Puritan Irony in Early Colonies
Irony is when there is a situation that is strange because things happen in a way that seems to be the opposite of what you expected. A good example of the word ironic was when New England was settled. Two good examples of the irony during the settlement of New England were the religious and political repressions. The religious repression in New England was a great example of irony. This is so because Puritan separatist groups moved across an ocean to find religious freedom. Some went to Holland, but they quickly realized that Dutch culture was not for them. In consequence, some separatists moved to the New World. When they got to New England and landed at Plymouth Rock, they created a theocratic government. One would be inclined to believe that if you left one-or in some cases, two different countries and sailed all the way across the Atlantic Ocean to find Religious freedom, you would in turn offer it to the inhabitants of your new settlement. Unfortunately, that is not what happened. When New England began to expand and grow more popular, obviously it became more diverse. At this time, there were people moving into New England that did not fit the criteria that the puritans who described themselves as “saints” did. Since they were a theological government, if those not so pure colonists living in New England were not part of the church, they in turn were not a part of the government. These new immigrants now faced a decision. Stay and adapt to the ways of the strict puritans in some of the colonies of New England, or move to a place more tolerant of religious freedom. It is extremely ironic that the same people who moved thousands of miles away to find a place more accepting to their religion did not feel empathy towards the newcomers that were not the same religion as them, they turned them away at the door. In hand with the religious repression, the political repression was another good example of irony. During the four month ship-ride to the New World,