niantic merged into the Naragansett tribe, where they remain on a federally recognized reservation. In 1636 Roger Williams, after being banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for his religious views, settled at the tip of Narragansett Bay near the Moshassuck River. He called the site Providence and declared it a place of religious freedom for Baptist settlers. Historically, the land is unique because it was purchased twice, once from the King of England, and once from the Native American tribes who lived on the land. This is the article of agreement Roger Williams and others made, and every person who decided to live in Providence must sign it: “We, whose names are hereunder written, being desirous to inhabit the town of Providence, do promise to submit ourselves, in active or passive obedience, to all such orders or agreements as shall be made for public good by the body in an orderly way by the major consent of the inhabitance, masters of families, incorporated together into a township, and such others as they shall admit into the same only in civil things.” Rhode Island was a charter colony, Roger Williams received a charter to build the colony. In 1637 Anne Hutchinson was banished from Massachusetts for expressing her beliefs that people could talk to God by themselves, not necessarily through a minister. She and some others, including William Coddington and John Clarke, founded the town of Portsmouth on Aquidneck Island. In 1639 Coddington left Portsmouth and founded Newport on Aquidneck Island. In that same year a formal government was established for the island. William Coddington was the first governor and Philip Sherman was the first Secretary. In 1643 Samuel Gorton founded Shawomet, which is now called Warwick. In 1644 the name of Aquidneck Island was changed to Rhode Island. On May 18, 1652 Rhode Island passed the first law in North America making slavery illegal. At one point, however, child labor was used greatly. John Clarke was granted a Charter on July 8, 1663 for Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, which effectively united the two colonies into one. As Britain was under the control of the short-lived republic at that time, no Royal Charter was granted to Rhode Island, instead the House of Commons was the only governing body available to issue a charter. This is unique to Rhode Island and the only colony to be issued a charter without the consent of the crown. Under the terms of the charter, only landowners could vote. Before the Industrial Revolution, when most people were employed as farmers, this was considered democratic. The original charter was used as the state constitution until 1842. In 1664 the seal of the colony was adopted. It pictured an anchor and the word HOPE. The relationship between the New Englanders and the Native Americans was at first strained, but did not result in much bloodshed. The largest tribes that lived near Rhode island were the Wampanoag, Pequots, Narragansett, and Nimpuc. One native named Squanto, from the Wampanoag tribe, stayed with the pilgrims and taught them many valuable skills needed to survive in the area. He also helped greatly with the eventual peace between the colonists and the natives. Roger Williams had won the respect of his colonial neighbors for his skill in keeping the powerful Narragansett on friendly terms with local white settlers. In 1637, the Narragansett were even persuaded to form an alliance with the English in carrying out an attack that nearly extinguished the warlike Pequots. However, this peace did not last long. By 1670 even the friendly tribes who had greeted Williams and the Pilgrims became estranged from the colonists, and smell of war began to cover the New England countryside. The most important and traumatic event in 17th century Rhode Island was King Philip's War,which occurred during 1675–1676. King Philip (his British nickname, his real name was Metacomet) was the chief of the Wampanoag Indians. The settlers of Portsmouth had purchased their land from his father, Massasoit. King Philip rebelled against the English. The first attacks were around Narrangansett Bay but spread throughout New England. Rhode Island was the first of the British colonies in America to declare its independence on May 4, 1776. Rhode Island was the last of the original 13 states to ratify the United States Constitution (May 29, 1790) - doing so after being threatened of having its exports taxed as a foreign nation. As the Industrial Revolution moved large numbers of workers into the cities, a permanently landless, and therefore voteless class developed. By 1829, 60% of the state's free white males were ineligible to vote. Several attempts had been made to address this problem, but none passed. In 1842 Thomas Dorr drafted a liberal constitution which was passed by popular referendum. However the conservative sitting governor, Samuel Ward King, opposed the people's wishes, leading to the Dorr Rebellion. Although this collapsed, a modified version of the constitution was passed in November, which allowed any white male to vote that owned land or could pay a $1 poll tax. Since the Great Depression, the Rhode Island Democratic Party has dominated local politics. For years, the Speaker of the House, always a Democrat, has been one of the most powerful figures in government. The Democratic Party represented a coalition of labor unions, working class immigrants, intellectuals, college students, and the rising ethnic middle class. The Republican Party has been restricted to the rural and suburban parts of the state, and occasional "good government" reform candidates, who criticize the state's high taxes and the excesses of Democratic domination. Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey, Governor Donald Carcieri of East Greenwich, and former Mayor Vincent A. "Buddy" Cianci of Providence ran as Republican reform candidates. Cianci ended up being indicted on racketeering charges in 2001. Despite a perceived culture of corruption, Rhode Islanders overwhelmingly support and re-elect Democrats to positions of authority, where issues involving education, health care, and liberal causes are promoted.

Law and government

The capital of Rhode Island is Providence and its current governor is Donald Carcieri (Republican). Its two U.S. Senators are John "Jack" Reed (Democrat) and Lincoln Chafee (Republican). Its two U.S. Congressmen are Patrick J. Kennedy (Democrat, district one) and Jim Langevin (Democrat, district two). (See list of Rhode Island Governors.) Rhode Island tends to vote Democratic in presidential elections and has done so consistently from 1988 through 2004. The state supported Republicans until 1908, in 1916–1924, 1952 and 1956, in 1972, and in 1984. In 2004, Rhode Island gave John Kerry a greater than 20 percentage point margin of victory (the third highest of any state) with 59.4% of its vote. All but two of Rhode Island's 39 cities and towns voted for the Democratic candidate. The only exceptions were East and West Greenwich.

Geography

West Greenwich See: List of Rhode Island counties Rhode Island is bordered on the north and east by Massachusetts, on the west by Connecticut, and on the south by Rhode Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. It shares a water border with New York. Narragansett Bay is a major feature of the state's topography. Block Island, known for its beaches, lies approximately 12 miles (19 km) off the southern coast of the mainland. Within the Bay, there are over 30 islands. The largest is Aquidneck Island, shared by the municipalities of Newport, Middletown, and Portsmouth. Among the other islands in the Bay are Hope, Prudence, and Despair. Rhode Island is mostly flat with no real mountains. Rhode Island's highest point is Jerimoth Hill, only 812 feet (247 m) above sea level. Rhode Island was one of the Northern colonies (aka "New England" colonies).

