The English Missions in the Mid-Atlantic region
Catholics began to emigrate from England to the New World in the 1570s. They settled in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York. Here is their history.
CONTENTS
1. Beginnings
In the 1570s, Catholics began to emigrate to North America. They left England due to the Oath of Supremacy.
The Oath of Supremacy began in 1534. It required any person taking public or church office in England or Ireland to swear allegiance to the king of England as Supreme Governor of the Church. Failure to do so was considered treason.
Sir Humphrey Gilbert (1539–1583) was an adventurer, explorer, member of parliament and soldier. He had the idea of a colony in Newfoundland. Two ships were launched in 1583. One ship sunk along the way. The other ship returned to England. Despite this defeat, the notion of colonies for England did not vanish.
In 1585, the Roanoke Colony was established. But in 1590, the colony was abandoned. Nearly 20 years later, the colony was re-settled at Jamestown, not far north of the original site.
2. The Virginia Colony
At the beginning of the 17th century, the Virginia Colony was established. It was the first enduring English colony in North America.
Immediately there was a problem. It concerned Catholics. The colonists conspired to exclude them. With Catholics excluded from the Virginia Colony, where would they settle?
3. The Colony of Avalon
Catholics could not be a part of a Royal Colony. But perhaps they could be a part of a private colony. George Calvert arranged such a thing for them.
Calvert was an Oxford graduate. He was knighted in 1617 and made a member of the king’s Privy Counsel in 1619.
In 1622, he applied for, and received, a charter for a private colony. He had the freedom to set up the colony in a way favorable to Catholics.
It was called the Colony of Avalon. It was situated in what is now Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada.
In 1619 he was made the Lord of Baltimore. Thus his full title was Sir George Calvert, the First Lord Baltimore.
In 1625, influenced by his wife, Calvert converted to the Catholic faith. It was she who had influenced his vision for the private colony.
Calvert visited Avalon. He and saw that the people were not doing well. That was in part due to the unfavorable climate of the area.
4. The Colony of Maryland
Calvert went to the Virginia Colony to acquire some land for a second colony. However, they had heard of his conversion and were not interested. Plus they did not want hordes of Catholics to immigrate to their Virginia.
In 1632 Calvert received a charter for a new colony. It was to be in the Upper Chesapeake area. It would later be known as Maryland. However, he soon passed away.
The charter passed to his son Cecil Calvert, who had married a wealthy Catholic.
In 1633 two small ships departed England for the new colony. Cecil had intended to accompany the colonists. But due to opposition in England, he felt it best to stay behind and argue on their behalf.
On the ships were about 300 people. Most were Catholic. Cecil’s younger brother Leonard went with the ships. There were three Jesuit missionaries in the ships: two priests and a lay brother. Their names were Aruniel, Altham, and Gervase.
Regarding religion, Cecil wrote instructions that, in order to preserve peace and unity, Catholics should practice their religion privately and not speak out publicly.
The founding of this second colony was not out of high-minded ideals. Rather, it was very pragmatic. Given the opposition to Catholics, they needed to be quiet and not stir the pot.
The Jesuits did not receive funding from the colony. Instead, they received a Land Grant called Ingodes. In the first few decades there were no more than six Jesuits.
On March 25, 1634, the colonists arrived on St. Clement’s Island. They erected a cross.
At first everyone was simply trying to get set up in this new land.
5. Troubles
William Lewis Disturbs the Peace – Part 1
Cecil Calvert’s instructions were that Catholics should practice their religion privately and not speak out publicly. They followed his instructions for several year.
In 1638 William Lewis tried to make some Protestants stop reading some prayers. Those Protestants wrote to the Virginia Colony, pleading for help.
Calvert found out about this. He ordered William Lewis to be put on trial. Lewis was found guilty of disturbing the peace. He was fined.
Calvert was to be commended for how he handled the case. But one of the Jesuits said the Catholics had a right to pray according to their conscience.
In any case, this was the first test case of Cecil Calvert’s instructions regarding the practice of religion.
Thomas Gerard
In 1642 there was a similar case with Thomas Gerard. He took the keys of the church so the Protestants couldn’t get in.
He was tried, convicted and fined.
Freedom of Religion
In 1639 some discussion began regarding the freedom of religion.
Freedom of Religion was passed as an ordinance to “all freemen.” In theory, this could have been granted to non-Christians such as Jews or Muslims. However, in practice, it was only meant for Protestants and Catholics.
The weakness of the ordinances was that for it to exist, it had to be renewed every year. It wasn’t always renewed.
The English Civil War
This little bit of religious paradise for Catholics didn’t last.
From 1644-49 was the English Civil War. Cecil Calvert’s concern was whether the religious charter would be recognized.
Then Ingle came over from England. He intended to overthrow the proprietory governance of the Maryland Colony.
Maryland was trying to maintain neutrality with regard to the events in England, and did not arrest Ingle. Thus Ingle was able to capture St. Mary colony in 1645.
Ingle made Catholics take an oath against Calvert.
The Jesuits were forced to flee Maryland, although two were captured and tried in England for High treason.
In their defense, however, the two Jesuits said the English law regarding High Treason did not apply to them. That was because they were forced to go to England.
