Wonder Woman of the Week: Anne Hutchinson

During the early years of European colonies in North America, a large number of religious minority groups within the Christian religion fled persecution in Europe to find new homes in what would become the United States. Members of the Puritan sect settled in what would become Massachusetts and founded the city of Boston where men of the city debated religion and established seminary schools for training Puritan priests. Women had no acceptable role in the powerful positions of the faith- until Anne Hutchinson challenged their patriarchal norms.

Anne Hutchinson was a midwife in early Boston and a vocal opponent of the patriarchal leadership in the Puritan Church- and those male leaders hated her for it. In what would become known as the Antinomian Controversy, Hutchinson faced a trial by male leaders of Boston who demanded that she submit to the patriarchal leadership of the colony, but Anne refused. In doing so, the midwife gained a massive following of supporters before receiving an official banishment from the colony as punishment for smashing the patriarchy.

Anne Hutchinson left Massachusetts Colony and founded a new home in what would become Rhode Island. Many New England historians even count Hutchinson as one of the founders of the Rhode Island Colony and the state counts her among one of their most historical figures today. Her story did not end there however. Massachusetts Colony threatened to annex Rhode Island Colony during the 1640's and coincided with the death of Anne's husband. Without anyone to support her should the patriarch she pissed off in Boston take control of her new home, Hutchinson took her youngest children and moved to New Netherlands (modern-day New York State) and settled in what is today the Bronx. There, a war with the local Siwanoy People (native people of the Bronx) turned lethal for Hutchinson as she and all but one of the children living with her died during a raid on her home.