Economy

Rhode Island's 2000 total gross state product was $33 billion, placing it 45^th in the nation. Its 2000 per capita Personal Income was $29,685, 16^th in the nation. Rhode Island's agricultural outputs are nursery stock, vegetables, dairy products, and eggs. Its industrial outputs are fashion jewelry, fabricated metal products, electric equipment, machinery, shipbuilding and boatbuilding, and tourism.

Demographics

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2004, Rhode Island's population was estimated at 1,080,632 people. The racial makeup of the state is:
- 81.9% White
- 8.7% Hispanic
- 4.5% Black
- 2.3% Asian
- 0.5% Native American
- 2.7% Mixed race The five largest ancestry groups in Rhode Island are: Italian (19%), Irish (18.4%), English (12%), French (10.9%), Portuguese (8.7%). 6.1% of Rhode Island's population were reported as under 5, 23.6% under 18, and 14.5% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 52% of the population. Rhode Island has a higher percentage of Italian-Americans (concentrated in the city of Providence) and a higher percentage of Americans of Portuguese ancestry (who dominate Bristol county) than any other state in the nation. French Canadians form a large part of Northern Providence county whereas Irish-Americans have strong presence Newport and Kent county. Yankees of English ancestry still have a presence in the state as well, especially in Washington county.

Religion

The religious affiliations of the people of Rhode Island are:
- Christian – 81%
- Roman Catholic – 52%
- Protestant – 28%
- Episcopal – 8%
- Baptist – 6%
- Other Protestant – 14%
- Other Christian – 1%
- Jewish – 2%
- Other Religions – 1%
- Non-Religious – 16% Rhode Island has the highest percentage of Catholics in the nation due to large Irish, Italian, French Canadian, Portuguese, Puerto Rican, and Cape Verdean communities in the state.

Landmarks

French Canadian The state capitol building is made of white Georgian marble. On top is what is thought to be the world's fourth largest self-supported marble dome. [http://www.visitrhodeisland.com/attractions/propertyDetail.aspx?id=1251&ref=/attractions/index.aspx] It houses the Rhode Island Charter of 1663 and other state treasures. Rhode Island is home to the famous roadside attraction Nibbles Woodaway, the Big Blue Bug, the world's largest termite. The seaside city of Newport is home to many famous mansions, including The Breakers.

Major Cities

The Breakers

- Providence
- Newport
- Warwick
- Cranston
- Pawtucket
- Woonsocket

: See also: :
- List of cities in Rhode Island :
- List of towns in Rhode Island :
- List of Rhode Island locations ranked by per capita income

Education

Providence is home to a number of schools including Brown University, the Rhode Island School of Design, and Providence College. Rhode Island has several state colleges and universities, the University of Rhode Island, located in Kingston in the southern part of the state and Rhode Island College in Providence.

Colleges and universities

- Brown University
- Bryant University (a business school)
- Gibbs College
- Johnson & Wales University
- Naval War College
- New England Institute of Technology
- Community College of Rhode Island

- Providence College
- Rhode Island College
- Rhode Island School of Design
- Roger Williams University
- Salve Regina University
- University of Rhode Island
- Zion Bible Institute

Primary and secondary schools

See Rhode Island schools l

Arts

- WaterFire Providence
- Convergence art festival
- First Night Providence
- Trinity Repertory Company
- Newport Jazz Festival
- Fort Thunder
- AS220

Professional sports teams

- Pawtucket Red Sox, AAA (minor league baseball) affiliate of the Boston Red Sox
- Providence Bruins, AHL (minor league hockey) affiliate of the Boston Bruins

Miscellaneous information

Boston Bruins :Area: 1,545 mile² (4,002 km²) :Population: 1,048,319 (2000) :Capital: Providence :Counties: 5 (see: List of Rhode Island counties) :Highest Point: Jerimoth Hill (812 ft) :State motto: Hope :State bird: Rhode Island Red (A hen) :State flower: Violet :State tree: Red Maple :State fish: Striped Bass :State fruit: Rhode Island greening (Apple) : State nicknames: The Ocean State, Little Rhody, The Littlest State :State rock: Cumberlandite :State mineral: Bowenite (a variety of serpentine) :State shell: Quahog :State drink: Coffee Milk

Famous Rhode Islanders

- Harry Anderson, comedian, born in Newport
- Vin De Bona, creator of America's Funniest Home Videos, born in Central Falls
- Ambrose Burnside, general and governor but not a native
- Vincent "Buddy" Cianci, indicted former mayor of Providence
- George M. Cohan, dramatist, born in Providence
- Nelson Eddy, entertainer, born in Providence
- Bobby Farrelly, writer, director born in Cumberland
- Spalding Gray, writer, actor born in Barrington
- Nathanael Greene, Revolutionary War general, second in command to Washington, born in Potowomut, Warwick
- Bobby Hackett, trumpet player, born in Providence
- David Hartman, television newscaster, born in Pawtucket
- Van Johnson, entertainer, born in Newport
- Napoleon Lajoie, baseball player, born in Woonsocket
- Davey Lopes, baseball player, born in East Providence
- H. P. Lovecraft, author, born in Providence
- Oliver Hazard Perry, naval officer, born in South Kingstown
- Gilbert Stuart, painter, born in Saunderstown
- Mena Suvari, actress, born in Newport
- Meredith Vieira, television personality, born in East Providence
- Abraham Whipple, prominent naval commander during the American Revolution
- Roger Williams (theologian), co-founder of colony and early proponent of religious freedom and separation of church and state
- James Woods, film actor
- Debra Messing, actress, raised in East Greenwich

