NEITHER PROVIDENCE ISLAND'S DESERTION by Nathaniel Butler nor the 1640 Spanish attack and its aftermath, even when combined with heady and demanding events in England as Charles I was forced to call parliament after an eleven-year hiatus, led the core among the investors to abandon their commitment to their venture in the Indies. Rather than being a time to shelve their plans in favor of other more immediately pressing problems, the changed environment made the adventurers once again optimistic about the realization of their hopes. In 1640 and 1641 the company turned in a new direction in the search for godly colonists and the stability they would bring: They urged the remigration of settlers already in New England who would consider moving south.

From the perspective of hindsight, this seems a ludicrous proposition. In 1640 the little island colony had less than a year of life left; New England was on the brink of a career of unprecedented colonial growth and strength. Yet, what is so clear after the fact was not apparent at the time. Rapid political change in England brought a dramatic drop in the flow of colonists to New England, which, without the influx of money the emigrants had brought, suffered a calamitous economic depression. From the viewpoint of 1640, it was a propitious time to convince colonists to move to a more promising location, and many New Englanders were prepared to listen.

The Providence Island adventurers had always seen the American puritan colonies as one great interlocking venture. Their eyes were focused on England and on the good that colonies might do for their country and for the reformed religion.