Colonial Massachusetts Laws and Liberties and the English Commonwealth

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Colonial Massachusetts Laws and Liberties and the English Commonwealth is written by Charles Edward Smith and published by BRILL. It's available with International Standard Book Number or ISBN identification 9004706348 (ISBN 10) and 9789004706347 (ISBN 13).

On July 4, 1653, the Nominate or Barebones Parliament convened with a minority of committed radicals (Levellers and religious extremists) and a conservative majority of Cromwell’s allies. During acrimonious debates on law reform, the radicals demanded a condensed law book similar to the one adopted in Colonial Massachusetts. These mostly overlooked events reveal a radical wing of Puritanism determined to found a self-governing state, fully cognizant of the real possibility that England would interdict such attempts by force of arms. This work investigates the motives for such a hazardous undertaking, and the possible influences these events had on the colony’s posterity.