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Puritan Escape from England to the Netherlands Essay

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The puritans were a group of settlers that came to America in the 1620’s from the Netherlands. They had previously immigrated from England to the Netherlands to escape their idea of religious intolerance and the form of Protestantism that was practiced. They also believed that England was a place of sin and was damaging their children. The Puritans left the Netherlands for Virginia for the same reasons and to reform the Church of England a little over a decade later. Slowly more and more members made their way to America in search of purification of the church. Although the main reason for coming to the New World was to escape religious rigidity of England and to create a utopian society based on the true teachings of the bible, the …show more content…

Women were also equals when it came to religion and could become full church members. Additionally, although rare, divorce was legal for a variety of reasons including desertion, violence or failure to provide. Men were expected to treat their wives fairly and were not permitted to abuse them, however, small infractions were often overlooked if it meant that a husband was keeping his wife controlled. Women were expected to obey males and if they strayed from the idea, they were to be labeled as dangerous.
The Puritans thought inequality was Gods will and that each person was part of God’s plan, therefore, if they were poor, rich, women, slave or a servant; that was where they were pre-destined to be. They believed in predestination and godly law and any deviation from the laws would result in condemnation to hell. Puritans believed in good and evil and supernatural including witchcraft which was punishable by death. People were often banished for criticism or disruption of their religious beliefs and in the earlier years people were put to death if they were thought to worship any other god. Witchcraft was a popular accusation due to the Puritan’s superstition and idea of Satan and his control. Additionally, it wasn’t uncommon for people that spoke out against the religion or specific practices to be labeled as a witch and put to death due to the accusation. Since the Puritans feared individuality and believed that social harmony was at the heart of their religion,

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