MAYFLOWER DEPARTS ENGLAND: September 16, 1620

[Jcrowley]

MAYFLOWER DEPARTS ENGLAND:
September 16, 1620

The Mayflower sails from Plymouth, England, bound for the New World with 102
passengers. The ship was headed for Virginia, where the colonists--half
religious dissenters and half entrepreneurs--had been authorized to settle by
the British crown. However, stormy weather and navigational errors forced the
Mayflower off course, and on November 21 the "Pilgrims" reached Massachusetts,
where they founded the first permanent European settlement in New England in
late December.Thirty-five of the Pilgrims were members of the radical English
Separatist Church, who traveled to America to escape the jurisdiction of the
Church of England, which they found corrupt. Ten years earlier, English
persecution had led a group of Separatists to flee to Holland in search of
religious freedom. However, many were dissatisfied with economic opportunities
in the Netherlands, and under the direction of William Bradford they decided to
immigrate to Virginia, where an English colony had been founded at Jamestown in
1607.The Separatists won financial backing from a group of investors called the
London Adventurers, who were promised a sizable share of the colony's profits.
Three dozen church members made their way back to England, where they were
joined by about 70 entrepreneurs--enlisted by the London stock company to ensure
the success of the enterprise. In August 1620, the Mayflower left Southampton
with a smaller vessel--the Speedwell--but the latter proved unseaworthy and
twice was forced to return to port. On September 16, the Mayflower left for
America alone from Plymouth.In a difficult Atlantic crossing, the 90-foot
Mayflower encountered rough seas and storms and was blown more than 500 miles
off course. Along the way, the settlers formulated and signed the Mayflower
Compact, an agreement that bound the signatories into a "civil body politic."
Because it established constitutional law and the rule of the majority, the
compact is regarded as an important precursor to American democracy. After a
66-day voyage, the ship landed on November 21 on the tip of Cape Cod at what is
now Provincetown, Massachusetts.After coming to anchor in Provincetown harbor, a
party of armed men under the command of Captain Myles Standish was sent out to
explore the area and find a location suitable for settlement. While they were
gone, Susanna White gave birth to a son, Peregrine, aboard the Mayflower. He was
the first English child born in New England. In mid-December, the explorers went
ashore at a location across Cape Cod Bay where they found cleared fields and
plentiful running water and named the site Plymouth. The expedition returned to
Provincetown, and on December 21 the Mayflower came to anchor in Plymouth
harbor. Just after Christmas, the pilgrims began work on dwellings that would
shelter them through their difficult first winter in America.In the first year
of settlement, half the colonists died of disease. In 1621, the health and
economic condition of the colonists improved, and that autumn Governor William
Bradford invited neighboring Indians to Plymouth to celebrate the bounty of that
year's harvest season. Plymouth soon secured treaties with most local Indian
tribes, and the economy steadily grew, and more colonists were attracted to the
settlement. By the mid 1640s, Plymouth's population numbered 3,000 people, but
by then the settlement had been overshadowed by the larger Massachusetts Bay
Colony to the north, settled by Puritans in 1629.The term "Pilgrim" was not used
to describe the Plymouth colonists until the early 19th century and was derived
from a manuscript in which Governor Bradford spoke of the "saints" who left
Holland as "pilgrimes." The orator Daniel Webster spoke of "Pilgrim Fathers" at
a bicentennial celebration of Plymouth's founding in 1820, and thereafter the
term entered common usage.





“Philbrick avoids the overarching moral issues and takes no sides. He is telling a story about early America and explicitly relates it to themes of later American history. It's about how dreams of harmony and prosperity, a godly Eden in the wilderness, changed to land-lust, racism, cynical expediency, and war. And about how a disadvantaged but relatively stable society was driven to desperation and finally decimated.”  --David Mehegan, Boston Globe

"In this excellent account, Nathaniel Philbrick details the horrors and the heroics that shaped New England over the half-century after the Mayflower's 1620 landing. His Pilgrims, their descendants and those who followed them to the New World are by turns practical-minded survivors and intolerant zealots, compassionate sometimes in their treatment of American Indians and greedy often in their lust for native land. Their brilliance shone in the Mayflower Compact and their stupidity led to war and destruction.

"Likewise, Philbrick's Indians are more than cardboard cutouts. He provides richly drawn portraits of Massasoit, the powerful native leader who first made treaty with the Pilgrims; the duplicitous Squanto, his rival; and King Philip, Massasoit's son and instigator of a 14-month war that killed an astonishing number of Indians and colonists alike (but mostly Indians).

