This month we discuss the undertold narrative of Catholic Christians in 16th century Chesapeake, Recusants at Jamestown, a mysterious member of the House of Burgesses and George Washington’s advocacy for religious freedom.
King Charles I inherited from his father, James I (also referred to as James VI of Scotland), a divided kingdom when it came to matters of religion. England was also the ruler of Presbyterian Scotland and the largely Catholic Ireland. Closer to home, there were many dissenting groups; Brownists, Diggers, Levellers, and Enthusiasts just to name a few.
The British colonization of North America, not unlike most other colonizations, centered around the prospect of wealth and interest in evangelization. It is no surprise then that many of the conflicts that occurred in the British colonies started out of the friction this caused between the Native Americans and the colonists.
When modern people think of church, we think of a voluntary gathering of like-minded people, who meet to worship God and endeavor to strengthen their spiritual lives. The Church of the 17th century, especially in Virginia, has to be seen in a different light. Within the Empire of Great Britain, the church was a vehicle of the state to promote its imperialistic goals.
For much of the history of Christianity, listening to the sermon given by the minister or preacher was the way to learn more about one’s place in their Christian faith and consequently how they fit in with the prevailing ideas at the time. The First Great Awakening represents a change in how people wanted to receive these ideas.
One of the oldest weather instruments, the weathervane, also known as vane, wind vane, and weathercock, is a device that turns freely on an upright rod to show the direction of the wind…
One of the great innovations in rights from the American Revolution and founding was religious liberty as a natural right. Virginians James Madison and Thomas Jefferson have justifiably received a lion’s share of the credit for religious liberty. The typical story crediting Madison and Jefferson has much evidence to support the argument…
We (especially those of us working in the Public History Field) often hear the phrase, “History is written by the victors.” This idiom rings particularly true when trying to do any in-depth research of the many Native Indigenous Tribes that dwelled here in North America, before and after colonial contact…
William Shakespeare writes in his play, The Tempest, “What’s past is prologue.” It is a sentiment that links us to our history. Even if we don’t know our history very well, the past still informs what we believe and how we act today…
One of the questions our Museum Interpreters often receive is, “Who is the most famous person buried in the cemetery?” While there are many notable burials, Henry Mason Day is perhaps one of our most Google-able cemetery residents…
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