After explorers discovered the continent of North America in 1492, many European countries sought to build colonies on this landmass in order to acquire more resources. Many groups also saw this continent as a place to escape oppression and was a chance to produce a new society rather than just reform the old society. Many attempted to form utopian societies in the New World, settlements that planned to create a perfect society free from corruption and strife and promoted peace and freedom. Many of the British colonies in North America were created by people who saw the New World as an opportunity to form ideal settlements that would embody the principles of justice and harmony. Unfortunately, many of these ideas could not survive long as a …show more content…
This colony was formed by a group of Separatists, Puritans that believed the Anglican Church was too corrupt and could not be reformed so they formed their own church. On their way to America, they formed the Mayflower Compact, creating a form of government with rule by the majority. Upon landing in the New World, many perished due to starvation, but by forming an alliance with native people, they were able to survive. The Plymouth Colony never thrived, however, there were never more than 7,000 colonists, and they were not able to export many goods to England2. Plymouth illustrates that while a colony can retain the mission with which it initially began, a utopian colony is not able to progress as well as a non-utopian colony, forcing it to either change or remain small and weak. One of the more successful utopian experiments, yet unable to survive on its own for very long, is the Massachusetts Bay Colony. This colony was also founded by Puritans seeking a better religious environment, but they believed they could reform the Anglican Church, rather than create a new church. The first governor of the colony, John Winthrop, said to the settlers, “we shall be as a City upon a Hill, the eyes of all people are upon us” and told the people that everything shall be held in common and all the people must do what God