Why did the Pilgrims come to America?

Who were the Pilgrims, and why did they come to America in the first place? To answer this question, we have to climb into out time machine and travel back to the 1600s.

The pilgrims were people from England who sailed across the Atlantic ocean to reach America. Why did they come to a new land, so far away from their home? That depends on whom you ask. Different historians have different views and interpretations of this pilgrimage. But most historians agree that the pilgrims came to America so they could practice religion as they wanted.

Religion in England was strictly regulated, and by the time the pilgrims departed, it was imposed from the king onto all royal subjects (including common folks). Many people wanted to worship differently, practicing their own beliefs. Some of these people left and sailed to the “New World” in America, and they are who we now refer to as pilgrims.

When the pilgrims came to America they first landed at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts. Keep in mind that this happened in 1620. This is important, because there was already a permanent colony of English people in Jamestown, Virginia. So the pilgrims were not the original English settlers in America. In fact, Jamestown was not the first either. Settlers landed at Roanoke Island (off the coast of North Carolina) in the 1580s, though they later disappeared.

This article answers the question: Why did the pilgrims come to America in the first place? If you have other questions about history, click on the “History” link at the top of the website. We post new Q&A pieces on a daily basis, so you’ll find an ever-growing library of facts and information.