It is known that Europeans had been hitting the Grand Banks (South of Newfoundland, East of New England) since at least the 1200s. Do to Gulf Stream, it was a week trip from Boston to England in the 1700s, a little longer in the 1200s, but just by days maybe even hours.
On the other hand, to get to the Grand Banks from Europe meant to fight the Gulf Stream. In the days before Steam that meant a Six week Voyage, longer if you hit bad weather or had a huge load.
One of the reasons behind the Raise of the "Reform" Churches of the Netherlands, was do to the increase in wealth of the Merchant Class, as the ships became bigger from the 1200s onward. Around 1000 AD you had the Viking Long ships, replaced by the Cog (1200s), then the Galleon (1400s), then later even larger ships. The problem with these larger ships is you started to need additional men to haul them onto the beach every two years or so, and replace every nail in the ship (The Salt water turned them into useless rust) and replace what bad wood was on the ship. In the days of the Long Ship, this could be done by the Crew, the ships were small enough to be beached and un-beached as needed. With the Cog, you finally get to a size that the crew needed additional help. For example when the Santa Maria was sunk on Columbus's first voyage, he had to abandon the ship, for the crew of the Santa Maria and the Nina and the Pinta were NOT enough to drag the Santa Maria on shore for repairs. On the other hand the crew of the Nina and Pinta would do that to the Nina and Pinta, but that is how much smaller the Nina and Pinta, basically Cogs (If not very large long ships), compared to the much larger Galleon the Santa Maria.
The Dutch and English were the leaders in the movement to make Ships larger, and thus more economical to run. To do so, they would recruit people on shore to help them beach these larger ships and then help them do the repairs, and then to get the ship back to sea. The Reform Church tend to be found in rural areas where such help could be found, Netherlands, Southern England, South Western France, and the lowlands of Scotland (The Catholic Church stayed the dominant church outside of these areas, through I have to point out the other area of strength of the Reform Church was areas where trade had increased via the use of teams of horses and oxen to pull wagons, such as the Switzerland).
This increase trade enriched the growing middle class of the above areas. With them the local peasants also saw an increase in income. Thus both groups embraced the Reform Church over the traditional Catholic Church and even the Earlier Lutheran Protestant Church. The Puritans were of the Reform Church movement, as were the Congregationists, and Presbyterians.
I went into the Reform Church for its members were tied in with the adoptions of larger and larger ships. About the time the Reform church hit the above areas, the Middle Class had made the move to these larger ships and taken the local peasants with them. The New Middle Class wanted to control their society, and thus embraced the Reform Church for it was a rejection of Social System based on the Catholic Church AND the rule of the old landed Nobility. The theological difference were NOT that great between the Reform and Catholic Churches, but the real dispute was who controlled the Church.
Lets remember at that time the Church was larger, richer and more important in most people lives, then who controlled the Country. For example, while land ownership was determined by the State, personal property was determined by the Church, even in terms of inheritance. It was the Church that kept records of birth and deaths NOT the State. It was the Church that determined if a marriage was valid.
Prior to the Reformation, most marriages in Europe were in the nature of what we call "Common Law" marriages, that were later blessed by the Church and thus recorded in Church Records as a Valid Marriage. Please note Ceremony marriages were still legal in areas where some sort of Roman Law Survived, through always performed by a Catholic Priest, but it was NOT the norm for most people till after the Council of Trent. This ruling that ceremony marriages were the only valid marriages was an Catholic effort to reach out to the Middle Class. To a degree it worked, after the Council of Trent, the Protestant Movement tended to come to an end, and the Catholic Counter-Reformation went on the march, the Religious wars of the 1600s were more Protestant efforts to stop the Catholic Counter Reformation. All the Protestant Countries later accepted many of the Reforms made in the Council of Trent (For example the Gregory Calendar and the abolishment of Common Law marriages in most of Europe, even England, but NOT to the English Colonies).
The Catholic Church in the Council of Trent, abolished such "Common Law Marriages" in Catholic Countries in the mid 1500s, and thus it made in clearer who was a legitimate child and who was an illegitimate child (a little vague during the Middle ages). The purpose of this was to make in clear who inherited what from whom (Which had been a little vague during the Middle ages). Lets remember the above for who inherited what, and who owned what was determined more by the Church then the State in 1500s (And had been the case since the fall of the Roman Empire in the West around 450 AD). Once you accept that premise, you quickly see why it was religious toleration was impossible, it would be like have two different governments fighting over who determined your legal rights today. Thus the Reformation was more a fight over who was to rule Europe more then how one worshiped. In many ways today's freedom of religion is a reflection of how much power all of the Churches have lost since the Reformation. Counties do NOT care who you worship, unless it affects someone's ability to rule (Thus the hatred of Communism in the US in the 1920s to today, Communism, till the 1980s, is a threat to who controls the US. and thus to be feared and thus was NOT to be tolerated).
