A bit of religious history: The Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony are often described as Puritans. They were not Puritans.
The Massachusetts Bay Colony (centered in Salem and later in Boston) were Puritans. Plymouth Colony (in Plymouth and Cape Cod) were Separatists. The two colonies did not merge until 1691, fully three score and eleven years after the founding of Plymouth Colony.
The original ideological difference between Puritans and Separatists was that, back in England, the Puritans had originally aimed at “purifying” or reforming the established Church of England, that is, taking over an existing power structure; whereas Separatists had aimed at establishing a separate church, declaring independence from that power structure.
A bit of religious history: The Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony are often described as Puritans. They were not Puritans.
The Massachusetts Bay Colony (centered in Salem and later in Boston) were Puritans. Plymouth Colony (in Plymouth and Cape Cod) were Separatists. The two colonies did not merge until 1691, fully three score and eleven years after the founding of Plymouth Colony.
The original ideological difference between Puritans and Separatists was that, back in England, the Puritans had originally aimed at “purifying” or reforming the established Church of England, that is, taking over an existing power structure; whereas Separatists had aimed at establishing a separate church, declaring independence from that power structure.