The journey to the Mayflower : God's outlaws and the invention of freedom / Stephen Tomkins.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Tomkins, Stephen, 1968- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Puritans--History.

Puritans.

Puritans--England--History.

Puritans--United States--History.

History.

Great Britain--History--Puritan Revolution, 1642-1660.

Great Britain.

Puritans--New England--History--17th century.

New England.

England.

United States.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xi, 372 pages ; 24 cm

Edition:

First Pegasus Books hardcover edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Pegasus Books, 2020.

Summary:

Brings readers the 400th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower--the ship that took the Pilgrim Fathers to the New World. It is a foundational event in American history, but it began as an English story, which pioneered the idea of religious freedom. The illegal underground movement of Protestant separatists from Elizabeth I's Church of England is a story of subterfuge and danger, arrests and interrogations, prison and executions. It starts with Queen Mary's attempts to burn Protestantism out of England, which created a Protestant underground. Later, when Elizabeth's Protestant reformation didn't go far enough, radicals recreated that underground, meeting illegally throughout England, facing prison and death for their crimes. They went into exile in the Netherlands, where they lived in poverty--and finally to the New World. Historian Stephen Tomkins tells this fascinating story--one that is rarely told as an important piece of English, as well as American, history--that is full of contemporary relevance: religious violence, the threat to national security, freedom of religion, and tolerance of dangerous opinions.

Contents:

I. THE BLOODY BEAST'S GEAR. Burning sermons

Going underground

A new hope

A phoney wedding

"Unspotted lambs of the Lord"

Rebellion and discipline

The charge

Relighting the fire

II. THE WILLING SORT. Robert Browne

Middleburg

Executions and surrender

Reviving the London underground church

The Armada

The mystery of Martin Marprelate

Round-up

Debate in prison

"A Brief Discoverie"

The new Messiah

On trial

The scaffold

III. NEW JORDANS. Amsterdam

Newfoundland

A rough crossing

"The quicksands of Anabaptistry"

Against Calvin

"Tell the church"

Home to die

The Promised Land

'Twixt cup and lip.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 339-357) and index.

ISBN:

9781643133676

1643133675

OCLC:

1104467637

Publisher Number:

99983452650