But back to fishing. The above was the Situation in Europe in the early 1600s, Catholicism was on the March, Protestants was on the Defensive. At the same time, the movement was to even larger ships (Compare the Mayflower, a "Small" ships of its day with the Santa Maria of 100 years Earlier, a "Large Ship" of her day with the Converted Bonhomme Richards of 1779 to see how ships have become larger between 1492 and 1779).
The Santa Maria was 223 tons (1492):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Mar%C3%ADa_(ship)
The Nina, is believed to be only 75 tons in 1492:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ni%C3%B1aThe Pinta is believed to be only 60 tons (But bigger then the Nina, we have to be careful the guesses for the size of these boats varies):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinta_(ship)
USS Bonhomme Richard. 998 tons (1779):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Bonhomme_Richard_(1765)
The Mayflower (1620) was 180 tons, as to this ship we have a good idea, for it is reported, but the report is debatable, that timbers from the Ship was used to build the Mayflower barn in Southern England. A ship of that name was the source of the Timber for the barn, but it was a common name for ships at that time. so a debate exists if the timbers is from the Mayflower that took the Pilgrims to the New World or another ship by that name):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MayflowerThe Mayflower barn:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayflower_Barn#The_Mayflower_BarnBack to fishing, again. With the adoption of larger and larger ships, the fishing fleets of Europe started to go to bigger and bigger ships. Generally the fishermen were slower to adopt bigger ships then other merchants, for the simple reason of the increase cost to buy and maintain such larger ships. The Nina and Pinta were still of the Size the crew could do the needed repairs (And why such 100 tons and smaller ships were the preferred ships of the Caribbean pirates in the 1600s and 1700s).
On the other hand, larger and larger ships were being built and used, even for fishing and such large ships needed more people then the crew to do needed repairs. Worse do to the Gulf Stream it took six weeks to three months to get to New England but only a week to return to Europe. I suspect that starting with fishing on the Grand Banks, it became common practice to beach the fishing ship on a New England Beach, do repairs using wood and nails brought from home (And maybe a little trading with the Native Americans). Then un-beached the ship, haul in the Catch, process the Catch, and head for home.
By the early 1600s, it was clear that you needed people living in New England to help in doing such repairs to such larger ships. The Spanish had been slave hunting up and down the Coast for over a hundred years by the early 1600s. It is believed one of the Reason the Native American permitted the Settlement of both Jamestown and New England was the whites had Cannon, the native Americans did not. The white settles could NOT stop an concentrated Spanish attack on their Settlements, but that had NOT been Spanish practice. Instead it was individual Spanish ships doing the Slave hunting (Technically enslaving people was illegal under European Law of the time period, but it was legal to buy and sell people born as slaves or enslaved under the laws of whatever non-European Country the slave was found. The Spanish got around this ban, by claiming that the Slaves they "purchased" had been slaves where ever the Slave was from, if the slave objected and said he had never been a slave, the Spanish said he was lying. We know this to have been happening do to the "Black Legend" first written about by a Catholic Priest who was in the Caribbean in the 1500s. This report later became famous among Protestants as propaganda against the Spanish, they ignored that it was a Spanish Catholic Priest that first wrote about the problem).
Do to the Spanish raids (And the spread of Small Pox do to contact with Europeans, mostly the Spanish in the 1500s), most Native American tribes suffered a 90% death rate in the 1500s. Thus the need for Cannon and more people to fight off these slavers. Thus the support for white Settlement by the Native Americans in the early 1600s (By the mid 1600s Native Americans appear to have regretted the settlement, and thus you see the start of the Wars between the White Settlements and the Native Americans, in 1620 in Virginia, a little later in New England).
In England (and to a limited degree the Netherlands and other areas where the Reform Church was strong) the need for additional bodies in New England to help them repair their fishing ships became more and more clear as the fishing fleet slowly abandon Sloop size vessels, like the Nina and Pinta, and adopted larger size vessels like the Santa Maria and the Mayflower. Thus, an additional source of income for New England farmers was to provide labor to do such repairs. With the Settlement of New England, the fishing fleet also did NOT have to carry their own wood and nails, they could get both in New England (Thus New England became a center for Shipping as the 1600s turned in the 1700s). By the American Revolution, such repairs were common (And the main wealth of John Hancock, who is believed to be the richest man in America prior to the Revolution, he retains that position, or that of the Second Richest after the Revolution, the debate is whether Washington's land holdings in Western Pennsylvania exceeded in value John Hancock's wealth, given that the King of Europe gave Washington all types of personal presents, that he used to enrich himself, it is a close debate. An example of such gift was from the King of Spain, who provided Washington two donkeys and two horses, of the type used to breed mules in Spain, it is believed most US Mules are decedents from those gifts, gifts to Washington personally NOT to the US Government).