White eventualy died and became known as the Apostle of Maryland. Copley later returned to Maryland.
In 1648, Leonard Calvert raised a small army and re-took the city. By this he re-established proprietary rule in Maryland.
Parliament
At this point, the Indentured Servants had finished their seven-year term and were free. Plus there were Puritans coming to Maryland.
In 1649 the Maryland Assembly passed the Maryland Toleration Act. It mandated religious tolerance for Trinitarian Christians only. It excluded Nontrinitarian faiths.
The Acts included civil laws such as the following:
- You can’t blaspheme Jesus Christ.
- You can’t blaspheme Mary.
- You can’t blaspheme the Apostles.
- You can’t put people down because of their religion.
Any Christian gets free practice of religion.
But in 1651, Parliament declared Virginia and Maryland to be “Rebellious Colonies.” That was because they were seen as supporting the Royalists.
With that, Calvert lost control of Maryland.
Armed Attack
In 1655, Stone stormed Annapolis and tried to gain control. Once again, the Jesuits were driven from the Colony.
It wasn’t until 1660 that Calvert was restored to proprietorship.
William Lewis Disturbs the Peace – Part 2
n 1670, Lord Baltimore II got permission for a few more religious to work in the Colony. A few Franciscans came over.
In 1613, Cecil Calvert died and William Lewis became the proprietor.
Willam made some changes:
- He decreased the size of the east Colony Assembly
- He made it more stringent for people to vote.
Meanwhile, some of the Protestants noticed the growing number of Quakers and Catholics. They feared they would be overrun.
Although William Lewis made these poor decisions, there was no mave to over throw his leadership.
The king of England
In the 1680s, William Lewis went to England to resolve a boundary dispute. Once there, he was accused of Favoring Catholics.
He remained in England for some time, even in 1688 when king William III and queen Mary II ruled England.
William Lewis sent two messengers to the Colony to tell them what was happening.
In 1689, the Protestants formed an association for the defense of the Protestant religion.
In Jul 1689, John Coode seized the capital of Maryland. He petitioned the king to take over.
In 1691, king William III took over the colony, renaming it a Royal Colony. He appointed William
Copley as its fist Royal Governor. This was a clear disenfranchisement of Catholics.
In 1691, Catholics were required to take an Oath.
In 1699 they were required to take an Oath of Supremacy. Among other things, it denied transubstantiation.
In 1704 the Maryland Assembly passed an act to prevent the growth of popery. It prevented evangelization by Catholics and conversion to the Catholic faith.
In 1718, Catholics lost the right to vote. This was because in certain counties, their population posed an electoral threat to the protestant government. By mid-18th century, Catholics were only 10% of the population.
Religious toleration had lasted less than a century. It was progressive, it was unique; nobody else was doing it. But it couldn’t be sustained. That was due to political leaders.
The only option for Catholics was armed rebellion.
6. Our Observations
Observation 1. Catholics resist sharing their faith
Catholics emigrated to the New World because they were fleeing political persecution in England.
However, in the New World, Catholics were not free from political persecution. They could not be a part of a Royal Colony. And the Virginia Colony excluded them.
Thus from the beginning, for their survival, Catholics had to practice their religion privately and not speak out publicly. They needed to be quiet and not stir the pot.
That silence became a significant aspect of Catholic culture. Since their arrival in the New World, Catholics were trained to not speak of their faith.
Even today, many centuries later, many Catholics in the U.S. are deeply resistant to the ministry of Evangelism. Many Catholics find the notion of sharing their faith with other people to be abhorrent.
Observation 2. Catholics become Agents of Intolerance
For all of their early history, Catholics were the targets of intolerance. They were begging other people to tolerate them.
But as the decades went by, they became intolerant of other religions.
Here are some instances of Catholic intolerance:
In 1638 a Catholic named William Lewis tried to make some Protestants stop reading some prayers.
In 1639 an ordinance was passed granting Freedom of Religion. However, it was only for the benefit of Protestants and Catholics. It was withheld from non-Christians such as Jews or Muslims. Thus for the first time, Catholics wrote legislation that was intolerant of the people of other religions.
In 1642 another Catholic, this one named Thomas Gerard, took the keys of a church so the Protestants couldn’t get in to pray.
In 1649 the Maryland Assembly passed the Maryland Toleration Act. It mandated religious tolerance, but only for Trinitarian Christians. It excluded Nontrinitarian faiths. Thus for the second time, Catholics wrote legislation that was intolerant of the people of other religions.
HISTORY – U.S. CATHOLIC
MAJOR ERAS:
- The Spanish Missions in New Mexico: 1540 to 1616
- The Spanish Missions in Florida: 1549 to 1763
- The English Missions in the Mid-Atlantic region: beginning in the 1570s
- Catholics and the American Revolutionary War: 1775–1783
- Archbishop John Carroll: 1774-1815
- Archbishop Leonard Neale: 1815-1817
- Archbishop Ambrose Maréchal: 1817 -1828
- Archbishop James Whitfield: 1828 to 1834
- Archbishop Samuel Eccleston: 1834-1851
- Archbishop Francis Kenrick: 1851–1863
SEE ALSO: References, Church History
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