From the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, little tolerance was exhibited by the Puritan leadership even toward Protestant views that did not accord with theirs. When the Province of Massachusetts Bay was established in 1692, its charter protected freedom of worship for Protestants in general, but specifically excluded Roman Catholics. After American independence, there was a broadening of tolerance in the nation, but this tolerance did not particularly take hold in Massachusetts. The arrival of many Catholic Irish immigrants ignited sectarian tensions, which were abetted by the Protestant religious revivals of the Second Great Awakening.