I am getting off on tangents again, so lets get back to fishing. New England growth after 1620 (especially after the Puritans settled after 1630) seems to be tied in with the growth of the Shipping industry in Europe. As ships became larger, the need to more and more people to breach and un-beach such ships became more and more important. Women were tied down to spinning thread, that was made into cloth by huge machines hauled by wagon to where the farmers were. The owner of the Machines would make the cloth out of the threads, in exchange for some of the Threads. The excess cloth was then sold to Ship owners to use as sails.
The above tend to be ignored in most History books, for its shows how economics affected the settlement of America more then any other reason, even religious freedom (Which itself was tied in with one's place in the economic situation in New England).
After 1800, New England's tie in with the Shipping industry started to die out. Manufacting slowly became more important. Farming became more important (For Example the Dukes of Wellington's main source of wheat for his troops, while he was fighting in Spain against Napoleon, was New England, even AFTER the start of the War of 1812, thus New England opposed the War, even while its sailors were being impressed, Support for the British was a profit center for New England between 1800 and 1820, profits to New England Farmers and New England Shippers and New England Sailors. This is strange given that during the US Revolution and for at least 100 years before, it was New England that wanted to be independent of England more then any other section of the English Colonies).
With the end of the War in Europe and the end of the War of 1812, New England farmers saw a lost of markets for their grain (Wellington's army went home) and New England Shippers saw less demand for shipping such wheat (again, do to the end of the War in Europe). The resulting unemployment (both small farmers and Civilian Sailors) saw a drop in income in New England, that forced both groups to look into the growing business of spinning cotton into cloth in huge factories. In turn, the growth of these Cotton Mills, lead to higher wages in New England by the 1830s, then the Irish came in and were willing to work for much less then Native New Englanders. Thus the Irish Catholic started to move to New England, ending New England's total control by the Congregationalists that had controlled New England since the early 1600s (By 1900s the Irish Catholics controlled large sections of New England). By that time, dry docks and Wet Docks were finally being built in the US to take care of the even larger ships being built, so the need to beach ships came to an end (The first dry dock in the US was built in Norfolk Virginia just before the US Civil War). Thus what had been a New England tradition slowly died out in the 1800s as ships became even bigger.
Yes, a went and covered a lot of material, for history is the interaction of people, and as such never simple (For Example, Oliver Cromwell, the "Victor" in the English Civil War, 1640-1650, was a radical Puritan, but in 1659 just a year before he die of natural cases, he lead his army to France, and in the Battle of the Dunes, fought along side French Troops, lead by the Catholic Cardinal Mazarin, against Spanish and English followers of the son of King Charles I, who Cromwell had executed for being to close to the Catholic Church. Yes, Cromwell fought along side a Catholic Cardinal against a fellow Protestant, the future King Charles II, in France. As his reward, England was given the City of Dunkirk, provided Cromwell agreed to protect the Catholics in Dunkirk, which Cromwell did. Dunkirk was later sold by Charles II to France, to pay off the Debts of Charles II. It was the last time Dunkirk was under English Rule, Dunkirk had been English off and on since the 1200s).
More on the Battle of the Dunes:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Dunes_(1658)
My point is history is NOT simple, it can be complex. Its complexity can make it interesting, but that same complexity can make it confusing, especially if you want consistency in history. Economics is a large part of History, but most people in the past and today, do NOT want to address economics, for it often leads to divisions (i.e. what helps the Upper Middle Class, may hurt the peasants, thus why the Upper Middle Class and the Rural areas that could get value from helping repair and operate larger ships turned to the Religion most tied in with Upper Middle Class Standards, while the Nobility and Peasants stayed with the Religion that best handled the interaction of such peasants with the Nobility. Religion became less important as the State assumed more and more control over the Economy, and with that control, religious disputes, other then theological arguments, died out.
It is easier to justify actions based on one's beliefs, but harder to justify one's action for it helps you economically at the expense of someone else. Thus religion and other dogmas (Communism, Ayn Rand etc) are used to justify doing harm to someone else, when that is to your best interests. Thus such dogma must be promoted and protected. That is why New England was settled, to help the shipping industry, which was tied in with the Reform Church movement in Western Europe. The Reform Church provided the dogma that the Upper Middle Class wanted to hear to justify what they did to the old Nobility and the Peasants. Many of today's leaders do NOT want to hear such information, for it makes it easier to look at the economic reasons why they are doing something, not the stated reasons. Thus history is poorly taught, to avoid showing people the economic reasons for people's actions in the past, turning to the easier to ignore religions or Political justifications instead, even when just justification made no sense at the time and less so today.
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