Who are the Puritans, Separatists, and the Pilgrims?
The Church of England was created in the early 1500’s by Henry VIII in reaction to the Pope’s denial of an annulment between Henry and Catherine of Aragon. This newly created church governance structure, placed Henry at its head with its theology consisting of a mix of Catholicism and Calvin’s Reformation. England’s parliament had no choice but to ally with Henry’s theological stand. The Puritans were Christians grounded in Calvinism and believed a church organization should be locally governed, able to select its own Pastor or minister, elders or deacons, to not be held above its congregation, but accountable to it. They believed in teaching sound scripture from the pulpit without influence from culture or tradition, except for the traditions mandated in the Bible such as; prayer (and not from a prayer book), gospel preaching, communion, baptism, and scripture reading. The Puritans strived to purify the Church of England by removing unnecessary religious practices and beliefs including; rituals, prayer books, incense, crucifixes and altars. www.pilgrimhall.org/pilstory.htm The Puritans believed the Bible, the Word of God, to be the absolute final authority for mankind, not a hierarchy of religion. This belief fostered the practice that all individuals could know God which also created a strong foundation for literacy; in order to know God, one must be able to read the Bible.
The Puritans at large can be divided into three main groups, based on conviction as to how to purify the Church of England. The first, Presbyterian Puritans, tried to purify the Church from within, so as not to be held as treasonous and tried as such, and held to the state church as central authority. Under England’s law, the 1559 Act of Uniformity http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilgrims found any lack of attendance to the Church of England services illegal and punishable by fines. Holding unofficial church services was punishable by fines and imprisonment. During this time period in history, deviation from the accepted religious practices could result in jailing and even execution, and was not a decision made lightheartedly. The second group was the Congregational Puritans who believed in individual church authority and the third group, the Separatist Puritans, denied all central authority of the Church of England (1600’s). England now under the rule of James I considered the beliefs of the Separatists to be in defiance of his authority, which resulted in persecution for the Separatists. Separatists’ property would be confiscated. The Separatists were fined, jailed or executed. In order for the Separatists to leave England a grant or permission from the King must be acquired. If the Separatists were caught trying to leave England without permission, imprisonment certainly followed. Around 1607-1608 a group of Separatists without James I permission, escaped to Holland. William Bradford of Austerfeld kept a journal recording the trials and tribulations of his church congregation, which later became published as “Of Plymouth Plantation”. An excerpt from this is as follows:
“But after these things they could not long continue in any peaceable condition, but were hunted and persecuted on every side, so as their former afflictions were but as flea-bitings in comparison of these which now came upon them. For some were taken and clapt up in prison, others had their houses beset and watcht night and day, and hardly escaped their hands; and ye most were faine to flie and leave their howses and habitations, and the means of their livelihood.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilgrims
James I was giving patents or permission for the wealthy Englishmen to pursue development of trading settlements in North America between the late 1500’s and early 1600’s. The one basic condition any settlement must agree and adhere to, is that it must remain under the authority of the Church of England, function as a British subject and answer to Governor General, the local representation of British rule. The settlement may not self-govern by any means or draft laws which may contradict any law of England. Most of the early settlers who agreed to these conditions were men single-minded in pursuit of financial gain.
The Puritan Separatists of Holland, concerned with being assimilated into the Dutch culture and losing their English heritage, www.usahistory.info/New-England/Pilgrims were granted a patent from James I, June 19, 1618, to establish a colony in North America with the freedom to practice their religion, although it would not be formally recognized, and as long as it did not provoke the Church of England. Continued delays were experienced under the London Company in preparation for travel to North America. The original stalled land grant negotiations were further aided by merchant, Thomas Weston. The modified new land grant would now be located further north of the already established Virginia Company, in a territory to be called New England. Investors involved in this business venture were planning on great economic profit through the fishing industry. New investors brought into the venture made slight changes to the grant unbeknownst to the settlers, some of which being; at the end of the seven year charter or contract, half of all settled and farmed property or land would revert back to the ownership of the investors. Also, the contract provision allowing each settler two days a week for personal time would become null and void. It took two more years for the land grant to be passed in 1620. www.sail1620.org
The Separatists decided among themselves that the stronger, younger and financially able should be the first to make the journey from Leiden, Holland to New England. The London Company provided two ships; the Speedwell and the Mayflower, and they set sail August 23, 1620. The ships returned to port twice due to the Speedwell’s un-seaworthiness. Many passengers decided to remain in England, and of the original passengers, only one hundred and two passengers sailed on the Mayflower from Plymouth, England, Sept 6, 1620. These were the men and women intent on preserving the individual practice of Christian convictions, and hopeful in the promise of missionary work in furthering the gospel of Jesus Christ.
