What did the pilgrims hope to find in north America?
The Pilgrims, not to be confused with the Puritans, actually
hoped to find freedom to practice their religion in America. After
being persecuted in England for believing in the literal words of
the gospels and not following the practices of the Church of
England under James I, they found brief refuge in the Netherlands
and enjoyed tolerance and freedom to practice their religion
openly, but they turned away from worldly things in general and
found themselves living in extremely poor conditions in a society
which at that time was enjoying the financial benefits of being
perhaps overly-tolerant of every form of monetary gain.
In America, the Pilgrims hoped to find a place where they could
live in the more or less communal lifestyle they had come to know
and practice their religion openly.