March 29 - New World

March 29 – New World

The Puritans and the Separatists had a problem. England no longer wanted them around. In fact, many of them ended up in prison and harassed by the government because they had rejected the Anglican church.

King James made it clear to them that when they left the Anglican Church, they had left him as well. He didn’t want them.

They let for Holland. But, much as the country was open to their beliefs, it wasn’t home. No one cared whether or not they were there and in fact, the country was so secular, the people were afraid of what would happen to their communities of faith.

Their hope lay in the New World, a place where there was no government which would persecute them. In fact, they hoped that they could take their Calvinist ideals with them and establish a new government. They weren’t afraid of the trials that would come in carving out a life in an unknown territory.

They returned to England and took a ship called the Mayflower and headed for the New World. They originally intended to sail to Virginia where there was an established colony, but when they went off course, they landed in Massachusetts.

Before they left the ship, forty-one men signed the Mayflower Compact, agreeing that this new colony was theirs and would be created for the glory of God. Their laws would be made for the common good, they would work as a group and not as individuals. They declared that they would govern themselves, under God.

The New World was on its way to becoming a new country.