Did Pilgrims Break British Law? Understanding Their Actions

The Pilgrims, also known as the Pilgrim Fathers, were a group of English settlers who travelled to North America on the ship Mayflower and established the Plymouth Colony in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Pilgrims were religious separatists who wanted to break away from the Church of England, which was the only legal church in England at the time. This was illegal, and they were often punished for their beliefs. As a result, they first fled to Holland, where they could practice their religion without fear of persecution, before eventually making the journey to North America.

The Pilgrims were Separatists, which was illegal in 1600s England

The Pilgrims, also known as the Pilgrim Fathers, were a group of English settlers who travelled to North America on the ship Mayflower and established the Plymouth Colony in Plymouth, Massachusetts. They are known for their famous 1620 voyage and founding of the Plymouth Colony, but they were also ordinary English men and women.

The Pilgrims were religious Separatists, or Brownists, who had fled religious persecution in England for the tolerance of 17th-century Holland in the Netherlands. They were part of a congregation centred around the town of Scrooby in Nottinghamshire, England. Led by John Robinson, Richard Clyfton, and John Smyth, they quit the Church of England around 1605 to form Separatist congregations.

The Separatist movement was controversial and illegal in 1600s England. Under the Act of Uniformity 1559, it was illegal not to attend official Church of England services, with fines, imprisonment, and larger fines for conducting unofficial services. The Seditious Sectaries Act 1592 specifically targeted the Brownists. London Underground Church members were repeatedly imprisoned from 1566, and Robert Browne and his followers were imprisoned in Norfolk during the 1580s. Henry Barrow, John Greenwood, and John Penry were executed for sedition in 1593.

As Separatists, the Pilgrims wanted to separate from the English state church and select their own church leaders and ministers. They were often punished for their beliefs, facing harassment, heavy fines, and imprisonment. They were seen as a threat to the Church of England and its supreme ruler, King James I.

Faced with persecution, the Pilgrims chose to flee to Holland, where they could practice their religion without fear of persecution. However, life in the Netherlands was not easy, and they eventually decided to establish a new settlement in the New World, leading to their voyage on the Mayflower and the founding of the Plymouth Colony in 1620.

They fled to Holland, where they were free to practice their religion

The Pilgrims, also known as the Pilgrim Fathers, were a group of English settlers who travelled to North America on the ship Mayflower and established the Plymouth Colony in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Pilgrims were religious nonconformists, or Separatists, who wanted to separate from the Church of England and form their own congregations.

In the early 1600s, it was illegal in England to be part of any church other than the Church of England. As a result, the Pilgrims were often punished for their beliefs. When King James came to power, the Pilgrims asked him for permission to set up their own church, but he denied their request. As a result, they decided to leave England and move to Holland, where they would be free to practice their religion.

The Pilgrims initially fled to Amsterdam in 1608, where they enjoyed religious freedom and tolerance. However, they soon became embroiled in theological disputes with other separatists, which prompted many of them to move to Leiden. In Leiden, most of the congregation found work in the cloth trades, while others worked as carpenters, tailors, printers, teachers, pipe makers, and hat makers.

Despite having religious freedom in Holland, life was not easy for the Pilgrims. They had left their homeland and friends behind and had to adjust to living in a foreign country. In addition, they faced economic challenges and worried about the influence of Dutch culture on their children. As the years passed, they also became concerned about the possibility of another war breaking out between the Dutch and the Spanish.

After about 11 or 12 years in Leiden, the congregation decided to leave Holland and establish a new settlement in the New World. They arranged with investors to fund their journey and, in 1620, they set sail for North America on the Mayflower.

The Pilgrims' children were becoming more Dutch than English

The Pilgrims, also known as the Pilgrim Fathers, were a group of English settlers who travelled to North America on the ship Mayflower and established the Plymouth Colony in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Pilgrims were religious nonconformists—Calvinist dissidents who disliked the hierarchical authority of the Anglican Church and sought a more democratic and direct religious experience.

