catholic conversion colonial new england

Cecilius got the charter and Charles I named the colony after…? Any guesses? His wife, Henrietta Maria. His son – Cecilius Calvert – became the 2nd Lord Baltimore and pressed forward the idea of colonization. But in 1625, amongst other political pressures, he resigned his governmental positions and publically declared his belief in Catholicism.ĭesiring to help his fellow church-goers who weren’t well-liked by their Protestant and Puritan neighbors, George asked the king to grant him a charter to start a new colony in America.īut George died before the king decided. George Calvert, the 1st Lord Baltimore, had spent his lifetime involved in English politics and advising the crown. She was never actually crowned queen because she refused to renounce her Catholic religion, but she was England’s queen…and she was sympathetic to Catholics in her new kingdom.

In 1625, Henrietta Maria married Charles I of England. Her name was Henrietta Maria and she was a French Catholic princess. However, in the early 1600’s, England got another Catholic queen. Thus, the Catholic religion became unpopular in England once again. Mary died and Elizabeth (Mary’s half-sister) took the throne and re-established Protestantism and the Church of England. After Henry VIII’s death, Mary became queen and she tried to stamp out Protestantism and reinstate Catholicism in England. And the story of the six wives just gets worse from there… So Henry divorced Catherine since that was okay according to his church, though not Biblically right. The pope refused to grant Henry a divorce, so he declared that there would be no Catholic power in England, instead the Church of England would be established and Henry would be in charge of it. Poor Catherine had a daughter and Henry wanted a son…and consequentially wanted a younger bride. Henry’s first wife was Catherine of Aragon (daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain – yes, the same ones from Columbus’s story) and she was Catholic. One of the most far reaching decisions was Henry’s break with the Catholic Church. Bad dude, but he did accomplish some pretty important things in English history. Remember Henry VIII? The English king who kept marrying and divorcing (or beheading) his six wives.

Catholic conversion colonial new england