ABSTRACT
In the early seventeenth century, Englishmen with dissenting religious views emigrated in two main directions: to the east and the west. Some, like the Pilgrim Fathers, first crossed the North Sea and settled in the Low Countries, and later set off to North America. Others chose Ireland before travelling to North America.1 One of the most important migrations that took place in the early 1630s was led by John Winthrop Sr, supported by his brother-in-law Emanuel Downing, and resulted in the establishment of the Massachusetts Bay colony in New England. Very little has been known about how these influential figures obtained the experience in organizing the massive emigration to New England.