External links

- [http://www.ri.gov/index.php RI.gov], Official State Government site
- [http://www.visitrhodeisland.com/ Visit Rhode Island] Official Site of the Rhode Island Tourism Division
- [http://newenglandtowns.org/rhode-island/ Rhode Island Counties, Towns, Rivers, and Lakes, from Hayward's Gazetteer of 1839]
- [http://www.gotBlockIsland.com Block Island's best business directory]
- [http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/44000.html U.S. Census Bureau]
- [http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/Statutes/ Rhode Island laws]
- [http://quahog.org/ Quahog.org, a guide to Rhode Island]
- [http://www.hiddenvacations.com/li/Rhode_Island.html Rhode Island Vacations & Tourism]
- Category:States of the United States ko:로드아일랜드 주 ja:ロードアイランド州

Boston, Massachusetts

:For other uses of Boston, see Boston (disambiguation) Boston is the capital and largest city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. It is the unofficial capital of the region known as New England, and one of the oldest, wealthiest, and most culturally significant large cities in the United States. Its economy is based on education, health care, finance, and technology. Boston has many nicknames. The City on a Hill came from the original Massachusetts Bay Colony's governor John Winthrop's goal to create the biblical "City on a Hill." It also refers to Boston's original three hills. Beantown refers to early Bostonian merchants' habit for making baked beans with imported molasses. The Hub is a shortened form of writer Oliver Wendell Holmes's phrase The Hub of the Solar System. William Tudor, co-founder of the North American Review, christened the city The Athens of America for its great cultural and intellectual influence. Boston is sometimes called Puritan City because its founders were Puritans. The city is also sometimes called The Cradle of Liberty for its role in instigating the American Revolution. Citizens of Boston are called Bostonians. The city lies at the center of the Boston CMSA (Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area), the seventh largest in the United States. The area encompasses parts of the states of New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The city also lies at the center of Greater Boston, which also includes the cities of Cambridge, Brookline, Quincy, Newton, and many suburban communities farther from Boston.

History

Newton Boston was founded on September 17, 1630, on a peninsula called Shawmut by its original Native American inhabitants. The peninsula was connected to the mainland by a narrow isthmus, and surrounded by the waters of Massachusetts Bay and the marshes at the mouth of the Charles River. Boston's early European settlers first called the area Trimountain. They later renamed the town for Boston, England, in Lincolnshire, from which several prominent colonists emigrated. A majority of Boston's early citizens were Puritans. Massachusetts Bay Colony's original governor, John Winthrop, gave a famous sermon entitled "a City upon a Hill," which captured the idea that Boston had a special covenant with God. Puritan ethics molded an extremely stable and well-structured society in Boston. For example, shortly after Boston's settlement, Puritans founded America's first school, Boston Latin School (1635), and America's first college, Harvard College (1636). Hard work, moral uprightness, and an emphasis on education remain part of Boston's culture. During the early 1770s, British attempts to exert control on the thirteen colonies, primarily via taxation, prompted Bostonians to initiate the American Revolution. The Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, and several early battles occurred in or near the city, including the Battle of Lexington and Concord, Battle of Bunker Hill, and the Siege of Boston. During this period, Paul Revere made his famous midnight ride. After the Revolution, Boston became one of the world's wealthiest international trading ports — major exports were rum, fish, salt, and tobacco. During this era, descendants of old Boston families became regarded, in the American popular mind, as the nation's social and cultural elites; they were later dubbed the Boston Brahmins. In 1822, Boston was chartered as a city. By the mid-1800s, the city's industrial manufacturing overtook international trade in economic importance. Until the early 1900s, Boston remained one of the nation's largest manufacturing centers, and was notable for its garment production, leather goods, and machinery industries. From the mid-to-late-nineteenth century, Boston flourished culturally — it became renowned for its rarefied literary culture and lavish artistic patronage. It also became a center of the abolitionist movement. In the 1820s, Boston's ethnic composition began to change dramatically; groups like the Irish and Italians moved into the city and brought with them Roman Catholicism. Currently, Catholics make up Boston's largest religious community. The Irish played a major role in Boston politics — prominent figures include the Kennedys and John F. Fitzgerald. The city increased its physical size by land reclamation, filling in marshes and mud flats on each side of the isthmus to create the Back Bay and South End neighborhoods, and by filling gaps between wharves along the waterfront. Boston also annexed nearby communities of East Boston, Dorchester and Charlestown. Charlestown From the late 1800s until the mid-1900s, Boston earned a reputation for intolerance, discipline, and prudishness. The phrase "Banned in Boston" was used to describe a literary work, motion picture, or play prohibited from distribution or exhibition. During this time, Boston city officials took it upon themselves to "ban" anything that they found to be salacious, immoral, or offensive. Boston's infamous "vice squad" found favor amongst the ruling-class Brahmins, and working-class Catholics. Consequently, Boston became perceived as less sophisticated than many cities without strict censorship practices. The phrase "banned in Boston" became associated in the popular mind with something sexy and lurid. By the early and mid-20th century, the city was in decline as factories became old and obsolete, and businesses moved out of the region for cheaper labor elsewhere. Boston responded by initiating various urban renewal projects, including the demolition of the old West End neighborhood and the construction of Government Center. In the 1970s, Boston boomed after thirty years of economic downturn, becoming a leader in the mutual fund industry. Boston already had a reputation for excellent healthcare services. Hospitals such as Massachusetts General Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Brigham and Women's Hospital led the nation in medical innovation and patient care. Universities such as Harvard, MIT, and Boston University attracted many students to the Boston area. Nevertheless, the city experienced conflict starting in 1974 over desegregation busing, which resulted in unrest and violence around public schools throughout the mid-1970s. The unrest served to highlight racial tensions in the city. Over the past several decades, Boston has experienced a dramatic loss of regional institutions and traditions, which once gave it a very distinct social character. Boston has begun to resemble other parts of the continuous string of Northeast seaboard cities dubbed the BosWash megalopolis. The city faces gentrification issues and exorbitant living costs. Conversely, Boston's streets currently bustle with a vitality not seen since the 1920s; crime and poverty remain very low for an American city. Once again Boston has become a hub of intellectual, technological, and political ideas.

