s headed by the king of England. Henrys actions stimulatedEnglish religious reformers to undertake a total purification of English Christianity. Calvinism fedthe social unrest and provided spiritual comfort to the economically disadvantages of EnglishPuritans. The mixture of visible saints and the Kings subjects in their congregation appalledextreme Puritans, or Separatists. This led King James I, who reigned from 1603-1625, to believethat if his subjects defied him as their spiritual leader, than they would not hesitate to defy him astheir political leader. This, henceforth, led to the harassment of Separatist off their land andlooking for a refuge to live free from religious intolerance. Continuing turmoil in Englandsprouted the Great Migration of the 1630s. Seventy thousand refugees left England seeking abetter life. Due to their continues persecution from the English authorities, a congregation ofSeparatist fled for Holland in 1608, only to lead a twelve year life of toil and poverty. TheDutchification of their children and the need to live as purified Puritans led the congregation tobelieve that America was a logical refuge. After securing the rights to settle under the VirginiaCompanys jurisdiction, the Mayflower set sail in 1620. Their site was off the shore of theinhospitable Plymouth Bay, outside the Virginia Companys domain, making them squatters dueto the fact that they were without legal right to the land and without specific authority to establisha government. The Plymouth colony was the first of many New England colonies that werefounded on the promise of religious freedom.A group of more moderate Puritans sought to reform the Church of England from within,gathering increasing support. This support that came especially from Parliament led Charles I todismiss the legislative body in 1629; this would lead to the further persecutions of Puritans inEngland. A group of non-Separatist Puritans secured a royal charte...
