Final answer:
The Pilgrims were Separatists who settled Plymouth, aiming for complete separation from the Church of England, while the Puritans sought to purify the Church without separating and settled Massachusetts Bay. Both groups were Calvinists seeking religious freedom in America, but their approaches to the Church of England differentiated them.
Step-by-step explanation:
The differences between the Pilgrims and the Puritans are rooted in their views on the Church of England and their motivations for settling in the New World. The Pilgrims, who settled in Plymouth, were Separatists. They sought complete separation from the Church of England due to its lingering Catholic practices and established a Congregational Church in Leiden, Holland, before migrating to America. In contrast, the Puritans of Massachusetts Bay aimed to purify the Church of England from within and rid it of what they deemed unscriptural Catholic elements. Both groups were Calvinists, desiring to practice their faith without persecution. The Pilgrims, under the leadership of William Bradford, sailed on the Mayflower and landed in Plymouth in 1620, where they drafted the Mayflower Compact as a framework for self-government. The Puritans, following later, sought to create a godly community in the Americas, free from the perceived corruption of the English church.