What was life like for the Pilgrims who were banished to Holland from the Church of England?
The Pilgrims in Holland They were not banished, they left of their own accord. The Dutch have given many things to America: Easter eggs, Santa Claus, waffles, sauerkraut, sleighing, skating, and a host of “vans” and “velts” that helped to build our nation.1 But perhaps their greatest contribution to America was the 11 years of freedom they gave the Pilgrims — crucial years that helped America’s founding fathers work out their philosophy of freedom and prepare for self-government in the New World. t should not surprise us, then, that when English Separatists began to think of emigrating, they thought of Holland. But emigrating to Holland would be no easy task: Englishmen could not leave the country without permission. Never mind — the Separatists would leave secretly. The first group — members of a Brownist church in Gainsborough, went over in 1607; hearing good reports, members of the Scrooby congregation — the group which included many of the Pilgrim Fathers — prepared to follow.
