<P> A larger group of Puritans arrived in 1630, leaving England because they desired to worship in a manner that differed from the Church of England . Their views were in accord with those of the Pilgrims who arrived on the Mayflower, except that the Pilgrims were "separatists" who felt that they needed to separate themselves from the Church of England, whereas the later Puritans were content to remain under the umbrella of the Church of England . The separate colonies were governed independently of one other until 1691, when Plymouth Colony was absorbed into the Massachusetts Bay Colony to form the Province of Massachusetts Bay . </P> <P> Early dissenters of the Puritan laws were often banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony . The Connecticut Colony was started after Puritan minister Thomas Hooker left Massachusetts Bay with about 100 followers in search of greater religious and political freedom . John Wheelwright left with his followers to a colony in New Hampshire and then on to Maine . The Puritans also established the American public school system for the express purpose of ensuring that future generations would be able to read the Bible for themselves, which was a central tenet of Puritan worship . </P> <P> It was the dead of winter in January 1636 when minister Roger Williams was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony because of theological differences . One source of contention was his view that government and religion should be separate; he also believed that the colonies should purchase land at fair prices from the Wampanoag and Narragansett tribes . He escaped being deported to England by the Massachusetts officials and walked from Salem, Massachusetts to Raynham, Massachusetts, a distance of 55 miles through the deep snow . The Indian tribes helped him to survive and sold him land for a new colony which he named Providence Plantations in recognition of the intervention of Divine Providence in establishing the new colony . It was unique in its day in expressly providing for religious freedom and a separation of church from state . Other dissenters established two settlements on Rhode Island (now called Aquidneck Island) and another settlement in Warwick; these four settlements eventually united to form the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations . </P> <P> Thomas Hooker left Massachusetts in 1636 with 100 followers and founded a settlement just north of the Dutch Fort Hoop which grew into Connecticut Colony . The community was first named Newtown then renamed Hartford to honor the English town of Hertford . One of the reasons why Hooker left was that only members of the church could vote and participate in the government in Massachusetts Bay, which he believed should include any adult male owning property . The Connecticut Colony was not the first settlement in Connecticut (the Dutch were first) or even the first English settlement (Windsor was first in 1633). Thomas Hooker obtained a royal charter and established Fundamental Orders, considered to be one of the first constitutions in North America . Other colonies later merged into the royal charter for the Connecticut Colony, including New Haven and Saybrook . </P>

How did the search for religious freedom affect the formation of the new england colonies