"Nor are the native tribes monolithic in either their respect or hatred for the English. Reconstructing the political motivations behind their terroristic attacks, actions that branded them savages at the time, one can't help but consider the modern parallels. Ditto, the examples of religious extremism."  --Ronnie Crocker, Houston Chronicle

[havocmom]

1. There went the neighborhood

[Jcrowley]

2. Myths and Facts

Myth: The colonists came seeking freedom of religion in a new land.

 Fact: The colonists were not just innocent refugees from religious persecution. By 1620, hundreds of Native people had already been to England and back, most as captives; so the Plimoth colonists knew full well that the land they were settling on was inhabited. Nevertheless, their belief system taught them that any land that was “unimproved” was “wild” and theirs for the taking; that the people who lived there were roving heathens with no right to the land. Both the Separatists and Puritans were rigid fundamentalists who came here fully intending to take the land away from its Native inhabitants and establish a new nation, their “Holy Kingdom.” The Plimoth colonists were never concerned with “freedom of religion” for anyone but themselves.

[havocmom]

5. Yes, I have a basic understanding of history

and also of the need for a little levity in life.

[grasswire]

9. goodness

The Mayflower Pilgrims were not Puritans. They sang, danced, wore bright clothing, and drank alcohol. Today's evangelical fundamentalist church is more repressive than the life of the settlers of Plimoth.

[Dem2theMax]

21. Just know - you got a howl out of me.

LMAO at your 'there went the neigborhood.' :) :) :)

[havocmom]

22. Thanks, it's a tough room.

Where's the rest of this moose?

[BrotherBuzz]

12. Mayflower passengers were Separatists and embraced...

'freedom of religion'. The 'Strangers' (non-believers) who arrived with them, and the Mayflower Compact attest to the fact that they were inclusive and allowed the non-believers equal rights. It was the Puritans who arrived later that imposed exclusive restrictions that forbade non-believers basic rights from land ownership to holding public office. The Puritans also orchestrated the 'witch trial', which targeted at the Separatists.

The Separatists also had a unique relationship with the locals and established peace with them that lasted many years until the Puritans usurped power and upset the delicate balance. And as they say, "the rest is history". Just ask Squanto or Quadequina.

[Jcrowley]

14. Yes

The Plimoth settlers did not refer to themselves as “Pilgrims.” Pilgrims are people who travel for religious reasons, such as Muslims who make a pilgrimage to Mecca. Most of those who arrived here from England were religious dissidents who had broken away from the Church of England. They called themselves “Saints”; others called them “Separatists.” Some of the settlers were “Puritans,” dissidents but not separatists who wanted to “purify” the Church. It wasn’t until around the time of the American Revolution that the name “Pilgrims” came to be associated with the Plimoth settlers, and the “Pilgrims” became the symbol of American morality and Christian faith, fortitude, and family.

[Selatius]

17. It was my understanding they were mostly Puritans

The more intolerant Puritans were named "Pilgrims" by others. They preferred to be called "the Godly," though, as "Pilgrim" started to take on a pejorative meaning. If I'm wrong, please correct me. It was my understanding they were mostly separatists as the Puritans lost the civil war with Cromwell, which prompted the exodus in the first place.

[BrotherBuzz]

20. The Separatists were on the Mayflower - Puritans arrived later

Plymouth Colony vs Massachusetts Bay Colony


I'm descended from two 'Strangers' and was indoctrinated from an early age to tolerate the Separatists, but to despise the Puritans, our mortal enemy (or so it was explained to me because my Great uncle x 10 was one of the victims of the witch trials and our family has a long memory). No, I don't have an anger issue, but I dream that the inclusive big tent idea of the Separatists had prevailed... would have, could have, should have.....

[John Gauger]

16. Not to mention that

most of them were deadbeats and draft dodgers and not religious types.

[Bucky]

3. Call homeland security! Wetbacks & religious fanatics are invading us!

Seriously, tho, thanks for the post.

[Selatius]

4. I can't wait until they start burning witches in 1692

Hate the sin. Love the sinner.

[Jcrowley]

7. Why Do Americans Depend On The Myth Of Discovery?

Is it because as Americans we have a deep need to believe that the soil we live on and the country on which it is based was founded on integrity and cooperation? This belief would help contradict any feelings of guilt that could haunt us when we look at our role in more recent history in dealing with other indigenous peoples in other countries. If we dare to give up the “myth” we may have to take responsibility for our actions both concerning indigenous peoples of this land as well as those brought to this land in violation of everything that makes us human. The realization of these truths untold might crumble the foundation of what many believe is a true democracy. As good people, can we be strong enough to learn the truths of our collective past? Can we learn from our mistakes? This would be our hope.

[Selatius]

10. It has always been hard to admit one's grotesque mistakes

Especially in an environment that continuously fosters and glorifies nationalism.

