Leiden is also known as the City of Regugees, a name earned in the 17th century when the Calvinists, facing persecution by Queen Elizabeth I, and her successor King James I, headed to Leiden to seek safety. Some of the refugees later left for North America as so-called Pilgrims – considered by Americans to be the founding fathers of their country. It is these travellers that the Pilgrim Archives is devoted to – preserving maps, letters, paintings, and other items left by the Pilgrims as they passed through the town.
