Iroquois dance competition
The tribe that saved us account of
the events of this glorious day!
1st Hippie Commune led by Thomas Morton -- What happened to Thomas Morton? The Pilgrims cut down the maypole in 1627, arrested Morton, and exiled him to the Isle of Shoals, whence he escaped to England. He returned within two years and was soon taken into custody again (1630) and his property confiscated.
Why did he get this treatment? In the year 1626, Thomas Morton led a group of rebellious bondservants in forming Merry Mount, a drunk and horny rival settlement to the Plymouth Plantation. Unlike its Puritan neighbors to the south, Morton’s community encouraged revelry and gamesmanship, and had strong ties to the local Wampanoag people.
Morton even encouraged his men to marry into the local tribe, claiming Wampanoag women were preferable to the Scottish or the Irish—as Beckman notes, “a bit of bigoted English misogyny that sent a strangely tolerant message.” The non-religious behavior was not permitted long, however, and a militia from Plymouth forced Morton and the merry men of Merry Mount back to England.
Morton even encouraged his men to marry into the local tribe, claiming Wampanoag women were preferable to the Scottish or the Irish—as Beckman notes, “a bit of bigoted English misogyny that sent a strangely tolerant message.” The non-religious behavior was not permitted long, however, and a militia from Plymouth forced Morton and the merry men of Merry Mount back to England.