Geography and climate

Geography

1920s.]] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 232.1 km² (89.6 mi²). 125.4 km² (48.4 mi²) of it is land and 106.7 km² (41.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 46.0% water. With an elevation of 19 feet (5.8 m) above sea level at Logan International Airport, Boston is bordered by the cities of Winthrop, Revere, Chelsea, Everett, Somerville, Cambridge, Watertown, Newton, Brookline, Needham, Dedham, Canton, Milton, and Quincy—often known as, and considered a part of, Greater Boston. Much of the Back Bay and South End are built on reclaimed land—two and a half of Boston's three original hills were used as a source of material for landfill. Only Beacon Hill, the smallest of the three original hills, remains partially intact. The downtown area and immediate surroundings consist mostly of low-rise brick or stone buildings, with many older buildings in the Federal style. Several of these buildings mix in with modern high-rises, notably in the Financial District, Government Center, Back Bay, and the South Boston waterfront. To this day, the South End Historical District remains the nation's largest surviving contiguous Victorian-era neighborhood. Smaller commercial areas are interspersed amongst single-family homes and wooden/brick multifamily row houses. The Charles River separates Boston proper from Cambridge, Watertown, and the neighborhood of Charlestown. To the east lies Boston Harbor and the Boston Harbor Islands, many of which are part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area, operated by the National Park Service. The Neponset River forms the boundary between Boston's southern neighborhoods and the cities of Quincy and Milton. The Mystic River separates the neighborhoods of East Boston and Charlestown from Chelsea and Everett.

Climate

Boston experiences a continental climate that is very common in New England. The weather in Boston, like much of New England, changes rapidly. It is not uncommon for the city to experience temperature swings of 54 °F (30 °C) or more over the course of several days. The summers are typically warm and humid, while the winters are cold and windy. It has been known to snow in October and get quite warm in February. The hottest month is August, with an average high of 80 °F (27 °C) and a low of 64 °F (18 °C). The coldest month is January, with an average high of 36 °F (2.2 °C) and a low of 22 °F (−5.6 °C). Brief periods exceeding 100 °F in summer and below 0 °F in winter are not uncommon. The city averages 42 in (1,100 mm) of rainfall a year. It also coincidentally averages 42 in (110 cm) of snowfall a year, though this increases dramatically as one goes inland away from the city

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 589,141 people, 239,528 households, and 115,212 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,697/km² (12,166/mi²). There were 251,935 housing units at an average density of 2,009/km² (5,203/mi²). The Irish are the largest ethnic group in the city of Boston, and Boston is commonly considered the capital of "Irish America". The racial makeup of the city was 54.48% White, 25.33% Black or African American, 0.40% Native American, 7.52% Asian American, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 7.83% from other races, and 4.39% from two or more races. 14.44% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. These figures became less reliable because of the large, partly undocumented Brazilian population, estimated by some studies to approach 250,000 in Massachusetts. Census data did not account for this significant segment of the community because of confusing terminology, as Brazilians speak Portuguese and often do not consider themselves specifically Hispanic, Latino, White or African American. Portuguese There were 239,528 households out of which 22.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 27.4% were married couples living together, 16.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 51.9% were non-families. 37.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 3.17. In the city the population was spread out with 19.8% under the age of 18, 16.2% from 18 to 24, 35.8% from 25 to 44, 17.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $39,629, and the median income for a family was $44,151. Males had a median income of $37,435 versus $32,421 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,353. 19.5% of the population and 15.3% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 25.6% of those under the age of 18 and 18.2% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Law and government

Boston has a "strong mayor" system in which the mayor is vested with extensive executive powers. The mayor is elected to a four-year term by plurality voting. The city council is elected every two years. There are nine wards or neighborhood seats, each elected by the residents of that ward through plurality voting, and four at-large seats. Each voter casts up to four votes for at-large councilors, no more than one vote per candidate. The candidates with the four highest vote totals are elected. The president of the city council is elected by the councilors from within themselves. The current city council president is Michael F. Flaherty. The school committee is appointed by the mayor, as are city department heads. On the federal level, the city is in the 8th and 9th Congressional districts. In addition to city government, numerous state authorities and commissions play a role in the life of Bostonians, including the Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport), which operates Logan International Airport. Since the city is the capital of Massachusetts, Boston plays a major role in state politics. Boston is also the United States federal government center for New England. Properties include the John F. Kennedy Federal Office Building and the Thomas P. O'Neil Federal Building. The city also serves as the home of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit as well as the headquarters of the 1st District of the Federal Reserve. Boston's low crime rate in the last years of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st has been credited to its police department's collaboration with neighborhood groups and church parishes to prevent youths from joining gangs, as well as heavy involvement from the District Attorney's office. The current DA for Suffolk County and Boston, Daniel F. Conley, spent nearly ten years working at reducing gang violence in the city. This helped lead in part to what has been touted as the "Boston Miracle," murders in the city dropped from 152 in 1990 (for a murder rate of 26.5 per 100,000 people) to just 31—not one of them a juvenile—in 1999 (for a murder rate of 5.26 per 100,000). In more recent years, however, the annual murder count has fluctuated by as much as 50% compared to the year before, with 60 murders in 2002, followed by just 39 in 2003 and 64 in 2004. Though the figures are nowhere near the high-water mark set in 1990, the aberrations in the murder rate have been unsettling for many Bostonians and have prompted discussion over whether the Boston Police Department should reevaluate its approach to fighting crime. Boston has eight sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International (SCI): Barcelona (Spain), Hangzhou (People's Republic of China), Kyoto (Japan), Melbourne (Australia), Padua (Italy), Strasbourg (France), Sekondi-Takoradi (Ghana), and Taipei (Taiwan). The city has thrice been a recipient of the All-America City Award, the oldest and most respected civic award in the U.S.