These Puritan Separatists were pictured as pilgrims by William Bradford as he described their departure from Leiden in 1620. He quotes from Hebrews 11:13 “…that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth…” In 1669 writers speaking of the Mayflower Company coined the term, the “Pilgrim Fathers”. Thus is the evolvement of referring to the Separatists as “Pilgrims”.
Upon departure for New England, the charter for the Plymouth Council for New England was still incomplete and the settlers were still without a patent since the previous patent from the London Company. Some passengers believed in individual freedom in choosing to do what was right in their own eyes in this new world. To counter this issue, a covenant or contract called the Mayflower Compact was drafted and signed November 11, 1620. This Compact was written to protect the settlers; to have freedom to pursue individual interests while furthering the development of a Christian based society. The Pilgrims that landed amid snow and ice that cold winter of 1620-1621, consisted of men and women who were trades people, most without any formal education, and focused on a new life; a society based on the commonality of their Christian beliefs, where God and His Word are the final authority, cohabitating for the general welfare of the community, and development of the New England Way: self-government constrained by limited government, the individual’s personal spiritual relationship with God, and the local community’s right to self protect. www.sagehistory.net/colonial/topics
More Puritans followed in a mass exodus beginning in 1628 through the Massachusetts Trading Company and established the settlement, Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Massachusetts Bay Puritans beliefs were grounded in a centralized church authority and to the British rule, and were not considered Separatists. Between the years of 1629 and 1640 this colony growth exceeded 4,000 colonists. They were comprised of the wealthy and educated, as well as tradesmen, craftsmen, and those politically trained in the English parliament. The culmination of the Separatists (Pilgrims) and the Puritans (Massachusetts Bay Colony) into a culture known as New England Puritans is based on the maturity of the colonies, further separation from the English church, and the shared commonality of commitment to worship God which prevailed in uniting the Puritan Colonists under the Articles of Confederation.
Governor William Bradford of Plymouth says, “Of small beginnings great things have been produced by His Hand…and as one small candle may light a thousand, so the light there kindled hath shone to many, yea, in some sort to our whole nation. Let the glorious name of Jehovah have all the praise!” http://puritansermons.com
A letter from Ezekiel Rogers in 1660 and preserved in Mather’s Magnolia, speaks of godliness:
“We grow worldly everywhere; methinks I see little godliness, but all are in a hurry about the world; everyone for himself, little care for the public or common good. It hath been God’s way, not to send sweeping judgments when the chief magistrates are godly and grow more so. I beseech all the Bay-ministers to call earnestly upon the magistrates, tell them that their godliness will be our protection: if they fail, I shall fear some sweeping judgment shortly. The clouds seem to be gathering. I am hastening home, and grow very asthmatical and short-breathed. Oh! That I might see some signs of good to the generations following to send me away rejoicing!” http://puritansermons.com/banner
In his address in the seaport of Liverpool, 1881, J.C. Ryle speaks of his concern that in order for a nation to prosper, its people must depend in furthering the cause of Christ:
“In the long run of years, the moral standard of a city or a nation is the grand secret of its prosperity. God mines, and manufactures, and scientific discoveries, and docks, and roads, and eloquent speeches, and commercial activity, and democratic institutions are not enough to make or to keep nations great. Tyre, and Sidon, and Carthage, and Athens and Rome, and Venice, and Spain, and Portugal had plenty of such possessions as these, and yet fell into decay. The sinews of a nation’s strength and truthfulness, honesty, sobriety, purity, temperance, economy, diligence, brotherly kindness, charity among its inhabitants, and, consequently, good credit among mankind. Let those who deny this dare. And will any man say that there is any surer way of producing these characteristics in a people than by encouraging, and fostering, and spreading, and teaching pure Scriptural Christianity?” http://puritansermons.com/banner/murray3
For more information on American History; including Puritans, New England Colonists, and more, please see the links provided for your browsing pleasure.
