'A place with some interesting religious history'
By Jessie Moniz
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Dr. Heather Kopelson who will be giving a lecture on Quakers in Bermuda during the 17th century.
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An American historian is to shed light on an often overlooked aspect of Bermuda's religious history, Quakers.
Heather Kopelson, a professor at the University of Alabama, will speak on July 23 as part of the Bermuda Archives' 'History Speaks' summer lecture series.
This lecture will be called 'Quakers and Witchcraft: Bermuda's 17th Century Dissidents'.
The Royal Gazette recently spoke with Dr. Kopelson to learn more about Quakers in Bermuda in the 17th century.
She said the Quaker movement originated in England in the 1650s and 1660s.
"Quakers believed that Christ lived in each person," said Dr. Kopelson. "Each person had an inner light.
"They believed that some of the revelations of the Gospel were continually unfolding in people. They thought that people had to peel away the sinful parts of their nature to find the true light within.
"This was opposed to other types of Christianity that emphasised more that salvation has to come only from Christ. Quakers believed it came from Christ but that it already existed in each person if it could only be awakened."
Quakers had influence in Bermuda for a brief time in the 17th century.
"Part of the reason a lot of people don't know about the Quakers in Bermuda, is that there are no organisational records left over from that time period," said Dr. Kopelson.
Quaker activities were only recorded when they misbehaved.
"Almost all of the references to them are in the Somers Island records when they were disciplined for not behaving appropriately," she said.
The Bermuda Quakers were mainly punished for refusing to participate in militia training.
"They also argued with the ministers," said Dr. Kopelson. "But the big thing was the militia training."
In later years, the Quakers were known to be good record keepers, but for this particular period, they were just getting started as a separate religion. Therefore no membership lists were kept from this time period.
At that time Bermuda's population was between 5,000 and 8,000 people.
"In terms of numbers, the impact of them not participating in militia training would not have been very great," she said. "To the government, it was a matter of principle."
One thing that made the local government officials uncomfortable was that the wives of a few prominent men had Quaker sympathies.
"There was a concern around governing officials that it would spread disorder amongst the colony," said Dr. Kopelson.
As a result, things sometimes became hot for the Quakers in Bermuda.
"In Bermuda, there were several incidences of sword brandishing and threats to harm them while they were being held in jail," said Dr. Kopelson. "In terms of throughout the early existence there were a lot of attacks on them.
"Standing firm in the face of these attacks became an important part of their faith."
Dr. Kopelson's interest in the Quakers started in New England when she was doing a fellowship for the University of Iowa. "My husband had a fellowship at the University of Vermont, so we moved there," said Dr. Kopelson.
"My fellowship did not require me to live in Iowa, so we both moved. I used Vermont as a base to do research in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, England, and my first trip to Bermuda.
"I became fascinated by the fluid nature of religion in the 17th century. I started out looking at religion in New England, and I wanted to compare it to other colonies.
"So my advisor pointed me to Bermuda as a place that had some interesting religious history."
She came to Bermuda for the first time in the middle of a Vermont winter when the temperature was about seven degrees Fahrenheit.
"I came in February, and it was much milder than the Vermont weather," she laughed. "It was in the 50s here."
She didn't find any physical signs left of a Quaker presence in Bermuda, such as buildings or monuments.
"Their religion didn't depend on architecture," she said. "They would have been meeting in people's homes.
"In terms of the time period, they were just more concerned with their survival as a religion."
But she said they were an important part of Bermuda in terms of trade and commerce.
"In the 17th century some Quakers travelled around quite a bit and tried to convert people," she said. "When the Quaker movement grew it was usually with people who had already been living in an area.
"We can trace a few people who started off in England at the beginning of the Quaker movement and then were travelling around various British colonies – New England, Jamaica and Barbados."
In the 19th century the Quakers in the United States became known for their opposition to slavery, and their assistance on the Underground Railroad which worked to send slaves to freedom. But, Dr. Kopelson, said in the 17th century many Quakers owned slaves and participated in the slave trade in Bermuda. "It wasn't until the 18th century that anti-slavery became an important part of their stance," she said.
She hoped to make her talk for the Bermuda Archives both educational and entertaining.
"I am going to try to put it in the broader context," she said. "I will be looking not only at Bermuda's early religious history but the process of doing history. I will be looking at how I came upon these records in Bermuda, and why anyone should care in the 20th century."
Dr. Kopelson is currently working on turning her dissertation on the Quakers into a book.
"The research I did at the Bermuda Archives will be an important part of the beginning stages of that," she said. "It is looking at the nature of community in New England and Bermuda."
Bermudian Laura Andrews, a recent graduate of Cambridge University, will join Dr. Kopelson for the lecture.
Miss Andrews will speak on the witchcraft trials in Bermuda. Their lecture, 'Quakers and Witchcraft: Bermuda's 17th Century Dissidents', takes place at the Wesley Methodist Church Dyer Hall on Church Street at 7.30 p.m. on July 23. Miss Andrews will be featured in Lifestyle later this week. The lecture is free.
