The battle of the Teutenberg Forest to the Mayflower settlers in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
In AD 9 a band of germanic tribes lead by Roman friend turned deadly enemy, Arminius, destroyed 3 Roman legions and forever sealed the Roman Empire's border south of Germanic territories. These "barbarians" would forever separate the European lands and peoples.
Four hundred years after the battle of the Teutenberg forest germanic tribes would end Roman rule over what would become Europe. The Roman state religion would live on and gradually trickle north to encompass these Teutonic tribes and the entire region would eventually fall under the rule of "Holy Roman Emperors" that took their religious direction from the church in Rome.
Despite being subject to Roman Popes, the Teutonic people never considered themselves one with the latin peoples that never conquered their land. Consequently, when the Roman church became increasingly corrupted it was a German monk who made the split. Martin Luther's message resonated with the German people and German leadership that didn't like sending its revenues south. When Luther translated the Bible into German he gained a following that split the Christian church in two.
The splitting of Christianity opened a flood gate for a number of other discontented Catholics who were ready to provide their own interpretation of the Christian religion. One of these was a French reformer exiled to Geneva, Switzerland, John Calvin. Calvin's teaching would influence a whole range of European protestants including the newly separated Church of England. One of these sects in England would take on the most stringent and extremist parts of Calvinism. Known first as "Cathars" and later as Puritan's, they would adopt Calvin's austerity which separated them from most of England's new protestants.
While most Puritans maintained their allegiance to to the official Church of England and it's royal head, a small band separated themselves even further. Driven out of England, they would make a temporary home in Amsterdam. When an opportunity arose to move to a land of their own they purchased a small ocean-going vessel, the Mayflower, and sailed to America where they would form the Plymouth Colony.
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