Plymouth

A group of poor farmers in England would eventually found a new colony in present day Massachusetts. These farmers grew concerned about the Church of England. They felt that the Church was too Catholic, and that they had not made sufficient reformations. These farmers choose to live a life which they felt was more strictly based on the teachings of the Bible. They called themselves the Puritans, or Pilgrims.

After separating themselves from the Church of England, they faced a great deal of persecution. In order to escape this persecution, they moved as a group to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Here they enjoyed religious freedom, and security.

However, they were concerned about the bad influence that they felt the Dutch were having on their children. That along with economic difficulties led them to vote to migrate to the Americas in 1617.

On September 16 th, 1620, 102 of these pilgrims set out from London on a ship known as the Mayflower. 65 days later they spotted Cape Cod, and established the colony of Plymouth.