1. Soon after the Pilgrims settled in the Northeast, Puritans from England chartered the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Led by Governor John Winthrop, the Puritans had fled religious persecution in England and wanted a chance to establish a strict, religious government.
2. The colonies were alike in that they all had close ties to England. They were mainly inhabited by English-speaking people. Aside from some of Maryland, they were largely Protestant. They had their own forms of self-government, but they owed their allegiance to Parliament and the King.