Ian Coyne
Coyneandbill
The Scarlett Reader
This post focuses on the historical background of Puritanism
Puritans: A Brief Overview
History is fickle when it comes to grabbing my interest. For example, if I find a book on the reasons behind the French Revolution, I’d probably find it interesting and start tearing into it. On the other hand, if you were to toss me a book about ,say, the financial history of Finland, I’d throw it right back in your stupid face because that book is about as boring as a counting grains of sand. Sure, some sick, sick people can find Finnish financial records interesting, but I am not one of those people. I love reading about the why’s that influence history, not just a droll of facts listing events in chronological order. That’s why I, unlike certain other people roped into this assignment, enjoyed looking at what events and occurrences in the world during the 15th century that influenced Puritanism, a central ideology present in The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. So let’s take a look at history of the Puritans before we delve into The Scarlett Letter.
Before one can understand Puritanism, one must understand the Church of England. The Church of England was formed in Britain in the 16th century by King Henry VIII and served as the home base for a new sect of Christians, the Anglicans (“Church of England, English national church”). The Church was formed from a schism with the Rome-based Catholic Church which forbade Henry’s marriage to a new wife, the previous having been beheaded by Henry. So Henry, being the maverick that he is, pushed new laws through parliament that allowed his new church that he founded, called the Church of England, to be outside the jurisdiction of the Catholic Church, thus allowing him to marry and use the Church and its power however he saw fit. So how does this relate at all to Puritans? The answer: It relates immensely.
The new Church of England went through tumultuous in-fighting among itself and other Christian sects in England, Puritanism being one of these sects. This fighting led to lots of political deadlock, civil unrest, a few lopped off heads, and lots of dissatisfied sects that were routinely discriminated against (“Puritanism”). Cries by Puritans for reform in the Church fell on deaf ears, and Puritans were routinely mocked for their strict lifestyle that made the much-despised Roman Catholics look like rowdy teenagers. Eventually, all the abuses the Puritans suffered at the hands of the empowered Anglicans led Puritans to seek sanctuary in the newly-opened Americas. After some work, the Puritans wishing to leave England created the Massachusetts Bay Company and landed a charter granted by King Charles I that allowed them to found new settlements in Massachusetts (“Massachusetts Bay Colony”). With their promised land secured, many Puritans hopped aboard luxurious boats packed wall-to-wall with supplies, dirty sailors, and swaths of unwashed farm animals to establish a new beginning free of oppression in the New World.
Once arriving in Massachusetts Bay, the Puritans quickly got to work on setting up their slice of Puritan pie on foreign soil. Under the leadership and beard of governor John Winthrope, Puritan settlers worked hard to ensure that they survived and thrived in the cruel, untapped Massachusetts wilderness. Though the first winter was difficult for the settlers, the Puritans pulled through mostly due to their community-focused religion that stressed sharing and helping others. This is much in contrast to the previous English settlements, such as Jamestown, which failed spectacularly because their greedy settlers were more focused on finding gold than tending crops. But when winter came around, the settlers died in droves regretting their decision to go screw around in the woods with their buddies searching for nonexistent gold. But enough about those guys, back to the Puritans.
So after years of hard work and sacrifice, the Puritan settlements in Massachusetts began to prosper under relative peace, homogony, and commerce. On top of their physical success, the Puritans also succeeded in planting the democratic system in America through its intercolony politics and the political involvement of common citizens in community decisions.
And there you have it, a nice historical backdrop to accompany The Scarlett Letter. Now when you read it in class, you can impress your teacher and friends with your cursory knowledge of the history of Puritanism!
WORKS CITED
“Massachusetts Bay Colony | American History.” Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2015.
“Puritanism | Religion.” Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.
“Church of England | English National Church.” Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.
The Scarlet Reader 