1620 - Pilgrims and Puritans

"Hobgoblin nor foul fiend, can daunt his spirit

He knows he at the end, shall life inherit

Then fancies fly away, he’ll fear not what men say

He’ll labour night and day, to be a pilgrim."

The last verse of this rousing Church of England hymn typifies the muscular Christian strand. The sincerity of John Bunyan’s 1684 words leaves the easy-going path for a more adventurous one, though mention of hobgoblins and fiends plus the whiff of self-righteousness may sit uneasily today. But these beliefs were widespread in the 17^th century, driving English politics and the settlement of America.

Politics and the Reformation

The European Reformation had fractured the straitjacket of the medieval church, and its power over thought, literature, culture and communication. In changing the direction of European history, it spawned new ideas and the rapid development of language with the rise of mass reading and writing. It was the clear precursor to the Enlightenment and the Age of Reason. But the rise of Puritans, and their conflation with Pilgrims, causes confusion and has created a few myths.

In England, the Protestant settlement from the 1560s, if generally accepted, left a few groups dissatisfied. Apart from Catholics tied to the 'old religion' some on the Protestant side were unhappy, too.They thought the Church of England had not been fully reformed as it preserved some aspects of medieval Catholicism - church choirs, a formal liturgy, clerical vestments and an episcopal structure. In the 1570s the latter was a sore point, notably among those looking to the continental Presbyterian practice, with bishops displaced by elders.

Depiction of Puritan c. 1650

Rise of Puritanism

These ‘Puritans’ (originally a pejorative term) aimed to purify the Church of England of Catholic practices. They wanted a simpler form of worship and doctrine, and believed in corporate and personal piety. Never a formally defined version of Protestantism, the principally Calvinist culture spanned a wide spectrum between moderates and extremists. Puritans saw the Elizabethan settlement as just a first step - remain with the Church of England and reform it from within.

The ‘Pilgrims’ (the term was not used for the emigrant Plymouth Colony group until the 19^th century - their leader, Bradford, never heard the word in his lifetime), were Separatists. They were Calvinist Puritans who felt their beliefs so strongly that they could not follow them within the English church. There were pockets of them in the north and east of England. Not tolerated under Elizabeth or James, in 1607 a group left for Leiden in Holland. Many found it hard to learn Dutch and prosper there. Spain was threatening to grab more Dutch territory and some of the group haplessly got mixed up with religious unrest in Scotland. So in 1618 most decided to depart for a fresh start in America.

'Pilgrim Fathers' (or Forefathers)

In 1620 they left from Plymouth on the Mayflower, eventually mooring off what is now Provincetown at the tip of Cape Cod - the second English American settlement after Jamestown, Virginia in 1607. Half of them died on the ship or soon after arrival. Once ashore they found a European hut and kettle - in case they fancied a cuppa? Some land had been cleared, but not being a practical bunch, they relied on the local Wampanoag people, one of whom had spent years in London and spoke English, to show them how to fish and grow food. Indeed at the start they respected the locals, who made up two thirds of the crowd at the fabled 1621 harvest feast, the basis of today’s Thanksgiving.

Interior of Old Ship Church, Hingham, Mass.

Their charter from London was not signed before departure. As they had no patent, a document later called the Mayflower Compact was drafted. Revered by some American historians, it promised cooperation ‘for the general good of the Colony’. Issues would be decided by voting. The Plymouth Rock document is now widely seen as one of the seeds of American democracy. But perhaps we'd better not try to stray too far into the myths of American history. 

So what were these people like? The Separatists (or forefathers as they were called in America), and their European counterparts, wore colourful clothes, rather against popular belief. They tended to be poorer than mainstream Puritans and less well educated. They usually ended up on the outside of society. But they were tolerant of others’ beliefs. Puritans, though, especially the better off ones, usually favoured black hats and dark colours. With their ‘City on a Hill’ they were intolerant of other views, sharing a divinely ordained arrogance, and explicitly rejecting religious freedom. They also believed literally and actively in devils and demons.

Puritan power

In England, Puritan influence grew from 1630 as Charles I began ruling without Parliament. Puritanism offered a way to cope with the contradictory demands of Christian belief in a modernising world. A Puritan group launched a well-financed venture, the Massachusetts Bay Colony, in 1630. It was seen as a sound investment opportunity, with earthly prosperity a sign of divine approval. In 1629, pre departure, they designed a colony seal justifying the settlement - a nearly naked Indian, begging the English to ‘come over and help us’.

Replica of the Mayflower, Plymouth, Mass.

Within 10 years the Mass Bay group, centred in Boston, had grown to 20,000 settlers. They thrived as Plymouth wilted. Within 30 years they had basically taken over the 1620 colony. Independent of the Church of England in practice, they acted like Presbyterians, as did the Separatists. Puritan ethics of charity and self-discipline seemed well suited to a New World where opportunity was rich but the source of moral authority obscure. In current English usage, ‘puritanical’ often denotes prudery and aversion to sex. Yet these Puritans embraced sexuality, at least within marriage. Their birth rate was high - as remarked at the time, every family seemed to have 10 children.

Mass Bay Colony seal

At home, as part of the new commercial culture and as allies of the Scottish Presbyterians, Puritans became powerful in English politics. They were strongly represented in Parliament and played a major role in both the Civil War and during the Commonwealth and Protectorate. Many were prominent in several fields from business to education.

Legacy

The Restoration and 1662 Uniformity Act required all clergy to sign a new oath and follow the revised Book of Common Prayer, so almost all Puritan clergy then left the Church of England. The episode, called the Great Ejection, excluded huge numbers of people from public office. A few of the clergy went to America, but most continued in nonconformist denominations, especially Congregational and Presbyterian churches. Some Puritan ideals were absorbed by the Church of England, while others grew into new Protestant offshoots. Today’s Congregationalists are widely recognised as the direct inheritors of the Puritan tradition.

Puritanism as a force then died out fairly quickly in England. As a power it was gone by the end of the 17^th century, though of course it continued strongly in America for much longer. Indeed its legacy remains a key factor in US political, social and commercial life today.