by Susan Klatz Beal

Created on: November 02, 2009   Last Updated: November 06, 2009

The story of the Pilgrims begins in England during the early years of the 17th century. These people became "Separatists" when they decided to separate themselves from the Church of England. They believed that the rituals and formalities of the Church of England and the Catholic Church took the emphasis of religious belief and prayer away from God and forced people to revere the King or the Pope more than they did God. Their beliefs went against everything that mainstream England believed at that time, and as long as they remained there, they would live in fear of being jailed or killed.

*Leaving England to go to Holland -

In 1607, they left England and headed to Holland where they had heard that there was far greater religious tolerance. For the next two years, they stayed in Amsterdam. In 1609, they applied to the city leaders Leiden, and asked that they be allowed to come there to live. Their application was granted, so the English Separatists moved to Leiden where they remained until 1620.

*Life in Holland -

During their time in Leiden, they worked mostly in the textile industry. They were able to worship there as they pleased. But as time passed, they began to experience more difficulties.

First there were financial difficulties because they weren't allowed to join any of the Dutch guilds that would have allowed them to earn a reasonable living. They also watched as their children began to lose sense of the religious values that their parents had been trying to teach them, falling into the Dutch way of life more and more.

*Religious intolerance foments in Holland -

Towards the end of the time they spent in Holland, they began to experience more and more religious intolerance. They would sometimes engage in debates, but there were times when the discussions became violent, and when one of the Separatists was nearly stoned to death, they realized that they could no longer remain in Holland.

*Making the arrangements to come to America -

The Pilgrims, as they came to be called, didn't have the money to make the trip to America. They had to come to some arrangement with a company of investors. These investors had already received a patent that would allow them to establish communities in Southern Virginia.

When difficulties forced them to go with the company's chief competitor, their destination was changed to Northern Virginia, the area we know of as New England. The ultimate arrangement would mean that the Pilgrims would be unable to keep any profits from

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