John Winthrop: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 4: | Line 4: | ||
'''John Winthrop''' ([[12 January]] [[1588|1587/8]]–[[26 March]] [[1649]]) led a large party from [[England]] to the [[New World]] and joined the [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]] in [[1629]]. He was elected governor of his colony on [[April 8]], [[1630]]. Between [[1631]] and [[1648]] he was voted out of [[governorship]] and re-elected a total of 12 times. Although Winthrop was a respected political figure, he was criticized for his obstinacy regarding the formation of a [[general assembly]] in [[1634]]. |
'''John Winthrop''' ([[12 January]] [[1588|1587/8]]–[[26 March]] [[1649]]) led a large party from [[England]] to the [[New World]] and joined the [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]] in [[1629]]. He was elected governor of his colony on [[April 8]], [[1630]]. Between [[1631]] and [[1648]] he was voted out of [[governorship]] and re-elected a total of 12 times. Although Winthrop was a respected political figure, he was criticized for his obstinacy regarding the formation of a [[general assembly]] in [[1634]]. |
||
He was born in [[Edwardstone]], [[Suffolk]], [[England]], the son of [[Adam Winthrop]] (1548–1623) and his wife, [[Anne Browne]]. Winthrop briefly attended |
He was born in [[Edwardstone]], [[Suffolk]], [[England]], the son of [[Adam Winthrop]] (1548–1623) and his wife, [[Anne Browne]]. Winthrop briefly attended [[Cambridge]], then studied [[law]] at [[Gray's Inn]], and in the [[1620s]] became an attorney at the [[Court of Wards]] in [[London]]. |
||
[[Media:homestarrunner.com]] |
|||
Winthrop was extremely religious and subscribed fervently to the [[Puritan]] belief that the [[Anglican Church]] had to be cleansed of [[Catholic]] ritual. Winthrop was convinced that God would punish [[England]] for its heresy, and believed that English Puritans needed a shelter away from England where they could remain safe during the time of God's wrath. |
Winthrop was extremely religious and subscribed fervently to the [[Puritan]] belief that the [[Anglican Church]] had to be cleansed of [[Catholic]] ritual. Winthrop was convinced that God would punish [[England]] for its heresy, and believed that English Puritans needed a shelter away from England where they could remain safe during the time of God's wrath. |
||
Revision as of 00:30, 11 September 2006
John Winthrop (12 January 1587/8–26 March 1649) led a large party from England to the New World and joined the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1629. He was elected governor of his colony on April 8, 1630. Between 1631 and 1648 he was voted out of governorship and re-elected a total of 12 times. Although Winthrop was a respected political figure, he was criticized for his obstinacy regarding the formation of a general assembly in 1634.
He was born in Edwardstone, Suffolk, England, the son of Adam Winthrop (1548–1623) and his wife, Anne Browne. Winthrop briefly attended Cambridge, then studied law at Gray's Inn, and in the 1620s became an attorney at the Court of Wards in London.
Winthrop was extremely religious and subscribed fervently to the Puritan belief that the Anglican Church had to be cleansed of Catholic ritual. Winthrop was convinced that God would punish England for its heresy, and believed that English Puritans needed a shelter away from England where they could remain safe during the time of God's wrath.
Other Puritans who believed likewise obtained a royal charter for the Massachusetts Bay Company. Charles I of England was apparently unaware that the colony was to be anything other than a commercial venture to America. However, on March 4, 1629, Winthrop signed the Cambridge agreement with his wealthier Puritan friends, essentially pledging that they would embark on the next voyage and found a new Puritan colony in New England.
In the Spring of 1630, Winthrop led a fleet of eleven vessels and seven hundred passengers — The Winthrop Fleet of 1630 — to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the New World, the greatest ever assembled to carry Englishmen overseas to a new homeland.
Winthrop had been elected governor of the colony prior to departure, in 1629, and was re-elected many times. As governor he was one of the least radical of the Puritans, trying to keep the number of executions for heresy to a minimum and working to prevent the implementation of more conservative practices such as veiling women, which many Puritans supported.
He is most famous for his "City on a Hill" sermon (as it is known popularly, its real title being A Model of Christian Charity), in which he declared that the Puritan colonists emigrating to the New World were members of a special pact with God to create a holy community. This speech is often seen as a forerunner to the concept of American exceptionalism. The speech is also well known for arguing that the wealthy had a holy duty to look after the poor. Recent history has shown, however, that the speech was not given much attention at the time of its delivery. Rather than coin these concepts, Winthrop was merely repeating what were widely held Puritan beliefs in his day.
The Town of Winthrop, Massachusetts, is named after him.
Biographical Information
He married his first wife, Mary Forth, on 16 April 1605 at Great Stambridge, Essex, England. She bore him six children and died in June 1615. He married his second wife, Thomasine Clopton, on 6 December 1615 at Groton, Suffolk, England. She died on 8 December 1616. On 29 April 1618 at Great Maplestead, Essex, England he married his third wife, Margaret Tyndal, daughter of Sir John Tyndal and his wife Anna Egerton. She gave birth to six children in England before they emigrated to New England (The Governor, three of his sons, and eight servants in 1630 on the Arbella, and his wife on the second voyage of the Lyon in 1631, leaving their small manor behind). One of their daughters died on the Lyon voyage. Two children were born to them in New England. Margaret died on 14 June 1647 in Boston, Massachusetts. Winthrop married his fourth wife, Martha Rainsborough, widow of Thomas Coytmore, sometime after 20 December 1647 and before the birth of their only child in 1648. He died of natural causes. His son, John Winthrop, the Younger and whose mother was Mary Forth, became Governor of Connecticut.