So much of history is distilled into sound bites that end up being the opposite of the truth, or at least a distortion of it because of what is left out.  The Puritans are a good example.  See Winging It: The Puritan Mission.

We are told that the Europeans in general and the Christians in particular were cruel, selfish, greedy folk who came to America to escape persecution and steal all they could from the natives. It isn’t true. Some of that happened, to be sure, but the original intent of the immigrants to America was a missionary intent. This is all the more confounding when you consider that these folks were dyed-in-the-wool Calvinists who believed that God did the choosing. Their job wasn’t to sit back and watch God work, but to obey the Great Commission and participate in God’s work. They did. Don’t buy it when you are told otherwise.