Thomas Morton’s name never fails to appear in history books chronicling the early colonial period of American history. He was an English entrepreneur active in the colonization of the New England area, famous for his conflicts with the neighboring Pilgrim Fathers and the Puritans, which led to his being arrested twice and being sent to England for trial once.

Morton was born in Devon around 1576 and belonged to the Devon conservative Anglican gentry. In the 1590s he read Law at Clifford’s Inn in London, where he met his life-long friend dramatist Ben Jonson. It was in a professional capacity that Morton met Sir Ferdinando Gorges, one of the leading English colonial entrepreneurs during the seventeenth century. Employed by Gorges, Morton took part in a three-month expedition to America

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Citation: Gomez-Galisteo, M. Carmen. "Thomas Morton". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 March 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3222, accessed 19 March 2024.]

3222 Thomas Morton 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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