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Who were the pilgrims?

Almost 400 years ago a small group of farmers lived in the little village of Scrooby, England. A king ruled that country then. His name was King James and he was also head of the Church of England. This king had very strong beliefs about how to worship God. He said all his subjects must worship this way too.

Most Englishmen obeyed the king. However, the people of Scrooby had different ideas. They thought people should be free to worship any way they wished, and they wished to worship in a simpler way. Thy king refused to allow this. So the group decided to leave the King's church.

They formed their own religious group. They elected their own leaders and worship in homes or barns.