A persistent myth, supported by decades of misled historical scholarship, tells us that the Puritans aimed to detach from the cruel world of commerce and live a spiritual life unspoiled by worldliness. “You can still sometimes see that image in textbooks,” Pestana told me, “but that’s wrong.” Plymouth and the MBC were economically active from the jump. They had to be. The MBC was a joint-stock corporation, meaning it had shareholders. It owed money to investors. And Plymouth had basically the same investment structure, though less formal. As early as 1624, Plymouth was described as a place
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