Calvinist theology and political theology
Theocracy, aristocracy and democracy in early New England
The English Reformation
William Bradford Of Plymouth Plantation
Puritan studies research group
Yale Law School-the Avalon Project. Documents in Law History and Diplomacy
American History
The American Colonist’s Library
The Winthrop Society
Mayflower Families
The Plymouth Colony Archive Project, University of Virginia
The Plimoth-on-Web. Home of the Plimoth Plantation Museum
The American Revolution
The Library of Congress
The Articles of Confederation of the United Colonies of New England.
The Constitution of The United States of America
The Founding of New England
Historic New England
Geologic Information about the New England States
New England Soil
The Puritans at large can be divided into three main groups, based on conviction as to how to purify the Church of England. The first, Presbyterian Puritans, tried to purify the Church from within, so as not to be held as treasonous and tried as such, and held to the state church as central authority. Under England’s law, the 1559 Act of Uniformity http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilgrims found any lack of attendance to the Church of England services illegal and punishable by fines. Holding unofficial church services was punishable by fines and imprisonment. During this time period in history, deviation from the accepted religious practices could result in jailing and even execution, and was not a decision made lightheartedly. The second group was the Congregational Puritans who believed in individual church authority and the third group, the Separatist Puritans, denied all central authority of the Church of England (1600’s). England now under the rule of James I considered the beliefs of the Separatists to be in defiance of his authority, which resulted in persecution for the Separatists. Separatists’ property would be confiscated. The Separatists were fined, jailed or executed. In order for the Separatists to leave England a grant or permission from the King must be acquired. If the Separatists were caught trying to leave England without permission, imprisonment certainly followed. Around 1607-1608 a group of Separatists without James I permission, escaped to Holland. William Bradford of Austerfeld kept a journal recording the trials and tribulations of his church congregation, which later became published as “Of Plymouth Plantation”. An excerpt from this is as follows:
“But after these things they could not long continue in any peaceable condition, but were hunted and persecuted on every side, so as their former afflictions were but as flea-bitings in comparison of these which now came upon them. For some were taken and clapt up in prison, others had their houses beset and watcht night and day, and hardly escaped their hands; and ye most were faine to flie and leave their howses and habitations, and the means of their livelihood.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilgrims
James I was giving patents or permission for the wealthy Englishmen to pursue development of trading settlements in North America between the late 1500’s and early 1600’s. The one basic condition any settlement must agree and adhere to, is that it must remain under the authority of the Church of England, function as a British subject and answer to Governor General, the local representation of British rule. The settlement may not self-govern by any means or draft laws which may contradict any law of England. Most of the early settlers who agreed to these conditions were men single-minded in pursuit of financial gain.
The Puritan Separatists of Holland, concerned with being assimilated into the Dutch culture and losing their English heritage, www.usahistory.info/New-England/Pilgrims were granted a patent from James I, June 19, 1618, to establish a colony in North America with the freedom to practice their religion, although it would not be formally recognized, and as long as it did not provoke the Church of England. Continued delays were experienced under the London Company in preparation for travel to North America. The original stalled land grant negotiations were further aided by merchant, Thomas Weston. The modified new land grant would now be located further north of the already established Virginia Company, in a territory to be called New England. Investors involved in this business venture were planning on great economic profit through the fishing industry. New investors brought into the venture made slight changes to the grant unbeknownst to the settlers, some of which being; at the end of the seven year charter or contract, half of all settled and farmed property or land would revert back to the ownership of the investors. Also, the contract provision allowing each settler two days a week for personal time would become null and void. It took two more years for the land grant to be passed in 1620. www.sail1620.org
The Separatists decided among themselves that the stronger, younger and financially able should be the first to make the journey from Leiden, Holland to New England. The London Company provided two ships; the Speedwell and the Mayflower, and they set sail August 23, 1620. The ships returned to port twice due to the Speedwell’s un-seaworthiness. Many passengers decided to remain in England, and of the original passengers, only one hundred and two passengers sailed on the Mayflower from Plymouth, England, Sept 6, 1620. These were the men and women intent on preserving the individual practice of Christian convictions, and hopeful in the promise of missionary work in furthering the gospel of Jesus Christ.
These Puritan Separatists were pictured as pilgrims by William Bradford as he described their departure from Leiden in 1620. He quotes from Hebrews 11:13 “…that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth…” In 1669 writers speaking of the Mayflower Company coined the term, the “Pilgrim Fathers”. Thus is the evolvement of referring to the Separatists as “Pilgrims”.
