Part 3: Chapter 10, One Small Candle Summary and Analysis

Plymouth remained the only significant English area in New England for some time. In 1630, seventeen English ships arrived in New England, bringing over a thousand English settlers, over three times the population of Plymouth at the time. For the Pilgrims, the new arrivals signaled that one of their goals would always be unachieveable. As newcomers arrived with other religious ideals, the Pilgrims were left without their minister, who died before making the journey, and they felt like their purpose in coming to the New World was being diluted. In addition, many of the Strangers grew dissatisfied with life in Plymouth and moved to Virginia or went back to England.

The Pilgrims were dismayed at some of their new neighbors, particularly a man named Thomas Morton, who founded a settlement called Merrymount. Morton symbolized...