The Puritan Great Migration to New England

The Great Puritan Migration to New England covered two decades from 1620 to 1640.

The migration to Massachusetts consisted of a few hundred pilgrims who went to Plymouth Colony in the 1620s and between 13,000 and 21,000 emigrants who went to the Massachusetts Bay Colony between 1630 and 1642. While some came for economic reasons the majority came to escape religious persecution.

There were two different types of Puritans at the time: separatists and non-separatists. The non-separatist Puritans wanted to remain in the church and reform it from within. The separatist Puritans felt the church was too corrupt to reform and instead wanted to separate from it. This was a problem as the church and state were one in England and the act of separating from the Church of England was considered treason. The separatists Left for the New World in order to escape punishment for their beliefs and to be able to worship as they saw fit.

It got worse in 1625 when Charles I ascended to the throne. An increase of hostilities towards the Puritans caused many who did not want to leave to change their mind.

In 1640 the King began to loose power that shifted to the parliament and ultimately in 1642 the English Civil War broke out. The need for migration moderated as the political climate changed.

Matches 1 to 2 of 2    » Thumbnails Only     » Slide Show

	Thumb	Description	Linked to
1		The Mayflower. Mayflower passengers.	Peter Browne John Cooke Francis Cooke Joseph Rogers Thomas Rogers
2		Puritan Great Migration to New England.	Henry Adams Robert Adams Thomas Adams Robert Allyn Anthony Annable John Arnold Joseph Arnold Mrs Susannah Arnold Mrs Hannah Ayer John Ayer, Sr John Bailey, Jr John Bailey, Sr Thomas Barber Ellis Barron Mrs Grace Barron Mary Barron Richard Beers Abraham Belknap Samuel Belknap John Bent, Sr Dorothy Bird Thomas Bliss Alice Blower Thomas Blower Thomas Bourman Edmund Bridges Rebecca Briggs Thomas Brigham Thomas Brown Henry Burt, Jr Nicholas Byram, Sr Mary Canne William Chesebrough Francis Chickering Edward Clapp Jane Clapp Mrs Jane Clapp Captain Roger Clapp Thomas Clapp, Sr William Clapp Anna Clark Elizabeth Clarke Joseph Clarke, Sr Joseph Clarke Maria Clarke Rebecca Clarke Rowland Clarke Naomi Cocke James Cole, Jr James Cole, Sr Jane Cooke ['More Links']