The Pilgrims' leadership came from the religious congregations of Brownists or Separatists, who had fled religious persecution in England for the tolerance of 17th-century Holland in the Netherlands. They held many of the same Calvinist religious beliefs as Puritans, but unlike Puritans (who wanted a purified established church), Pilgrims maintained that their congregations should separate from the English state church, which led to them being labelled Separatists.

The Netherlands, however, was a land whose culture and language were strange and difficult for the English congregation to understand or learn. They found the Dutch political situation to be unstable, and their children were becoming more and more Dutch as the years passed. The congregation came to believe that they faced eventual extinction if they remained there.

The children of the Pilgrims were drawn away by evil examples into extravagance and dangerous courses. Their parents feared that they would lose their identity as English people. Some older children were tempted by the Dutch culture and left their families to become soldiers and sailors.

After careful thought, the congregation decided to leave Holland and establish a farming village in the northern part of the Virginia Colony. They hoped to live under the English government, but they would worship in their own, separate church.

They wanted to establish a new settlement in the New World

The Pilgrims, also known as the Pilgrim Fathers, were a group of English settlers who travelled to North America on the ship Mayflower and established the Plymouth Colony in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

The Pilgrims were Separatists, a group considered very radical at the time. They believed that the Church of England was beyond reform and wanted to separate from it entirely, forming new, separate church congregations. In England in the 1600s, it was illegal to be part of any church other than the Church of England. The Pilgrims were often punished for their beliefs, including with fines and imprisonment.

After several years living in exile in Holland, where they had more freedom to practise their religion, the Pilgrims decided to establish a new settlement in the New World. They arranged with investors to fund them and set sail for America on the Mayflower in 1620.

The Pilgrims' religious beliefs were at the heart of their decision to establish a new settlement. They wanted to create a society where all people would be free to worship as they wished, without interference or persecution from the English Crown or the Church of England.

The journey to the New World was difficult and dangerous. The Pilgrims first intended to settle in the northern part of Virginia, but poor weather forced the Mayflower to seek shelter at Cape Cod. The passengers decided to remain in New England and signed the Mayflower Compact, a "self-governing" agreement that laid the foundation for the community's government.

The Pilgrims explored the area and eventually settled in Plymouth, where they began building their town. Many of the colonists fell ill during their first winter, and about half of the people on the Mayflower died. Despite these challenges, the Pilgrims persevered and established a new settlement in the New World, shaping the history and culture of the United States.

The Pilgrims were not democrats

The Pilgrims, also known as the Pilgrim Fathers, were a group of English Christians who fled to the New World to escape religious persecution by the English Crown. They established the Plymouth Colony in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620.

The Pilgrims' religious beliefs were incompatible with the Church of England, and they refused to attend their parish churches. When the government imposed fines on them, some decided to leave the country. They first settled in the northern Netherlands, where immigrants were allowed to set up their own churches. However, they encountered difficulties in their new homeland, including squabbles among themselves over religious matters.

The Pilgrims' leader, Reverend John Robinson, remained in the Netherlands when the congregation moved to America. In a letter to the Pilgrims in 1620, he wrote:

> "Whereas you are become a body politic, using amongst yourselves civil government; and are not furnished with any persons of special eminency above the rest, to be chosen by you into office of government; let your wisdom and godliness appear, not only in choosing such persons as do entirely love and will promote the common good, but also in yielding unto them all due honour and obedience..."

This statement reveals an ongoing commitment to traditionally hierarchical political and social conventions. The Pilgrims did not challenge the right of every sovereign to dictate the worship and doctrine in their dominions. When they sought permission to settle in the Virginia Colony, they drew up Seven Articles offering acceptance of the king's authority and the doctrine of the Church of England in return for a measure of religious freedom.

The Pilgrims' story has become surrounded by legend, and they are often portrayed as heroes who bravely fled persecution to establish a new society in the New World. However, it is important to remember that they were not democrats and held conservative political and social views.

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