To understand why the
Puritans
fled from
England, you must
first know some of their
background. Puritans
challenged the
existing Christian order when
Catholicism was
the
dominant religion in England. In the early 16th
century,
Martin Luther (1483-1546)
began to challenge the existing
hierarchy. He believed that Roman Catholicism relied
too much on the
clergy. He believed that it was
corrupt because people would pay the
clergy for
salvation. If someone had recently died, people would pay the clergy to further
the dead ones
chance at
obtaining salvation, this was called
indulgence. Luther believed that one
obtained salvation by
faith alone. He shifted the
emphasis on the
clergy to the
individual. Under him, individuality is promoted.
John Calvin (1509-1564) agreed with Luther but had a different viewpoint on certain
subjects. Calvin preached pre-destination, which meant that even before you were born,
you were destined for Heaven or Hell. The individual would never know whether or not
they were going to either one. He preached on original sin, meaning that all are
sinners at birth because of Adam & Eve. "In Adam's fall, we sinned all." This saying
was used to show original sin and also used to teach Puritan children the letter 'a'.
One perhaps gained salvation through a conversion experience, to be "born again."
The conversion experience was obtainable after years of study and a public confession
of sins.
Puritans were a dissenting sect in the Church of England. They felt that they were there
to "purify" the Church. In England, Puritans were persecuted under James I and Charles I.
In the late 16th century, under James I, England decides that settlement of the New World
was a good idea. Why did England arrive late? That is explained in that node. They
were late nevertheless and England did not have the resources to send ships to the New
World "discovered" by Christopher Columbus. So under advisement, James I had some important
joint stock companies created. People would invest in these companies who would then send
out settlements, and if the settlements prospered, then the people with stock in the
company would receive benefits. There were many compaines but only two joint stock companies
will be mentioned.
Virginia Company of London
Virginia Company of Plymouth