Chapter 12, New England or Old Summary and Analysis

By 1640, Winthrop has served the Massachusetts government for ten years and would like to retire. He has little time to manage his own affairs. He has to hire a man, James Luxford, to manage his estate but Luxford does an awful job and nearly ruins him financially.

At this time in England, King Charles I is trying to impose more of the Anglican religion on the Scots, who finally begins to revolt. Eight years later, Charles will be beheaded. However, this changes matters in Massachusetts as well. Fewer immigrants start coming over and the great migration is ending. Prosperity is slowing down as well and prices begin to fall.

This raises not only a financial problem but a question of whether the colony ought to continue. If Charles I is to be thrown...