Who wre the Puritans? Why did they come to America?

Question

There's more than one part, so answer thoroughly please.
The story is different than the one we get at school. I'm also wondering about other stories people have heard?

Answer 1

Okay, let's get this straight--there were the Pilgrims and there were the Puritans. The Pilgrims who came to America in 1620 were NOT Puritans. They were Separatists (of the Brownian persuasion), and the Puritans were NOT Separatists.

Separatists wanted to leave the Church of England, which had split from the Roman Catholic Church (primarily for political reasons) under Henry VIII.
The Puritans did not want to leave the Church of England. Rather, they wanted to "purify" the C of E of elements which they considered too Roman and not Protestant enough.

The Puritans, under Oliver Cromwell, did eventually take control of England for a brief period during the mid-1600s. During that time, their "purification" included smashing stained glass church windows that depicted religious figures and stuff like that.

The Puritans who came to control the Massachusetts Bay Colony left England because, at the time, they felt restricted from establishing their brand of faith. In America they sought not a pure religious freedom, but only the freedom to practice their own brand of religious intolerance (just ask Anne Hutchinson!).

Answer 2

There's a sidelight to the Puritans in the book 'The Island at the Center of the World', by Russell Shorto. It's about the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam before the English took over and re-named it New York. However, he does give insight into what was happening in Massachusetts and Connecticut at the same time.

Beyond that, Google and Dogpile are your best bets.

Answer 3

Yes, true there are many versions of the story. I believe the story that they came to America to escape the King at the time who was charging high taxes. America was the New World at the time. So the Puritans came in hopes of spreading their religous ways in America

Answer 4

They were fundamentalist Christians that were persecuted by the state religion in England/Wales/Ireland. They wanted a place where they could form their own state religion which basically meant the new world.

I am obligated to correct greyguy: the piligrims were indeed Puritans. Please see: http://mb-soft.com/believe/txc/puritani.htm which contains a complete bibliography of sources. Puritans were the ancestors of Congregationalist, Baptist, and Presbyterian religions.

Answer 5

they were separatists coming over from england for religious freedom. they thought that the Anglicans (church of england) and the catholics would never come to terms. they settled in the northern united states, to be specific, modern day Maine and Massachusetts.

Answer 6

they were Pilgrims looking for a country where they could practice religious freedom. England has a national religion, and they didn't have a choice in what religion they could be.

Answer 7

Protestants who disagreed with the doctorine of the Church of England (founded by Henry VIII, essentially Episcopalians today) They wanted to follow their own made up religion rather than someone else's made up religion.

Answer 8

They sell vitamins at Puritan.com They're cheap, check them out :o)

Answer 9

I will just put one thing. They were religious nuts and needed to be on there own.

Answer 10

Do your own homework kid.