The History of New England pertains to the New England region of the United States. New England is the oldest clearly defined region of the United States, and it predates the American Revolution by more than 150 years. The English Pilgrims were Puritans fleeing religious persecution in England who established the Plymouth Colony in 1620, the first English colony in New England and the second in America (The first European settlement in New England was a French colony established by Samuel de Champlain on Saint Croix Island, Maine in 1604. ). A large influx of Puritans populated the greater region during the Puritan migration to New England (1620–1640), largely in the Boston and Salem area. Farming, fishing, and lumbering prospered, as did whaling and sea trading.