John Cotton was speaking to a group of English Puritan emigrants, addressing them as they prepared to leave England and establish a godly community in New England. He spoke about settling in a new land because the Puritans believed they were called by God to plant a reformed, covenant-based church and society in America, away from what they saw as corruption and persecution in England.

Who he was speaking to

  • John Cotton was a leading Puritan minister whose influence helped guide English believers considering migration to New England.
  • In his well-known emigration-related sermons (such as Gods Promise to His Plantation , 1630), he addressed Puritan hearers who were either about to depart or seriously considering joining the New England colonies.
  • These audiences were typically lay men and women, along with leaders, who wanted biblical reassurance that leaving their homeland was spiritually legitimate.

Why he talked about a “new land”

  • Puritans believed England’s church and government were too compromised with what they viewed as unbiblical practices, so they looked to America as a place to build a more pure church.
  • Cotton framed the move as a covenantal “plantation” of God’s people, using Old Testament imagery of Israel being led into a promised land; he argued that, if they obeyed God, He would bless their new settlement.
  • He also used the sermon to answer doubts and “scruples” about leaving one’s country, insisting that migration could be a lawful and even duty-bound act when done for the sake of religious reform and godly worship.

How this fits your question

  • So, “who was John Cotton speaking to?” → Puritan emigrants and would-be emigrants, people on the verge of or considering moving to New England for religious reasons.
  • “Why is he speaking about settling in a new land?” → Because he is theologically justifying and spiritually guiding their relocation, presenting New England as a divinely warranted place to establish a reformed Christian community.

In many classroom contexts, if this is tied to a specific excerpt, your teacher is usually expecting you to connect these ideas: he is speaking to Puritans about to migrate, and he talks about the new land because he sees their move as part of God’s plan to found a more faithful church in America.