The Journey to the Mayflower: God's Outlaws and the Invention of Freedom
An authoritative and immersive history of the far-reaching events in England that led to the sailing of the Mayflower.

2020 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.

This is a must-read book for anyone interested in the untold story of how the Mayflower came to be launched.
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The Journey to the Mayflower: God's Outlaws and the Invention of Freedom
An authoritative and immersive history of the far-reaching events in England that led to the sailing of the Mayflower.

2020 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.

This is a must-read book for anyone interested in the untold story of how the Mayflower came to be launched.
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The Journey to the Mayflower: God's Outlaws and the Invention of Freedom

The Journey to the Mayflower: God's Outlaws and the Invention of Freedom

by Stephen Tomkins
The Journey to the Mayflower: God's Outlaws and the Invention of Freedom

The Journey to the Mayflower: God's Outlaws and the Invention of Freedom

by Stephen Tomkins

Hardcover

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Overview

An authoritative and immersive history of the far-reaching events in England that led to the sailing of the Mayflower.

2020 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.

This is a must-read book for anyone interested in the untold story of how the Mayflower came to be launched.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781643133676
Publisher: Pegasus Books
Publication date: 01/07/2020
Pages: 304
Sales rank: 668,003
Product dimensions: 6.40(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Stephen Tomkins is the author of eight books on Christian history, including biographies of William Wilberforce and John Wesley. He is the editor of Reform magazine and was previously deputy editor of Third Way. He has a PhD in church history from the London School of Theology.

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

Part 1 The bloody beast's gear

1 Burning sermons 3

2 Going underground 12

3 A new hope 18

4 A phoney wedding 34

5 'Unspotted lambs of the Lord' 47

6 Rebellion and discipline 55

7 The charge 71

8 Relighting the fire 83

Part 2 The willing sort

9 Robert Browne 93

10 Middelburg 106

11 Executions and surrender 121

12 Reviving the London underground church 134

13 The Armada 148

14 The mystery of Martin Marprelate 160

15 Round-up 172

16 Debate in prison 178

17 A Brief Discoverie 188

18 The new Messiah 196

19 On trial 205

20 The scaffold 215

Part 3 New Jordans

21 Amsterdam 221

22 Newfoundland 231

23 A new hope 246

24 A rough crossing 253

25 'The quicksands of Anabaptistry' 271

26 Against Calvin 279

27 'Tell the church' 287

28 Home to die 300

29 The Promised Land 313

30 'Twixt cup and Up 321

Epilogue: The long run 333

Notes 339

Index 358

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