US History From a Brasilian's Perspective

What beliefs and character traits that typified the Pilgrims enabled them to survive in the hostile environment that greeted them in the New World? Did some of the same traits that helped them survive limit them in other ways? How so?

Some beliefs and character traits that enabled the Pilgrims to survive in the hostile environment of the New World included a strong sense of community, the ability to adapt to new situations like they had in Leiden, conservatism of their lifestyles and faith (which led them to leave England), perseverance to create a place where their faith could thrive, courage to explore and actually go to the New World despite various qualms, and the ability and initiative to make peace with the New World Natives.

Unfortunately, the biggest limiting trait of the pilgrims was their intent focus on their faith and the preservation of that faith. In later times, this intolerance made the Pilgrims assist with the Puritan persecution of Catholics and kick multiple people out of their community for blasphemy and other such charges. As Philbrick points out, it is ironic to see how they were doing the same things that had caused them to leave England in the first place. Another possibly limiting trait could be their conservatism. This trait kept the Pilgrims from being more tolerant of both other religions and other lifestyles. It wasn't until the second generation that influences form the the native Americans began to bleed into the Pilgrim's own lifestyles. It could also be that this conservatism kept the Pilgrims from fully understanding the Natives, which may have helped prevent the multiple misunderstandings that eventually drove the two apart.