Economy

Boston's colleges and universities have a major impact on the city and region's economy. Not only are they major employers, but they also attract high-tech industries to the city and surrounding region, including computer hardware and software companies as well as biotechnology companies like Millennium Pharmaceuticals and Biogen Idec. Other important industries include financial services, especially mutual funds and insurance. Boston-based Fidelity Investments helped popularize the mutual fund in the 1980s, and has made Boston one of the top financial cities in the United States. The city is also the regional headquarters of major banks such as Bank of America and Sovereign Bank, and a center for venture capital. Boston is also a printing and publishing center. Textbook publisher Houghton Mifflin is headquartered within the city. The city is also a major convention destination with four major convention centers: the Hynes Convention Center in the Back Bay, the Bayside Expo Center in Dorchester, and the World Trade Center Boston and Boston Convention & Exhibition Center on the South Boston waterfront. Because of its status as a state capital and the regional home of federal agencies, law and government is another major component of the city's economy. Major companies headquartered within the city include Gillette, owned by Proctor & Gamble, and Teradyne, one of the world's leading manufacturers of semiconductors and other electronic equipment. New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. has its headquarters in the city. Other major companies are located outside the city, especially along Route 128. The Port of Boston is the largest and busiest seaport in Massachusetts. It is also a major seaport along the United States east coast as well as a major fishing port. :See also: Major companies in Greater Boston
Education
Major companies in Greater Boston Considered by ePodunk to be America's greatest college town amongst cities with 300,000 people or more, Boston's reputation as the Athens of America derives in large part from the teaching and research activities of over 100 colleges and universities located in its metropolitan area. Boston College was the first institution of higher education established in the city. It was originally located in the South End before moving to Chestnut Hill, on the city's western edge. Its campus, initially envisioned as an Oxford in America, subsequently expanded so that almost half of it is now within the city's political boundaries. Boston University, now the city's second largest employer and one of the largest private universities in the country, was originally established in Vermont before moving to Brookline and later to its present campus in Boston's Back Bay in the 1950s. Harvard University, the nation's oldest and perhaps the world's most prestigious university, is based across the Charles River in Cambridge; however, most of its current land holdings lie in Boston. These holdings include the Arnold Arboretum, and its business and medical schools. Harvard has also announced plans to expand its main campus across the Charles River into Boston's Allston neighborhood. Emerson College, a highly regarded arts university, maintains a campus near the Theatre District at the southwest corner of Boston Common. Northeastern University, a large private university with a distinctive work/study program, maintains a campus in the Fenway district. Suffolk University, a small private university known for its law school, maintains a campus on Beacon Hill. Boston Public Schools, the oldest public school system in the U.S., enrolls 58,600 students from kindergarten to grade 12. The system operates 145 schools, which includes Boston Latin School (the oldest public school, established in 1635), English High (the oldest public high school, established 1821), and Mather (the oldest public elementary school, established in 1639). The city also has private, parochial, and charter schools. 3000 students of racial minorities attend participating suburban schools through the Metropolitan Educational Opportunity Council, or METCO.
Culture
charter school Boston shares many cultural roots with greater New England, including a dialect of the Eastern New England accent popularly known as Boston English, and a regional cuisine with a large emphasis on seafood and dairy products. Irish Americans are a major influence on Boston's politics and religious institutions and consequently on the rest of Massachusetts. Italian, Chinese, and Hispanic groups also have major contributions to Boston's cultural composition. Boston has its own collection of neologisms known as Boston slang. Many consider Boston a highly cultured city, perhaps as a result of its intellectual reputation. Much of Boston's culture originates at its universities. The city also has a number of ornate theatres, including the Cutler Majestic Theatre and The Wang Center for the Performing Arts. Renowned performing arts groups include the Boston Ballet, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, Boston Lyric Opera Company, and the Handel and Haydn Society (the oldest choral company in the United States). There are a number of major annual events such as First Night, which occurs during New Year's Eve, and several events during the Fourth of July. These events include the weeklong Harborfest festivities and a Boston Pops concert accompanied by fireworks on the banks of the Charles River. In contrast to what might be considered the more "refined" aspects of Boston's culture, the city is also one of the birthplaces of the hardcore punk genre of music. Boston musicians have contributed greatly to the hardcore scene over the years (see also Boston hardcore). Boston also had one of the leading local ska scenes in the ska revival of the mid-1990s with bands like The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Allstonians, and Skavoovie and the Epitones.
Media
The Boston Globe, owned by the New York Times Company, and The Boston Herald are Boston's two major daily newspapers. The city is also served by a number of smaller publications such as The Boston Phoenix and The Improper Bostonian. Boston has the largest broadcasting market in New England, with the Boston radio market being the eleventh largest in the United States. Several major AM stations include talk radio WRKO 680 AM, sports/talk station WEEI 850 AM, and news radio WBZ 1030 AM. A variety of FM radio formats serve the area as well as NPR stations WBUR and WGBH. University radio stations include WZBC (Boston College), WERS (Emerson), and WUMB (UMass Boston). The Boston television DMA, which also includes Manchester, New Hampshire, is the fifth largest in the United States. The city is served by stations representing every major American network including WBZ 4 (CBS), WCVB 5 (ABC), WHDH 7 (NBC), WFXT 25 (FOX), WSBK 38 (UPN), and WLVI 56 (WB). Boston is also home to PBS station WGBH 2, which also operates WGBX 44. WGBH is a major producer of PBS programs. Most Boston television stations have their transmitters in nearby Needham and Newton.
Sites of interest
Newton Because of the city's prominent role in the American Revolution, several historic sites relating to that period are preserved as part of the Boston National Historical Park. Many are found along the Freedom Trail, which is marked by a red line or bricks embedded in the ground. Also along the Freedom Trail is Boston Common, with the Boston Public Garden being adjacent. Boston Common is part of the Emerald Necklace, a string of parks designed by Frederick Law Olmstead. In the winter, the Frog Pond at Boston Common doubles as a popular ice-skating rink. Another major park is the Esplanade located along the banks of the Charles River. A major recreation site for many Bostonians, it is also the site of the Hatch Shell. Other parks are scattered throughout the city, with the major parks located near Castle Island, Charlestown, the Dorchester shoreline, and East Boston. The Back Bay district includes many prominent landmarks such as the Christian Science Center, Boston Public Library, Copley Square, and Newbury Street. Back Bay is also the home of two of New England's tallest buildings: the John Hancock Tower and the Prudential Center. Near the John Hancock Tower is the old John Hancock Building with its prominent weather forecast beacon. Other notable districts/neighborhoods include Beacon Hill, Charlestown, Chinatown, Downtown Crossing, North End, and South Boston. Boston is home to several world-renowned museums, including the Museum of Fine Arts, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and the Museum of Science. The University of Massachusetts campus at Columbia Point houses the John F. Kennedy Library. The New England Aquarium, Franklin Park Zoo, Boston Athenaeum (one of the oldest independent libraries in the United States), and the Boston Children's Museum are located within the city. There are also two self-guided walking tours: Harbor Walk, which is designed to allow people the walk the entire shore of Boston Harbor, and the Black Heritage Trail. A popular guided tour is the Boston Duck Tour, which uses World War II-era duck boats. The outer suburbs of Boston, which tend to be forested, have vibrantly colored foliage every autumn that attracts many tourists.
Sports
autumn The TD Banknorth Garden near North Station is the home of two major league teams: the Boston Bruins ice hockey team (National Hockey League) and the Boston Celtics basketball team (National Basketball Association). The Celtics have the distinction of having more World Championships than any other NBA team with 16 championships from 1957 to 1986. The baseball team Boston Red Sox is a member of the American League of Major League Baseball. Their home at Fenway Park, located near Kenmore Square, is the oldest ballpark in active use in the United States. Boston was once the home of the National League baseball team Boston Braves as well as the site of the first World Series in 1903. The game was played between the Boston Americans (currently the Boston Red Sox) and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Once the Boston Patriots, a charter team of the American Football League, the NFL's New England Patriots football team plays in nearby Foxboro. Boston fans travel there to see the Patriots and the New England Revolution soccer team of Major League Soccer. Both teams play at Gillette Stadium. Another major league team is the lacrosse team Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse. The team plays at Boston University's Nickerson Field. Boston's many colleges and universities field sports teams. The most prominent include Boston College (member of the Atlantic Coast Conference), Boston University (America East Conference), Northeastern University (Colonial Athletic Association), and Harvard University. The hockey teams of these four universities meet every year in an immensely popular four-team tournament known as the "Beanpot". The city is also the site of two other major annual sporting events: the Boston Marathon, the world-famous 26-mile run from Hopkinton to Copley Square in Boston, and the Head of the Charles Regatta rowing competition on the Charles River.
Infrastructure