Upon departure for New England, the charter for the Plymouth Council for New England was still incomplete and the settlers were still without a patent since the previous patent from the London Company. Some passengers believed in individual freedom in choosing to do what was right in their own eyes in this new world. To counter this issue, a covenant or contract called the Mayflower Compact was drafted and signed November 11, 1620. This Compact was written to protect the settlers; to have freedom to pursue individual interests while furthering the development of a Christian based society. The Pilgrims that landed amid snow and ice that cold winter of 1620-1621, consisted of men and women who were trades people, most without any formal education, and focused on a new life; a society based on the commonality of their Christian beliefs, where God and His Word are the final authority, cohabitating for the general welfare of the community, and development of the New England Way: self-government constrained by limited government, the individual’s personal spiritual relationship with God, and the local community’s right to self protect. www.sagehistory.net/colonial/topics
More Puritans followed in a mass exodus beginning in 1628 through the Massachusetts Trading Company and established the settlement, Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Massachusetts Bay Puritans beliefs were grounded in a centralized church authority and to the British rule, and were not considered Separatists. Between the years of 1629 and 1640 this colony growth exceeded 4,000 colonists. They were comprised of the wealthy and educated, as well as tradesmen, craftsmen, and those politically trained in the English parliament. The culmination of the Separatists (Pilgrims) and the Puritans (Massachusetts Bay Colony) into a culture known as New England Puritans is based on the maturity of the colonies, further separation from the English church, and the shared commonality of commitment to worship God which prevailed in uniting the Puritan Colonists under the Articles of Confederation.
Governor William Bradford of Plymouth says, “Of small beginnings great things have been produced by His Hand…and as one small candle may light a thousand, so the light there kindled hath shone to many, yea, in some sort to our whole nation. Let the glorious name of Jehovah have all the praise!” http://puritansermons.com
A letter from Ezekiel Rogers in 1660 and preserved in Mather’s Magnolia, speaks of godliness:
“We grow worldly everywhere; methinks I see little godliness, but all are in a hurry about the world; everyone for himself, little care for the public or common good. It hath been God’s way, not to send sweeping judgments when the chief magistrates are godly and grow more so. I beseech all the Bay-ministers to call earnestly upon the magistrates, tell them that their godliness will be our protection: if they fail, I shall fear some sweeping judgment shortly. The clouds seem to be gathering. I am hastening home, and grow very asthmatical and short-breathed. Oh! That I might see some signs of good to the generations following to send me away rejoicing!” http://puritansermons.com/banner
In his address in the seaport of Liverpool, 1881, J.C. Ryle speaks of his concern that in order for a nation to prosper, its people must depend in furthering the cause of Christ:
“In the long run of years, the moral standard of a city or a nation is the grand secret of its prosperity. God mines, and manufactures, and scientific discoveries, and docks, and roads, and eloquent speeches, and commercial activity, and democratic institutions are not enough to make or to keep nations great. Tyre, and Sidon, and Carthage, and Athens and Rome, and Venice, and Spain, and Portugal had plenty of such possessions as these, and yet fell into decay. The sinews of a nation’s strength and truthfulness, honesty, sobriety, purity, temperance, economy, diligence, brotherly kindness, charity among its inhabitants, and, consequently, good credit among mankind. Let those who deny this dare. And will any man say that there is any surer way of producing these characteristics in a people than by encouraging, and fostering, and spreading, and teaching pure Scriptural Christianity?” http://puritansermons.com/banner/murray3
For more information on American History; including Puritans, New England Colonists, and more, please see the links provided for your browsing pleasure.
Calvinist theology and political theology
Theocracy, aristocracy and democracy in early New England
The English Reformation
William Bradford Of Plymouth Plantation
Puritan studies research group
Yale Law School-the Avalon Project. Documents in Law History and Diplomacy
American History
The American Colonist’s Library
The Winthrop Society
Mayflower Families
The Plymouth Colony Archive Project, University of Virginia
The Plimoth-on-Web. Home of the Plimoth Plantation Museum
The American Revolution
The Library of Congress
The Articles of Confederation of the United Colonies of New England.
The Constitution of The United States of America
The Founding of New England
Historic New England
Geologic Information about the New England States
New England Soil
