The History of the Rise, Increase, and Progress of the Christian People Called Quakers: Intermixed with Several Remarkable Occurrencs.Sewel, William
History
The History of the Rise, Increase, and Progress of the Christian People Called Quakers: Intermixed with Several Remarkable Occurrencs.
Sewel, William
Society of Friends -- History -- Early works to 1800
Scarce a month after the arrival of the aforesaid women at Boston,
there came also Christopher Holder, Thomas Thirstone, William Brend,
John Copeland, Mary Prince, Sarah Gibbens, Mary Whitehead, and Dorothy
Waugh; they were locked up in the same manner as the former, and after
about eleven weeks stay, sent back; Robert Lock, a master of a ship,
being compelled to carry these eight persons back on his own charge,
and to land them no where but in England; having been imprisoned till
he undertook so to do.
The Governor, John Endicot, whose blood-thirstiness will appear in
the sequel, being now come home, bid them ‘Take heed ye break not our
ecclesiastical laws, for then ye are sure to stretch by a halter.’
And when they desired a copy of those laws it was denied them; which
made some of the people say, ‘How shall they know then when they
transgress?’ But Endicot remained stiff, having said before, when at
Salem he heard how Ann Austin and Mary Fisher had been dealt with at
Boston, ‘If I had been there, I would have had them well whipped.’
Then a law was made, prohibiting all masters of ships from bringing
any Quakers into that jurisdiction, and themselves from coming in,
on penalty of the house of correction. When this law was published,
Nicholas Upshal, already mentioned, could not forbear to show the
persecutors the unreasonableness of their proceedings: warning them
to take heed that they were not found fighting against God, and so
draw down a judgment upon the land. But this was taken so ill, that
though he was a member of their church, and of good repute, as a man
of unblameable conversation, yet he was fined in twenty-three pounds,
and imprisoned also for not coming to church, and next they banished
him out of their jurisdiction. This fine was exacted so severely that
Endicot said, ‘I will not bate him one groat.’ And though a weakly old
man, yet they allowed him but one month’s space for his removal, so
that he was forced to depart in the winter.
Coming at length to Rhode Island, he met an Indian prince, who having
understood how he had been dealt with, behaved himself very kindly, and
told him, if he would live with him, he would make him a warm house.
And further said, ‘What a God have the English, who deal so with one
another about their God!’ For it seems Upshal was already looked upon
as one that was departing from his church-membership. But this was but
a beginning of the New England persecution, which in time grew so hot,
that some of the Quakers were put to death on the gallows, as will be
related in its due time.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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