Health and medicine
As the home to some of the world's most respected research hospitals, Boston enjoys an international reputation in the medical field. The Longwood Medical Area is a region of Boston with a concentration of medical and research facilities, including Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Children's Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Harvard Medical School. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Brigham and Women's Hospital were both formed by mergers: the former between Beth Israel Hospital and New England Deaconess Hospital, and the latter by Peter Bent Brigham Hospital and the Boston Hospital for Women. Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) is located near the Beacon Hill neighborhood, with the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital nearby. Boston also has VA medical centers in the Jamaica Plain and West Roxbury neighborhoods. Many of Boston's major medical facilities are associated with universities. The facilities in the Longwood Medical Area and MGH are world-renowned research medical centers affiliated with Harvard Medical School. New England Medical Center, located in the southern portions of the Chinatown neighborhood, is affiliated with Tufts University. Boston Medical Center, located in the South End neighborhood, is the primary teaching facility for the Boston University School of Medicine as well as the largest trauma center in the Boston area; it was formed by the merger of Boston University Hospital and Boston City Hospital.
Transportation
trauma center neighborhood is in the background.]] Logan International Airport, located in the East Boston neighborhood, is the major airport serving Boston. Another airport serving the city and surrounding areas is Hanscom Field in Lexington and Bedford. T. F. Green Airport in Providence, Rhode Island, and Manchester Airport in Manchester, New Hampshire, are airports outside Massachusetts which serve as secondary facilities. Boston's streets appear as though they were not planned, evolving from centuries-old foot and cow paths. Except for the reclaimed Back Bay and part of South Boston, the city has no street grid. Boston has been described as a "City of Squares", referring to the tradition of naming the intersections of major thoroughfares after prominent city residents. Roads change names and lose and add lanes seemingly at random. The city also has a number of rotaries, which have confused many drivers. Boston is the eastern terminus of I-90, also known as the Mass Pike. I-95, which surrounds the city, is known as Route 128. US 1 and I-93 runs north to south through the city. The most infamous portion, the Central Artery, runs through downtown Boston and was constantly prone to heavy traffic. Through the Big Dig the elevated highway was replaced with an underground tunnel. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) operated the nation's first underground subway system, which has since been expanded to an extensive rapid transit system reaching as far north as Melrose, as far south as Braintree, and as far west as Waltham. Collectively known as the "T", the MBTA also operates an extensive network of bus lines and water shuttles, and a commuter rail network extending north to the Merrimack River valley, west to Worcester, and south to Providence, Rhode Island. Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and Chicago lines originate at South Station and stop at Back Bay. Fast Northeast Corridor trains, which service New York City, Washington, D.C., and points in between, also stop at Route 128 Station in the southwestern suburbs of Boston. Meanwhile, Amtrak's Downeaster service to Maine originates at North Station.
Utilities
Water supply and sewage-disposal services are provided by the Boston Water and Sewer Commission. The Commission in turn purchases wholesale water and sewage disposal from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA). Established as a public authority in 1984, the MWRA pipes water from reservoirs in Western and Central Massachusetts, notably the Quabbin and Wachusett Reservoirs, for several communities within Greater Boston. The agency operates several facilities for sewage treatment, notably an effluent tunnel in Boston Harbor and the Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Plant near the mouth of Boston Harbor. NSTAR distributes electric power to the city. Natural gas is provided by KeySpan Corporation (the successor company to Boston Gas). Verizon, successor to New England Telephone, NYNEX, and Bell Atlantic, is the primary telephone service provider for the area. Cable television and cable broadband internet are provided by Comcast, RCN, and Verizon in select communities.
See also

