Winthrop Fleet

Arrival of the Winthrop Colony, by William F. Halsall

The Winthrop Fleet was a group of 11 ships led by John Winthrop that carried about 1000 Puritans plus livestock and provisions from England to New England over the summer of 1630, during the period of the so-called Great Migration.

Motivation

The Puritan population in England had been growing for several years leading up to this time. The Puritans disagreed with the practices of the Church of England, whose rituals they viewed as superstitions. An associated political movement attempted over many years to modify religious practice in England to conform to their views. King James I wished to suppress this growing rebellious movement. Nevertheless, the Puritans eventually gained a majority in Parliament. James' son Charles came into direct conflict with Parliament, and viewed them as a threat to his authority. He temporarily dissolved parliament in 1626, and again the next year, before dissolving parliament permanently in March 1629.[1] The King's imposition of Personal Rule gave many Puritans a sense of hopelessness regarding their future in that country, and many prepared to leave it permanently for life in New England.

Motivated by these political events, a wealthy group of leaders obtained a Royal Charter in March 1629 for a colony at Massachusetts Bay.[2]

A fleet of five ships had departed a month previously for New England that included approximately 300 colonists, led by Francis Higginson.[3] However, the colony leaders and the bulk of the colonists remained in England for the time being, to plan more thoroughly for the success of the new colony. Later that year, the group who remained in England elected John Winthrop to be Governor of the Fleet and the Colony. Over the ensuing winter, the leaders recruited a large group of Puritan families, representing all manner of skilled labor, to ensure a robust colony.

Voyage

The initial group (Arbella and her three escorts)[4] departed Yarmouth, Isle of Wight on April 8,[5] the remainder following in two or three weeks.

Seven hundred men, women, and children were distributed among the ships of the fleet.[6] The voyage itself was rather uneventful, the direction and speed of the wind being the main topic in Winthrop's journal, as it affected how much progress was made each day. There were a few days of severe weather, and every day was cold. The children were cold and bored, and there is a description of a game played with a rope that helped with both problems. Many were sick during the voyage.

The Winthrop Fleet was a well-planned and financed expedition that formed the nucleus of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. However they were not the first settlers of the area. There was an existing settlement at Salem, started in about 1626, populated by a few hundred Puritans, most of whom had arrived in 1629, and who were governed by John Endicott. Winthrop superseded Endicott as Governor of the Colony upon his arrival in 1630.[notes 1]

The flow of Puritans to New England continued for another ten years, during a period known as the Great Migration.

Ships

Winthrop's journal lists the eleven ships that were in his fleet:

Six other ships arrived at Massachusetts Bay in 1630, for a total of seventeen ships that year.[8]

Notable passengers

Nine leading men both applied for the charter for the Massachusetts Bay Colony and came to New England in Winthrop's Fleet.[9]

Other passengers of historical significance include (in alphabetical order):

A complete list of passengers is maintained by The Winthrop Society,[11] a hereditary organization of descendants of the Winthrop Fleet and later Great Migration ships that arrived before 1634.

Notes

  1. ↑ While the Plymouth Colony preceded both Winthrop and Endicott, they maintained their own system of government and did not fall under the charter of the Massachusetts Bay Colony at this point in time.

References

  1. ↑ Lane, C. Arthur (1898). Illustrated Notes on English Church History. 2. New York: E. & J. B. Young & Co. p. 384. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  2. ↑ Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society. 7. Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society. 1891. p. 231. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  3. ↑ Higginson, Thomas (1891). Life of Francis Higginson, First Minister in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. New York: Dodd, Mead, & Co. p. 69. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  4. ↑ Banks, Charles Edward (1999) [1961]. The Winthrop Fleet of 1630. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. ISBN 0-8063-0020-5. reprint of original 1930 edition.
  5. ↑ Winthrop, John (1853). The History of New England from 1630 to 1649. New York: Little, Brown and co. Retrieved 2008-12-11. Second publication of the original text of John Winthrop's journal.
  6. ↑ Winthrop, John (1853). The History of New England from 1630 to 1649. New York: Little, Brown and co. p. 442.. In a letter to his wife, Winthrop himself put the number of passengers at 700 persons, 240 cows, and 60 horses.
  7. ↑ Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, (Article: "Life and Letters of Governor Winthrop"), Vol CII, No DCXXI, August 1867 (Edinburgh: William Blackwood & Sons), p 181
  8. ↑ Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society. 9. Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society. 1804. p. 205. Retrieved 2008-12-19.
  9. ↑ Society, New England Historic Genealogical (1921). "Leaders in the Winthrop Fleet, 1630". The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. 25: 236. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
  10. ↑ Selected Biographies of Early Settlers in Northern New England. Portsmouth NH: Peter E. Randall. 2000. Retrieved 20 Aug 2015.
  11. ↑ Winthrop Society
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