Final answer:
Plymouth was colonized by Puritan Separatists seeking religious freedom, who founded the colony in 1620 with the signing of the Mayflower Compact. They aimed to establish a society based on Christian values and self-governance, demonstrating a clear distinction from colonies founded for economic reasons.
Step-by-step explanation:
Plymouth was colonized primarily because colonists were seeking religious freedom. In 1620, a group of Puritan Separatists from England, known as the Pilgrims, founded the Plymouth Colony near present-day Boston, Massachusetts. Escaping the religious constraints of the Church of England, they sought a place where they could worship freely and according to their faith without persecution. Prior to landing, they framed the Mayflower Compact, which articulated their aim to found a society based on their Christian values and self-governance.
The motivation for establishing the Plymouth Colony was fundamentally different from other colonies, such as Jamestown, which was rooted in economic pursuits. Further highlighting the stark religious incentives, the Pilgrims initially settled in the Dutch Republic to escape English religious constraints. However, they later decided to establish a new colony in North America to maintain their English identity and protect themselves from potential Spanish attacks.
Unlike some other colonies which developed more diverse religious practices, the intensity of Plymouth's religious convictions meant that any deviation from their established norms was not tolerated, pushing for more religiously inclusive settlements like Rhode Island to form nearby.