Puritans

The Puritans and most of the Separatists would commonly use the Geneva Bible of 1560, complete with Calvinist annotations in the margins, as opposed to the 'Bishops Bible' approved by the CofE hierarchy. One of the things that John Smyth, General Baptist founder, was keen to do was to reject this translation (and indeed all translations as 'human' documents) and encourage his congregation to master Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek for themselves.

Yours in Christ

Matt

 

It should be noted that the Pilgrims were not the first colonials.

In 1590, Roanoke was colonized by the English, but the colonists later disappeared. To this day, no one knows what happenned to them.

In 1607, Jamestown is settled by colonists for economic (not religious) reasons.

In 1609, Hendrick Hudson explores what is now the Hudson River for the Dutch East India Company. The Dutch establish a settlement near what is now Albany, though this is technically not a colonization.

In 1612, the King James version of Bible published.

In 1620, The Mayflower lands at Plymouth Rock, MA with the Pilgrims.

In 1626, the Dutch buy Manhattan Island for $24, and establish a major presence there (again, technically not a colony, since the Dutch government was not particularly interested in colonzation during this time.

In 1629, the earliest Puritans settle in Massachusetts.

In 1630, 1,000 Puritans land at Salem, MA and soon relocate to Charlestown, now a part of Boston.

In 1636, Roger Williams is driven from Puritan Mass and settles Rhode Island, a haven for religious freedom.

In 1638, Peter Minuet settles the Delaware colony(technically a Swedish colony, though first established by the same Dutch traders associated with Hudson).

In 1639, John Wheelwright, banished from Boston, founded a colony in New Hampshire.

In 1664, The British took control of all of New Amsterdam, renaming it New York. The Dutch are out of America, politically. Dutch settlers stay in the area, under British control.

In 1691, the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the Plymouth Colony merge. The other colonies in New England re-establish their former governments after King James' failed attempt to control New England in 1688-9. That same year, Major Peter Schuyler led an expedition of English and Dutch colonists against the French fort at La Prairie near Montréal, stopping at Ticonderoga on their way north.

In 1692, the village of Salem, Massachusetts gets caught up in a public hysteria over witches and witchcraft. Over twenty people are executed before the hysteria passes.

In 1730, the movement knows as The Great Awakening challenged the established clergy and eventually led to the proliferation of many Protestant denominations. This contributed to the concept of acceptance of religious tolerance, the decline of Puritanism, and the growth of Baptists, Methodist, and Presbyterians.

And so, here we are.

 

There are a few problems with that:

1. The Puritans set up a theocracy in Mass. and the Amish practice separation of church and state.

2. The Puritans had witches put to death and the Amish are pacifist.