Born in London, Williams became an Anglican minister and then joined the Puritan movement. In 1631 he emigrated to Massachusetts, and urged the Puritan communities to formally separate from the Church of England; to pay Native Americans for their land; and to remove religion from the authority of the civil magistrates. Like his fellow-dissenter Anne Hutchinson, Williams was banished from Massachusetts. He fled southward and founded the settlement of Providence in 1636, adopting the principle that "God does not require uniformity in religion." He became a Baptist and helped to found the first Baptist church in North America; then he proclaimed himself a seeker, still searching for the true church. Williams traveled to London and in 1644 secured a charter for Rhode Island, which became a haven for religious dissenters. Williams contributed to religious pluralism which later helped to inform constitutional settlement.