<P> The Great Migration of Puritans to New England was primarily an exodus of families . Between 1630 and 1640 , over 13,000 men , women , and children sailed to Massachusetts . The religious and political factors behind the Great Migration influenced the demographics of the emigrants . Groups of young men seeking economic success predominated the Virginia colonies , whereas Puritan ships were laden with `` ordinary '' people , old and young , families as well as individuals . Just a quarter of the emigrants were in their twenties when they boarded ship in the 1630s , making young adults a minority in New England settlements . The New World Puritan population was more of a cross section in age of English population than those of other colonies . This meant that the Massachusetts Bay Colony retained a relatively normal population composition . In the colony of Virginia , the ratio of colonist men to women was 4 : 1 in early decades and at least 2 : 1 in later decades , and only limited intermarriage took place with Indian women . By contrast , nearly half of the Puritan immigrants to the New World were women , and there was very little intermarriage with Indians . The majority of families who traveled to Massachusetts Bay were families in progress , with parents who were not yet through with their reproductive years and whose continued fertility made New England 's population growth possible . The women who emigrated were critical agents in the success of the establishment and maintenance of the Puritan colonies in North America . Success in the early colonial economy depended largely on labor , which was conducted by members of Puritan families . </P>
where were the pilgrims originally bound a. pennsylvania b. massachusetts c. virginia d. new york
Massachusetts