<P> The return of self - rule for Plymouth Colony was short - lived, however . A delegation of New Englanders led by Increase Mather went to England to negotiate a return of the colonial charters that had been nullified during the Dominion years . The situation was particularly problematic for Plymouth Colony, as it had existed without a formal charter since its founding . Plymouth did not get their wish for a formal charter; instead, a new charter was issued, combining Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts Bay Colony, and other territories . The official date of the proclamation was October 17, 1691, ending the existence of Plymouth Colony, though it was not put into force until the arrival of the charter of the Province of Massachusetts Bay on May 14, 1692, carried by the new royal governor Sir William Phips . The last official meeting of the Plymouth General Court occurred on June 8, 1692 . </P> <P> The most important religious figure in the colony was John Robinson, an original pastor of the Scrooby congregation and religious leader of the separatists throughout the Leiden years . He never actually set foot in New England, but many of his theological pronouncements shaped the nature and character of the Plymouth church . For example, Robinson stated that women and men have different social roles according to a law of nature, though neither was lesser in the eyes of God . Robinson taught that men and women have distinct but complementary roles in church, home, and society as a whole . He referred to women as the "weaker vessel". In matters of religious understanding, he proclaimed that it was the man's role to educate and "guide and go before" women . He also said that women should be "subject" to their husbands . Robinson also dictated the proper methods of child rearing--he prescribed a strict upbringing with a strong emphasis on corporal punishment . He believed that a child's natural inclination towards independence was a manifestation of original sin and should thus be repressed . </P> <P> The Pilgrims themselves were a part of the English Separatists (also known as English Dissenters) who were Protestant Christians who separated from the Church of England . The movement sought to practice Christianity as was done in the times of the Apostles . Following Martin Luther's and John Calvin's Reformation, they believed that the Bible was the only true source of religious teaching and that any additions made to Christianity had no place in Christian practice, especially with regard to church traditions, such as clerical vestments or the use of Latin in church services . In particular, they were strongly opposed to the Anglicans' episcopal form of church government . They believed that the church was a community of Christians who made a covenant with God and with one another . Their congregations had a democratic structure . Ministers, teachers, and lay church elders were elected by and responsible to the entire congregation (Calvinist Federalism). Each congregation was independent of all the others and directly subject to God's (or Christ's) government (theocracy), hence the name Congregationalism . The Pilgrims distinguished themselves from the Puritans in that they sought to "separate" themselves from the Anglican Church, rather than reform it from within . It was this desire to worship from outside of the Anglican Communion that led them first to the Netherlands and ultimately to New England . </P> <P> Each town in the colony was considered a single church congregation; in later years, some of the larger towns split into two or three congregations . Church attendance was mandatory for all residents of the colony, while church membership was restricted to those who had converted to the faith . In Plymouth Colony, it seems that a simple profession of faith was all that was required for acceptance . This was a more liberal doctrine than some other New England congregations, such as those of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, where it was common to subject those seeking formal membership to strict and detailed cross-examinations . There was no central governing body for the churches . Each individual congregation was left to determine its own standards of membership, hire its own ministers, and conduct its own business . </P>

Where were the separatist planning on going when they came to the colonies