The Plymouth Colony was founded in 1620 by Pilgrim separatists fleeing the volatile politics of England. About a decade later, a group of Puritans led by John Winthrop founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony to escape the oppression of the Church of England. Together, these two groups established the towns of Boston, Salem, and Plymouth, which eventually became the hub of the Massachusetts region. A century and a half later, opposition to British rule exploded into the American Revolution, and Massachusetts became known as the "Cradle of Liberty."