The `Pilgrims' (our name for them, not theirs) were not Puritans regardless of how many dimwits think they were, author text books with the same disgusting lie, or post articles in print or online repeating the same nonsense.
It's a lie and the Puritans were nothing less than horrid. Defending them or boasting of one's lineage to them is akin to the same as it regards members of Germany's 3rd Reich SS Nazis.
There is no defense for the Puritans.
The Mayflower Separatists neither robbed nor disabused the native Americans (Henceforth here referred to as "Pilgrims" and "Indians" due only to the commonality of the terms as it applies to them.) they encountered and who were kind enough to befriend the small colony. Quite the contrary in fact as the two groups found themselves in a symbiotic relationship in no time at all. The Indians being familiar with local food sources and the Pilgrims access to then modern hunting gear such as early firearms.
A decade after the arrival of the Mayflower Pilgrims the horrid Puritans began arriving setting up their own adjacent Massachusetts Bay Colony (and running roughshod over Plymouth Colony at every opportunity)
It was a scant 7 years before Thomas Hooker led a group to what became Hartford and later Connecticut so as to escape the reach of the dastardly theocracy the Puritans were creating.
From: Pilgrims, Not Puritans
| Written by Duane A. Cline, GSMD |
| Arrived 1620 | Arrived 1630 |
| Governors Carver and Bradford | Governor Winthrop |
| Plymouth Colony | Massachusetts Bay Colony |
Friendly with Indians for 40 years | Indian problems from the outset |
| Paid Indians for land | Seized Indian lands |
Communal living first seven years | Individual profit from the outset |
| Democratic, consensus of the governed | Authoritarian |
| Separated from the Church of England | "Purified" the Church from within |
Not a single prosecution of witchcraft | Prosecuted and executed for witchcraft |
| Representation and equal inheritance | Nothing to compare |
| Forerunner of US Constitution & Declaration of Independence | Nothing to compare |
| More tolerant than the Church of England | Intolerant |
Wow! I didn't know a lot of that, but I do now.
ReplyDeleteThere is a small chain of clothing stores around Cape Cod:
http://www.puritancapecod.com/
And their main store is in downtown Hyannis. I must go there soon and ask them if they ever get any shit for choosing that name for their business...
>>There is a small chain of clothing stores ....
ReplyDeleteLeave `em alone, they're nice folks.
My grandmother, who lived in Hyannis in a house built by her family in the 1770's, knew the founder and spoke well of him.
While other retailers have cut countless corners often cheapening their good name; the folks at Puritan Clothing continue to retail quality goods at competitive prices while offering service most of us haven't seen in close to 40 years if ever.
BTW - Their Washington's Birthday sale is worth the drive. For several years I lived within walking distance of the downtown Hyannis store. Then beginning in 1967 thanks to Mass. Welfare Act 707, Democrats invaded the Cape (formerly Barnstable County was the last Republican County in Mass.) and Hyannis went to seed.
Besides, there's always something interesting going on in Barnstable Village, at John Lothrop's house (my G-15 grandfather) now known as Sturgis Library
The director, Lucy Loomis, also a Lothrop descendant (she also can claim CT's Israel Putnam, a rarity) has some informative interesting event going every weekend year around.
You wrote:
ReplyDelete"Leave `em alone, they're nice folks."
Well, I wasn't planning on harassing them. I am just honestly curious. I could ask nicely as I'm checking out some stuff. As a matter of fact, I'm wearing a pair of their slacks right now, which I bought from their South Dennis store, which is no longer, I'm afraid. That place was nice too, and it was sad to see it close. It's an Olympia Sports now, yawn.
My family is from Franklin, and my folks only moved here when dad retired. But my aunt and uncle were long-time Yarmouthport residents. Uncle Al was the Master Carpenter at Hyannis Marine. They are both buried a few yards from my dad.
I will check out the Sturgis, I like that sort of thing, thanks!
Interesting comment about the "fall" of Hyannis. I tend to not want to get into rivalries, be it professional sports or politics, it just slows me down. I am whatever I want to be, and refuse to be defined. I want to live free, and I'm sure you do too. We are not rivals, ACR.