- Notable Bostonians
- List of television shows set in Boston
- List of films, operas, and plays set in Boston
- Boston in fiction
- Fictional people from Boston
Notes
#[http://weather.yahoo.com/climo/USMA0046_c.html Records and Averages - Boston (2005)]. Yahoo! Weather. Accessed September 13, 2005. #[http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0027.html Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990 (June 1998)]. U.S. Census Bureau. # Winship, Christopher (March 2002). [http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/soc/faculty/winship/End_of_a_Miracle.pdf End of a Miracle?] Harvard University. #[http://www.ci.boston.ma.us/police/ore.asp Boston Police Department's Monthly Crime Statistics (2005)]. CityOfBoston.gov. #[http://boston.areaconnect.com/crime1.htm Boston MA Crime Statistics (2004 - New Crime Data)]. areaConnect.com. #[http://www.epodunk.com/top10/colleges/index.html Great College Towns]. ePodunk. April, 2002. #[http://www.boston.k12.ma.us/bps/bpsglance.asp The Boston Public Schools at a Glance (2004)]. Boston Public School. Accessed October 5, 2005. #[http://www.arbitron.com/radio_stations/mm001050.asp Arbitron - Market Ranks and Schedule, 1-50 (Fall 2005)]. #[http://www.nielsenmedia.com/DMAs.html Nielsen Media - DMA Listing (September 24, 2005)]. #[http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/ci/?id=101045 Boston Skyscrapers. Skyscrapers.com]. Accessed May 15, 2005. #[http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/history/postseason/mlb_ws_recaps.jsp?feature=1903 1903 World Series - Major League Baseball: World Series History. MLB.com].

References

- [http://www.tbf.org/indicatorsProject/ The Boston Indicators Project (2004)]. The Boston Foundation.
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External links

- [http://www.cityofboston.gov City's official website]
- [http://www.cityofboston.gov/bra/maps/mapsPDFs.asp Maps of Boston neighborhoods]
- [http://www.bostonsquares.com Boston guide organized by square]
- [http://yourtown.boston.com/town/boston/ City information]
- [http://boston.about.com About.com for Boston]
- [http://www.bostonusa.com/ Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau]
- [http://www.boston-online.com/glossary.html Guide to the local language]
- [http://www.terragalleria.com/america/north-east/massachusetts Photos of Boston - Terra Galleria]
- [http://www.bostonhistory.org/ The Boston Historical Society]
- [http://wikitravel.org/en/article/Boston Boston travel guide at Wikitravel] Category:All-America City Category:Coastal cities Category:Suffolk County, Massachusetts
- Category:Cities in Massachusetts ko:보스턴 ja:ボストン

Puritans

The Puritans were members of a group of English Protestants seeking further reforms or even separation from the established church during the Reformation.

Terminology

The word Puritan is now applied unevenly to a number of Protestant churches from the late 16th century to the early 18th century. Puritans did not, by and large, use the term for themselves. It was a term of abuse that first surfaced in the 1560s. "Recusants", "Precisemen", and "Precisions" were other early antagonistic terms for Puritans who preferred to call themselves "the godly." The word "Puritan" was thus always a descriptor of a type of religious belief, rather than a particular religious sect. That said, the single theological movement most consistently self-described by the term "Puritan" was Reformed or Calvinist and led to the establishment of the Presbyterian Church. The term was used by the group itself mainly in the sixteenth century, though it seems to have been used often and in its earliest recorded instances as a term of abuse. By the middle of the 17th century the group had become so divided that "Puritan" was most often used by opponents and detractors of the group, rather than by the practitioners themselves. The practitioners knew themselves as members of particular churches or movements, and not by the simple term.

