by Sarah Salas

Created on: February 21, 2009   Last Updated: February 23, 2009

In the 1620's, groups of Puritans crossed the Atlantic towards the "New World." These settlers settle in what is now Massachusetts and would be among the first Europeans to settle the American Northeast. But what made these settlers leave everything they knew behind and travel to a strange land?

One of the reasons the Puritans fled Europe was to avoid religious persecution. Puritans were a group of people in England who wished to completely purge all semblance of the Roman Catholic Church from the Anglican Church of England. The country had been deeply divided years before under King Henry VIII, who split from the Catholic Church in order to divorce his wife and secure a legitimate heir to his throne. Under his daughter Queen Elizabeth, the Puritans had enjoyed an uneasy truce with their Catholic neighbors. Government in England became less tolerant of religious dissention after her death. The new ruler, King James I, favored the Catholics in the land, and many Puritans found themselves losing their property or standing or even jailed.

Another reason for the venture to the Americas was of course profit. America was a wide open frontier, and many of the settlers dreamed of a better life and more money. The Spanish had reported a land of rich wonder, with miles of untapped resources. Many of the puritans from England lived in over-crowded condition that were prevalent in London; and those with land often dreamed of owning more. Land was the sign of the gentry and it was impossible to have power without it.

The first group of settlers landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620. Many of these early settlers died or returned to England and the colony was not an immediate success. Eventually a group of influential business men banded together to form the Governor and Company of Massachusetts Bay, and applied for and received a land grant in the New World, arriving in 1630. This company of men were puritans who tightly held to their beliefs and as the settlements grew they consisted of mostly puritans. Despite a rough start, the people of Governor and Company of Massachusetts Bay stuck it out in their new land and eventually thrived, spanning out along the Atlantic Ocean, and In February 6, 1788, Massachusetts officially became a state.

But what made the settlers choose the Massachusetts area? For trade purposes the Massachusetts colony was in a great location, and that is a big part of why the colonies settled where they did. Another big plus, location-wise, was the abundant timber, metal resources, and ideal conditions for farming and planting.

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