Portsmouth Compact
Encyclopedia
The Portsmouth Compact was a document signed on March 7, 1638 that established the settlement of Portsmouth
, which is now a town in the state of Rhode Island
. It was the first document in history that severed both political and religious ties with mother England.
by a group of men who followed Anne Hutchinson
, a banished Christian dissident from Massachusetts, to seek religious freedom in Rhode Island. The signers were ready to move to Aquidneck Island
to set up a new colony and had been disarmed by the Puritan
leaders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
.
The purpose of the Portsmouth Compact was to set up a new, independent colony that was Christian in character but non-sectarian in governance. It has been called "the first instrument for governing as a true democracy." [1]
In the margin are the following Bible citations:
It was signed by 23 men:
The last four names, for unknown reasons, show erasure marks and/or strikethroughs. Of those four—Thomas Clarke, John Johnson, William Hall and John Brightman—the first three are known to have been among the first settlers of Newport, Rhode Island, arriving in 1638, and the same may be true of John Brightman.
Portsmouth, Rhode Island
Portsmouth is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 17,389 at the 2010 U.S. Census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water. Most of its land area lies on Aquidneck...
, which is now a town in the state of Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
. It was the first document in history that severed both political and religious ties with mother England.
History
The document was written and signed in BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
by a group of men who followed Anne Hutchinson
Anne Hutchinson
Anne Hutchinson was one of the most prominent women in colonial America, noted for her strong religious convictions, and for her stand against the staunch religious orthodoxy of 17th century Massachusetts...
, a banished Christian dissident from Massachusetts, to seek religious freedom in Rhode Island. The signers were ready to move to Aquidneck Island
Aquidneck Island
Aquidneck Island, located in the state of Rhode Island, is the largest island in Narragansett Bay. The island's official name is Rhode Island, and the common use of name "Aquidneck Island" helps distinguish the island from the state. The total land area is 97.9 km²...
to set up a new colony and had been disarmed by the Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
leaders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
.
The purpose of the Portsmouth Compact was to set up a new, independent colony that was Christian in character but non-sectarian in governance. It has been called "the first instrument for governing as a true democracy." [1]
Text
The text [2] of the Portsmouth Compact:- The 7th Day of the First Month, 1638.
- We whose names are underwritten do hereby solemnly in the presence of Jehovah incorporate ourselves into a Bodie Politick and as He shall help, will submit our persons, lives and estates unto our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, and to all those perfect and most absolute laws of His given in His Holy Word of truth, to be guided and judged thereby.
In the margin are the following Bible citations:
- William CoddingtonWilliam CoddingtonWilliam Coddington was an early magistrate of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and later of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, serving as the Judge of Portsmouth, Judge of Newport, Governor of Portsmouth and Newport, Deputy Governor of the entire colony, and then Governor of the...
- John ClarkeJohn Clarke (1609-1676)John Clarke was a medical doctor, Baptist minister, co-founder of the colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, author of its influential charter, and a leading advocate of religious freedom in the Americas....
- William Hutchinson (husband of Anne HutchinsonAnne HutchinsonAnne Hutchinson was one of the most prominent women in colonial America, noted for her strong religious convictions, and for her stand against the staunch religious orthodoxy of 17th century Massachusetts...
) - John CoggeshallJohn CoggeshallJohn Coggeshall was one of the founders of Rhode Island and the first President of all four towns in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Coming from Essex, England as a successful merchant in the silk trade, Coggeshall arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1632 and quickly...
- William Aspinwall
- Samuel WilboreSamuel WilboreSamuel Wilbore was one of the founding settlers of Portsmouth in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Coming from Essex, England with his wife and three sons, he first settled in Boston in 1633...
- John PorterJohn Porter (settler)John Porter was an early colonist in New England and a signer of the Portsmouth Compact, establishing the first government in what became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations...
- John SanfordJohn Sanford (governor)John Sanford , was an early settler of Boston, Massachusetts, an original settler of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, and a governor of the combined towns of Portsmouth and Newport, in the Rhode Island colony, dying in office after serving for less than a full term...
- Edward Hutchinson, Jr.Edward Hutchinson (captain)Edward Hutchinson was the oldest son of the founder of the Massachusetts Bay Colony William Hutchinson and the dissident minister Anne Hutchinson...
- Thomas SavageThomas Savage (major)Thomas Savage was an English soldier and New England colonist and merchant, attaining the rank of major in King Philip's War.-Life:...
- William DyreWilliam Dyer (settler)William Dyer was an early settler of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and a founding settler of both Portsmouth and Newport. He is best known for being the husband of the Quaker martyr, Mary Dyer, who was executed for her beliefs in Boston...
(husband of Mary DyerMary DyerMary Baker Dyer was an English Puritan turned Quaker who was hanged in Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony , for repeatedly defying a Puritan law banning Quakers from the colony...
) - William FreebornWilliam Freeborn (settler)William Freeborn was one of the founding settlers of Portsmouth on Aquidneck Island , having signed the Portsmouth Compact with 22 other men while still living in Boston. Coming from Maldon in Essex, England, he sailed to New England in 1634 with his wife and two young daughters, settling in...
- Phillip ShearmanPhilip ShermanPhilip Sherman was a prominent leader and one of the founding settlers of Portsmouth in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Coming from Dedham, Essex in southeastern England, he and several of his siblings and cousins settled in New England...
- John Walker
- Richard Carder
- William Baulston
- Edward Hutchinson, Sr.
- Henry BullHenry Bull (Governor)Henry Bull was an early colonial Governor of Rhode Island, serving for two separate terms, one before and one after the tenure of Edmund Andros under the Dominion of New England...
X his marke - Randall HoldenRandall HoldenRandall Holden was an early inhabitant of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, was one of the original founders of Portsmouth, and one of the co-founders of the town of Warwick...
- Thomas Clarke (brother of John)
- John Johnson
- William Hall
- John Brightman
The last four names, for unknown reasons, show erasure marks and/or strikethroughs. Of those four—Thomas Clarke, John Johnson, William Hall and John Brightman—the first three are known to have been among the first settlers of Newport, Rhode Island, arriving in 1638, and the same may be true of John Brightman.
Sources
- [1] The Portsmouth Compact at Roots Web
- [2] Image of the Original Portsmouth Compact
- [3] Company of Loyalty