History

Puritanism seems to have arisen out of discontent with the Elizabethan Religious Settlement, which was felt by the more radical Protestants to be giving in to "Popery" (i.e., the Catholic Church). While Protestant movements in Europe were being driven by issues of theology and had broken radically with Catholic models of church organization, the English Reformation had brought the church under control of the monarchy while leaving many of its practices intact; in the eyes of the Puritans, this had made doctrine unacceptably subservient to politics. Persecuted under Mary I of England ("Bloody Mary"), Protestants like Thomas Cartwright, Walter Travers and Andrew Melville had gone into exile as Puritans in Europe, where they came into close contact with the radical reformers in Calvinist Geneva and Lutheran Germany. These contacts shaped their position towards Elizabeth's religious via media (middle way). Although all influenced by Calvinism, Puritans were not united on every issue of doctrine. This is an outgrowth of the origins of the movement, which went through several phases. They shared a belief that all existing churches had become corrupted by practice, by contact with pagan civilizations (particularly Rome), by the impositions of kings and popes. They all argued for a restructuring and "purifying" of church practice through biblical supremacy, and they shared, to one degree or another, a belief in the priesthood of all believers. However, in church polity (organization of church power), they differed. At the outset, Puritans were simply the informed, committed, and relatively radical Protestants. As a group, they wanted the Church of England to resemble more closely the Protestant churches of Europe, especially Geneva. The Puritans objected to ornaments and ritual in the churches as idolatrous (vestments, organs, genuflection), which they castigated as "popish pomp and rags." (See Vestments controversy.) They also objected to ecclesiastical courts. They refused to endorse completely all of the ritual directions and formulas of the Book of Common Prayer; the imposition of its liturgical order by legal force and inspection sharpened Puritanism into a definite opposition movement. By the 1570s, Puritans were arguing for a Presbyterian model or a Congregationalist model, but all were outspoken in their criticism of the structure and liturgy that the monarchy required. Attempts by the bishops of the Church of England to enforce uniformity of usage in the Book of Common Prayer turned the episcopal hierarchy into a specific target of their grievances. Tracts such as the Martin Marprelate series lampooned the government and the church hierarchs. The issue of church hierarchy was difficult, and Elizabeth sponsored Richard Hooker to write Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity to counter presbyterian arguments. Hooker writes in direct refutation of the "brothers of the Geneva Church," and he outlines a via media for the English church that, rather than being the absence of doctrine, is a set of specifically ordained rules. His thinking on the matter became the backbone of the Anglican church and would later be put to use by Archbishop William Laud. These radicals were looked down on by the dominant Anglo-Catholic faction in the Church of England and were given the name "Puritan", in mockery of the radicals' apparent obsession with "purifying" the Church. Contemporarily with the English Reformation, the Church of Scotland had been created on a Calvinist Presbyterian model, which many Puritans hoped to extend to England. When James VI of Scotland became James I of England, he appointed several known Puritans to powerful positions within the Church of England, and he checked the rise of William Laud. Nevertheless, he was no Puritan, and he regarded Puritans with great suspicion. Since he believed in royal control of the Church he saw Puritanism as a potentially dangerous movement; he authorized the King James Bible partly to reinforce Anglican orthodoxy against the Geneva Bible, which had become popular among Puritans. Luther had insisted on a vulgar Bible for each language, as well as for vernacular church services. Since all Puritan sects were, essentially, believers in biblical supremacy, the presence of an English language Bible was paramount. The Geneva Bible, however, had peculiarly anti-royalist translations and interpolated revolutionary notes. Each new round of political disappointments during this period faced each individual Puritan and the Puritan congregations with a new crisis. The question was whether they were to continue in outward conformity with a distasteful religious regime, or did they take the separatist and illegal step of withdrawal from the state church? Each fresh controversy led to a new round of schisms, and as such the groundwork was set for the eventual heirs of Puritanism, from the "low-church" Protestant and Evangelical wing of the Church of England, to the various dissenting sects. During the reign of Charles I, a committed High Churchman, relations soured and it is generally held among historians that religious tensions created by the dominance of the Laudian faction during the Personal Rule were a major factor in the outbreak of the English Civil War. Puritans certainly agitated against the king, and reform of the religion was a rallying cry for the Parliamentary forces. However, Puritanism by this point had become not merely a religion, but a cultural entity. By this time, Puritans were more often referred to as Dissenters. English Dissenters were barred from any profession that required official religious conformity, and so Puritans had been instrumental in a number of new industries. First, export/import was dominated by Puritans. Second, Puritans were eager colonials. With the flourishing of the trans-Atlantic trade with America, Puritans in England were growing quite wealthy. Similarly, the artisan classes had become increasingly Puritan, thanks to the Puritan emphasis on preaching and evangelizing. Therefore, the economic issues of the Civil War (tax levies, liberalization of royal charters), the political issues of the Civil War (purchasing of peerages, increasing disconnect between the House of Lords and the people, rebellion over the attempt to introduce a Divine right of kings to Charles I), and the religious tensions were all bound together into a general issue of Church of England Cavaliers and Puritan Roundheads. Puritan factions played a key role in the Parliamentarian victory and became a majority in Parliament, while Puritan military leader Oliver Cromwell became head of the English Commonwealth. In the Commonwealth period, the Church of England was removed from Royal control and reorganized to grant greater authority to local congregations, most of which developed in a Puritan and semi-Calvinist direction. There was never an official Puritan denomination; the Commonwealth government tolerated a somewhat broader debate on doctrinal issues than had previously been possible, and considerable theological and political conflict between Puritan factions continued throughout this period. The label "Puritan" fell out of use when their movement became the status quo; it was replaced by the broader term Nonconformist, which was used after the Restoration to refer to all Protestant denominations outside of the official Church, as well as the continuing use of the pejorative name "Dissenter" (for non-Conforming Protestants, as opposed to Catholics). The influence of the Puritan movement persisted in England as the Evangelical faction of the Church of England, sometimes called "Low Anglican", while in the United States the Puritan settlement of New England was a major influence on American Protestantism. The Puritans were one branch of dissenters who decided that the Church of England was beyond reform. Escaping persecution from church leadership and the King, they came to America. Most of the Puritans settled in the New England area. As they immigrated and formed individual colonies, their numbers rose from 17,800 in 1640 to 106,000 in 1700. [http://www.nd.edu/~rbarger/www7/puritans.html] (See Pilgrim fathers and Mayflower). The largest denominational group to emerge from the Puritan experience is the group of Presbyterian denominations, historically Calvinist, and practising a church policy that rejects episcopacy, though, of course, Presbyterianism had been strong in Scotland from the late sixteenth century (the Church of Scotland was and still is Presbyterian). The various Baptist denominations also grew in strength in England during the Commonwealth. During this period, the Religious Society of Friends (popularly known as "Quakers") was founded and grew remarkably in strength, though the theology of the Society of Friends is radically different from that of Puritanism (for example, they rejected the doctrine of predestination), and can be seen as a reaction against Calvinist belief in a period of religious upheaval. This period of religious upheaval also saw the appearance of more radical sects, such as the Diggers (Christian communists) and the allegedly antinomian Ranters. The modern Congregational Church (which merged with the Evangelical and Reformed Church in 1957 to form the United Church of Christ) is the direct descendant of New England Puritan congregations, although in the early 19th century a few of these old congregations adopted Unitarianism.

Beliefs

The central tenet of Puritanism was God's supreme authority over human affairs, particularly in the church, and especially as expressed in the Bible. This view led them to seek both individual and corporate conformance to the teaching of the Bible, and it led them to pursue both moral purity down to the smallest detail as well as ecclesiastical purity to the highest level. On the individual level, the Puritans emphasized that each person should be continually reformed by the grace of God to fight against indwelling sin and do what is right before God. A humble and obedient life would arise for every Christian. The Puritans tended to admire the early church fathers and quoted them liberally in their works. In addition to arming the Puritans to fight against later developments of the Roman Catholic tradition, these studies also led to the rediscovery of some ancient scruples. Chrysostom, a favorite of the Puritans, spoke eloquently against drama and other worldly endeavors, and the Puritans adopted his view when decrying what they saw as the decadent culture of England, famous at that time for its plays and bawdy London. The Pilgrims (the separatist, congregationalist Puritans who went to North America) are likewise famous for banning from their New England colonies many secular entertainments, such as games of chance, maypoles, and drama, all of which were perceived as kinds of immorality. At the level of the church body, the Puritans believed that the worship of the church ought to be strictly regulated by what is commanded in the Bible (known as the regulative principle). The Puritans condemned as idolatry many worship practices regardless of the practices' antiquity or widespread adoption among Christians, which their opponents defended with tradition. Like some of Reformed churches on the European continent, Puritan reforms were typified by a minimum of ritual and decoration and by an unambiguous emphasis on preaching. Like the early church fathers they eliminated the use of musical instruments in their worship services, for various theological and practical reasons. Another important distinction was the Puritan approach to church-state relations. They opposed the Anglican idea of the supremacy of the monarch in the church (Erastianism), and following