Tonight I was watching a History Channel program about Thanksgiving that referred to the Pilgrims as a sect of the Puritans.
#Were the pilgrims puritans tv
Recently a popular genealogy TV show referred to William Bradford as a Puritan. It bugs me a bit when I hear the Pilgrims referred to as Puritans.
They were definitely Separatists and through the years had many conflicts with the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony over religious beliefs. The Brownists would definitely not have been referred to as Puritans at the time of the voyage of the Mayflower. The two colonies remained separate until 1691 when they were joined together as the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Within a decade the Massachusetts Bay Colony was formed by Puritans who were undergoing increased persecution in England. In 1620 the 30 year old Bradford helped arrange the voyage to America on the Mayflower. The Scrooby congregation separated from the Church of England and due to intense persecution many of the members found refuge in Leiden, Holland. He joined the Puritans when he was only 12 years old and soon joined the Scrooby congregation. Of course, many of the Brownists had been Puritans before joining the Separatists. The Separatists had actually withdrawn or separated from the Church of England. They were trying to reform the church while still staying within the structure of the Church of England. The Puritans were still part of the Church of England or Anglican Church. One of the early Separatists was Robert Browne, and it was his followers who became know as Brownists.įor more about Robert Browne, see my post: Day after Thanksgiving They were known as Brownists or Separatists. The settlers of Plymouth would not have been referred to as Puritans at that time. This quote was read at a Forefather’s Day observance in 1793 and it sparked the future usage of the term Pilgrim. So they lefte goodly & pleasante citie, which had been ther resting place, nere 12 years but they knew they were pilgrimes, & looked not much on these things but lift up their eyes to y e heavens, their dearest cuntrie, and quieted their spirits. The name pilgrim does have roots in Plymouth colony however, as Bradford did use the term pilgrimes in his book Of Plymouth Plantation. Before this time they were known as Old-Comers or Forefathers. They were not referred to as Pilgrims until around 1800. At the time they were not known as Pilgrims. But were they?Īs we all learn in school the Pilgrims came to America and settled at Plymouth in 1620. Many people today think that the Pilgrims were Puritans.
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