formity to rules which the Puritans simply were unable to follow. In 1662 over 2,000 ministers and leaders in the Church of England were forced to leave. Rather than compromise their consciences they left. Historians regard the Puritan period as coming to an end in 1662. However it was after 1662 that the Puritans wrote some of their finest expositions. John Bunyan was imprisoned for twelve years after 1662. It was in prison that he wrote Pilgrim's Progress.
             Varrazzano--He made several discoveries including New York Bay, Block Island and Narragansett Bay. He was also the first European explorer to name newly discovered North American sites after persons and placed in the Old World. In 1524, Verrazzano set sail in search of a northwest passage to Asia with two ships provided by Francis I of France. The Written Record of the Voyage of 1524 of Giovanni da Verrazano as recorded in a letter to Francis I, King of France, July 8th, 1524 The brief story of his voyage to America and his adventure along the coast from the Carolinas to Newfoundland are told in the famous letter already mentioned. After Verrazano had sailed as far north as Newfoundland, he set sail for France, reaching Dieepe early in July, 1524. It was from here that he wrote his famous letter which is the earliest description known to exist of the shores of the United States.
             Champlain--Samuel de Champlain was responsible for a series of French explorations into North America in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries that resulted in the founding of the first successful French colony at Quebec in 1608. The passage is taken from Champlain's writings, the sense of European competition, particularly with Spain, for the New World is well-developed. Samuel de Champlain was a gifted man, and was many things in his life: explorer, map-maker, writer and governor of New France. From 1603 until 1635, he made twelve voyages to New France. He is credited with starting the...