One of the most significant events of James I's reign was the sailing of the Mayflower—the king’s continued indifference to Puritan requests created growing unrest. Puritans saw the king as spiritually decrepit. focused solely on broadening his power base while retaining a moderate form of Protestantism. They felt he patronized the playhouse more ardently than he spent time in Scripture. The king saw the Puritans as hardliners who were determined to suck the joy out of life. They were deadlocked in a battle of will in which neither party was willing to back down. 

By this time Puritanism had become popular among the nobility and gentry. Many Puritans had gained significant influence and power in Parliament and used the apparatus of the state to force the king’s hand. 

However, others didn’t believe a political solution was the answer. They believed in the separation of church and state. The growing dissatisfaction with the king’s constrictive religious laws led some Puritans to believe the only solution was to either leave the Church of England or England itself. 

One of these groups was the Scrooby separatists. Separatists wished to withdraw from the Church of England to form their own denomination operating under a different form of governance. The king forbade this because he wanted to command absolute spiritual authority over his subjects. Thirty of the Scrooby separatists migrated to the Netherlands hoping to find religious liberty there. Unfortunately, the English settlers found it difficult to settle in the Netherlands. 

After consultation, they decided that they would leave Europe in search of a New World in the Americas. Others in England shared the same views as their migrant counterparts. The groups consulted each other and a plan to leave Europe was put in place. 

In 1620 the Mayflower set sail from Rotherhithe in South London carrying 53 passengers. Its sister ship, the Speedwell set sail from the Netherlands. Two hundred miles off the coast of Cornwall, the Speedwell developed a leak forcing it to turn into port in Plymouth. The damage to the ship forced the passengers on the Speedwell to transfer to the Mayflower, swelling the number of passengers to 130. Forty-three of those on board were Puritans leaving England in search of religious liberty. 

The voyage was a nightmare. Passengers endured cramped living conditions, food and water shortages, and violent storms that brought on severe seasickness. Land was finally sighted on the 9th of November 1620 when they sailed past Cape Cod. Eventually, the Mayflower dropped anchor in Provincetown on the 21st of November. 

The first winter poor diet, harsh weather, and illness claimed the lives of nearly half the passengers. Regardless of the harsh conditions the first wave of Puritans to disembark on American soil was not the last. Thousands more let England, braving the perilous voyage to secure religious liberty. Little did Mayflower’s passengers realize the far-reaching implications of the choice they made or how the principles that prompted that choice would become the cornerstone of the young nation they would shape. 

America was founded on the principles of civil and religious liberty ensuring that every citizen had the right to decide who, how, and when they worshipped. It was this dream that the Puritans pursued with unfailing determination.