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Puritan New England Pilgrims are people who make a journey for religious reasons.

But for Americans the word has a special meaning. To them it means a small group of English men and women who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in the year 162 . The group!s mem"ers came to "e called the #ilgrims "ecause they went to America to find religious freedom. $ometimes Americans call them the #ilgrim %athers. The Europe that the #ilgrims left "ehind was torn "y religious &uarells. %or more than a thousand years 'oman (atholic (hristianity had "een the religion of most of its people. By the si)teenth century* howe+er* some Europeans had "egun to dou"t the teachings of the (atholic (hurch. Early in the century a ,erman monk named -artin .uther &uarelled with these leaders./e claimed that indi+idual human "eings did not need the pope or the priests of the (atholic (hurch to ena"le them to speak to ,od. A few years later* a %rench lawyer named 0ohn (al+in put forward similar ideas.(al+in claimed that each indi+idual was directly and personally responsi"le to ,od. Because they protested against the teachings and customs of the (atholic (hurch * religious reformers like .uther and (al+in were called 1#rotestants2.Their ideas spread &uickly through northern Europe. 3n most countries people were e)pected to ha+e the same religion as their ruler.3n the 145 s the English king /enry 6333* formed a national church with himself as its head.3n the later years of the si)teenth century many English people "elie+ed that this church of England was still to much like the (atholic (hurch. They disliked the power of its "ishops and &uestioned many of its teachings. They wanted the church of England to "ecome more plain and simple or 7pure!. Because of this they were called #uritans. 8hen king 0ames 3 "ecame king of England in 16 5 he warned the #uritans that he would dri+e them from the land if they did not accept his ideas on religion. (onse&uently* the #ilgrims decided to go to America. /ere they persuaded the 6irginia (ompany to allow them to settle in the northern part of its American lands.On $eptem"er 16*162 * the #ilgrims left the English port of #lymouth and headed for America.

The #ilgrims! ship was an old trading +essel* the Mayflower. %or years the -ayflower had carried wine across the narrow seas "etween %rance and England. 9ow it faced a much more dangerous +oyage. %or si)ty:fi+e days the -ayflower "attled through the rolling wa+es of north Atlantic Ocean. At last* on 9o+em"er ;* 162 * it reached (ape (od* a sandy hook of land in what is now the state of -asachusetts and on <ecem"er 21*162 *they rowed ashore and set up camp at a place they named #lymouth. 1The season it was winter2* wrote one of their leaders* 1and those who know the winters of that country know them to "e sharp and +iolent with cruel and fierce storms2. The #ilgrims! chances of sur+i+ing were not high. The fro=en ground and the deep snow made it difficult for them to "uild houses. They had +ery little food. Before spring came* half of the little group of a hundred settlers were dead. But the #ilgrims were determined to succeed. The fifty sur+i+ors "uilt "etter houses. They learned how to fish and hunt.%riendly Amerindians ga+e them seed corn and showed them how to plant it. 3t was not the end of their hardships* "ut when a ship arri+ed in #lymouth in 1622 and offered to take passengers "ack to England* not one of the #ilgrims accepted.

Did you know that.......? > The Mayflower Compact is a document which the #ilgrims signed. 3n this document they agreed to work together for the good of all. 3n the Compact the #lymouth settlers agreed to set up a go+ernment ?a 1ci+il "ody politic2:to make 1 just and e&ual laws2 for their new settlement. > E+ery year on the fourth Thursday in 9o+em"er Americans cele"rate Thanksgiving. The first people to cele"rate this day were the #ilgrims.3n 9o+em"er*1621* they sat down to eat together and to gi+e thanks thanks to ,od for ena"ling them to sur+i+e the hardships of

their first year in America. The #ilgrims were joined at their feast "y local Amerindians.They had shared corn with the #ilgrims and shown them the "est places to catch fish. 8ithout them there would ha+e "een no Thanksgi+ing.

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