• merc@sh.itjust.works
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    5 months ago

    Yes… but no.

    It wasn’t just freedom to express their religion, it was also the freedom to form governments where they could be in power, and thus impose their religious beliefs on others.

    The British colonies were basically religious fundamentalist zones. For example: Maryland – land of Mary. Was intended to be a Catholic colony. Massachusetts was meant as a Puritan colony, and they strictly enforced that. A woman named Mary Dyer was hanged in Boston for the crime of being a Quaker.

    • peg@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      According to Wikipedia: It is named after Henrietta Maria, the French-born queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland during the 17th century.

      • merc@sh.itjust.works
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        5 months ago

        Interestingly though, Henrietta Maria was named after her parents (Henry IV and Marie de Médicis / Maria de’ Medici), and it’s likely her mother’s name came from their Catholic faith.

        So Maryland was named after Henrietta Maria who was named after Marie de Médicis who was named after the biblical Mary. (Unless she was named after another Mary)

      • merc@sh.itjust.works
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        5 months ago

        Fair enough, but Mary is a pretty Catholic name. Even when someone’s named after a relative (in this case her mom was a Mary), the chain generally goes back to the main Mary (who was actually Miryam).