I believe that the Puritans could be referred to as a sect of the Church of England, but there was definitely a separation between the Puritans and the Brownists (Pilgrims). Tonight I was watching a History Channel program about Thanksgiving that referred to the Pilgrims as a sect of the Puritans.
PILGRIMS AND PURITANS TV
Recently a popular genealogy TV show referred to William Bradford as a Puritan. It bugs me a bit when I hear the Pilgrims referred to as Puritans. They were definitely Separatists and through the years had many conflicts with the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony over religious beliefs. The Brownists would definitely not have been referred to as Puritans at the time of the voyage of the Mayflower. The two colonies remained separate until 1691 when they were joined together as the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Within a decade the Massachusetts Bay Colony was formed by Puritans who were undergoing increased persecution in England. In 1620 the 30 year old Bradford helped arrange the voyage to America on the Mayflower. The Scrooby congregation separated from the Church of England and due to intense persecution many of the members found refuge in Leiden, Holland. He joined the Puritans when he was only 12 years old and soon joined the Scrooby congregation. Of course, many of the Brownists had been Puritans before joining the Separatists. The Separatists had actually withdrawn or separated from the Church of England. They were trying to reform the church while still staying within the structure of the Church of England. The Puritans were still part of the Church of England or Anglican Church. One of the early Separatists was Robert Browne, and it was his followers who became know as Brownists.įor more about Robert Browne, see my post: Day after Thanksgiving They were known as Brownists or Separatists. The settlers of Plymouth would not have been referred to as Puritans at that time. This quote was read at a Forefather’s Day observance in 1793 and it sparked the future usage of the term Pilgrim.
So they lefte goodly & pleasante citie, which had been ther resting place, nere 12 years but they knew they were pilgrimes, & looked not much on these things but lift up their eyes to y e heavens, their dearest cuntrie, and quieted their spirits. The name pilgrim does have roots in Plymouth colony however, as Bradford did use the term pilgrimes in his book Of Plymouth Plantation. Before this time they were known as Old-Comers or Forefathers. They were not referred to as Pilgrims until around 1800. At the time they were not known as Pilgrims. But were they?Īs we all learn in school the Pilgrims came to America and settled at Plymouth in 1620. But the Fortune was captured by the French before she could deliver her cargo to England.Many people today think that the Pilgrims were Puritans. The Fortune began its return to England laden with goods worth 500 English pounds-more than enough to keep the colonists on schedule for repayment of their debt.
Little did they know of the hardships endured by the Pilgrims during the previous year.
The Fortune also carried a letter from the Merchant Adventurers chastising the colony for failure to return goods with the Mayflower that had been promised in return for their investment. The colonists were happy to see their friends, but they came with few supplies, which put a strain on the colony’s meager stores. Among the passengers were several additional members of the original Holland congregation, including William Brewster’s son Jonathan and Edward Winslow’s brother John. In November 1621, a year after the Pilgrims first set foot in New England, a second ship sent by the Merchant Adventurers arrived-the Fortune-bringing 37 new settlers. Plymouth was never a prosperous settlement, but the religiously faithful were content to be ignored by English officials and left to direct their own affairs. In December 1620, these Separatists established Plymouth Colony on the rocky western shore of Cape Cod Bay in southeastern Massachusetts.
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