The Church of England was somewhere between the Catholic and Protestant religions. The services were full of ritual and the Bishops told the people what to believe. Some of the people did not like all the ceremony and wanted to study the Bible and decide for themselves what to believe. By the early 1600's, thousands of people in England, Scotland and Ireland felt this way. Others made fun of them for wanting to "purify the church." Soon they became known as "Puritans." Most Puritans still went to the Church of England but they also met secretly in homes to study the Bible and listen to sermons. Many Puritans were willing to wait until their numbers were strong enough to rid the English church of all traces of the Roman Catholic Church.
Some Puritans, known as Separatists, were ready to leave the church right away. They wanted a church without deans or bishops or any sacraments except baptism and communion. They did not want any altars, candles, incense, or organ music. Every church congregation would be free to elect its own ministers and elders. Each congregation would manage its own affairs.
The English church and the government were one and the same. To separate from the church was an act of treason. People were put in jail for this act of separation and some were put to death. Life became harder for them, so in 1607 they decided to move to Holland, where they could worship as they pleased. Leaving England was a problem because traitors could not get passports and they had very little money for the transportation by ship. Despite these obstacles, within a couple of years a hundred and twenty-five Separatists reached Holland.
They Separatists were poor but respected and lived in Amsterdam and then Leyden. They managed to make a living and support their church. Most of them had been farmers, but in Holland farm land was scarce and very expensive. Most of them were working 12 to 15 hours a day for little pay.
In February 1620, they received a grant for a plantation, a place to found a colony. This was to be near the mouth of the Hudson River in the Virginia Colony. The land would be free, but they needed money for expenses. Hearing about the group, an Englishman named Thomas Weston got together a company of adventurers, people who backed ventures of this type. The Adventurers would pay for a ship, crew and supplies in return for the Colonists working for them for 7 years. They could fish, trade in furs, cut timber or do anything that would make a profit. The Colonists were to keep only enough to keep them going from year to year and the rest would go back to the Adventurers in London.
At the end of the seven years, every Colonist who was sixteen or older would be given one share in the company. A share was worth about 10 pounds or fifty dollars in gold. Each Adventurer would get one share for every ten pounds he had put into the venture. To the Colonists this seemed unfair. They wanted to work for themselves for two days of every week. They also wanted their own houses and gardens. The Adventurers refuse their request. Many of the Separatists changed their minds about going to the New World. They had also just heard About another group of one hundred and eighty passengers who had set out for Virginia and only fifty had survived the voyage.
Fifty or sixty decided to go to the New World. These Pilgrims, as they came to be known, found leaving friends and neighbors very painful. They made their way first to London where they faced delay and many other problems. They gathered food, clothing, muskets, powder and shot, axes and fishing gear. It was September before they sailed in two ships, the Mayflower and the smaller Speedwell. The Speedwell proved to be un-seaworthy and some of the passengers had to be left behind. The rest crowded aboard the Mayflower.
One hundred and two men, women and children were setting sail for a strange country. Their chances were slim as it was late in the year for a fair voyage and for planting crops. Their supplies were sparse and the men knew nothing of fishing or fur trading, as they were mostly farmers and craftsmen. The Pilgrims did have a brave and determined spirit.
