In 1637, two male colonist at
Plymouth faced conviction for a serious moral crime, a crime that could have led to
their execution. Thomas Roberts and John Alexander were in love; caught
expressing their love in a sexual relationship was their only crime.
Plymouth was still a small English colony; they all knew each other and so the judge was hesitant to impose the maximum sentence of death. However, the judge did not go lightly on either of them. Neither man was sentenced to death
for being gay, but Alexander, labeled the “seducer”, was branded with a hot
iron and banished from the colony. Roberts, the slightly less “guilty” of the
two, was forbidden to own land or vote. Roberts was eventually considered “reformed”
and his rights were re-instated, probably to encourage him to stay. The small colony needed every
strong pair of hands it could get to survive.
Author Paul Monett once wrote that
most of gay history “lies in shallow bachelors’ graves.”
Be grateful on this Thanksgiving day, we've come along way since 1637, but we still have a long way to go.
Gives one, pause. Thank you! Great historical, information here. Homosexuality has been around, since the dawn of man. Never understood the stigma, of negativity. Just homosapiens, controlling other homosapiens. As per, the usual.
ReplyDeleteLoved reading this! Thank you, for sharing!!!
ReplyDeleteThis would make a great movie. If done right.
ReplyDelete