America, like any other nation, was forged in the fires of war, bloodshed, and pure human misery. The notion of American exceptionalism, that America is the highest among all nations, would never have been supported and, indeed, strengthened over the years if it weren't for the nationalistic propaganda pushed by the corporatists and the statists in the name of harnessing the power of the people to consolidate state power and corporate power and wealth. Pure economic and military might does not a great nation make.

[roamer65]

6. Roundabout Sept 16th, 1620

In Sept 1752 the month had only 19 days to try to bring the USA and GB into sequence with the Gregorian calendar. Little know fact.

[grasswire]

8. thanks for that reminder

I often think about the suffering of my ancestor Elizabeth Tilley who traveled on the Mayflower as a young girl and was orphaned that first winter as her family members died one by one. How fearfully alone she must have felt. Carver's household took her in, and several years later she married my other Mayflower ancestor, John Howland, who was a manservant to Carver. Howland had the distinction of falling OFF the Mayflower at sea and only being saved by grabbing on to a trailing rope in the water. Howland matured to become one of the settlement's most respected men, and he and Elizabeth established a farm and birthright in liberty for their children and children's children.

[eShirl]

27. howdy cousin :)

There's lots of us descendants of those two kicking around; everywhere I look, it seems.

[sandnsea]

11. Mine came on the Bona Nova in 1619

Who decided to make the Mayflower the nexus of this country anyway?

[Jcrowley]

13. Excellent question

So who were the Pilgrims? This question has been a vexing one for modern historians, and depending on the source consulted, different definitions emerge. Were they all of the Mayflower’s passengers, or were they only the minority of religious dissenters among the group? Does the term refer to those who came on four other ships, the Fortune, Anne, Little James and Charity which arrived during the first seven years of the Colony? Might the term apply to all of the residents of Plymouth Colony during its existence as a separate colony until 1691? There is no modern consensus regarding this matter, and little wonder, for the people of Plymouth never perceived themselves as a group who would at the end of the eighteenth century come to be known as Pilgrims. However, if we change the tense of the verb in the question from were to are, a reasonably concise definition can be offered. The Pilgrims are a quasi-mythic group of people who are looked upon today as the founders of America, and whose dedication to hard work and noble purposes gave rise to our nation as we know it. What most of us know about them we learned as early as grade school, especially around Thanksgiving time. Stern and godfearing, possessed of the loftiest motives, the women dressed in somber attire with white collars, and the men also dressed in grey and black, with buckles on their hats, belts, shoes, and for all we know, even on their undergarments. Some modern Plymouth residents refer to them as the "Grim Pills." This is the image with which we are all so familiar, but its origins lie more in early nineteenth century America than in the reality of a time two hundred years earlier.

http://etext.virginia.edu/users/deetz/Plymouth/deetzexcerpt.html

[VABeatPoet]

15. Mayflower? Why?

Well from what I gather this is another thing we have to thank the Civil War for...

With the South in full rebellion, the idea of the "First Colonists" in Virginia wasn't exactly good in the eyes of the north...so they took a relatively small settlement in the North, and made it the foundation for the nation.

It stuck.

[Bucky]

18. Welcome to DU, VA Beat Poet!

FWIW, New Englanders were commemorating the settlers of Massachusetts as the source of American democracy from as far back as Daniel Webster in the 1820s and Mercy Warren in the 1790s. But obviously the country's roots are a lot more complicated than just the Virginia and Massachusetts wellsprings.

[sandnsea]

19. I have French ancestors too

Founded Detroit and St Louis. So yeah, our roots are very complex and it's sad that it got boiled down to a handful of people in funny clothes in Massachusetts. I love Massachusetts and Cape Cod and all - but my goodness, what about the rest of our heritages. Including the Spanish in Florida, Mexicans in the SE, African Americans who did the back breaking work, etc etc.

[newyawker99]

23. Hi VABeatPoet!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[lynne]

24. Hardly! Pocahontas and her story keeps the dates intact -

- and preserves Virginia as the birthplace of the nation. Pocahontas was born ca 1595 - and she was there for the first permanent English settlement - Jamestown, VA - in 1607.

Jamestown, VA celebrates it's 400th Anniversary next year. There will be plenty of special events for the colonial era history buff to enjoy.

[TheWatcher]

25. And that same day meant the beginning of the end for an entire

Country of Native Americans.

Though they did not know it yet.

[Blue_Tires]

26. eh....they were johnny-come-latelys

Jamestown in 1607 is where it was at!:bounce: :crazy: :hi:

as the old joke goes: "England sent her criminals, deadbeats and whores to Australia, while she sent her religious extremists to North America--We are sad that Australia had first choice!":rofl:

[The Straight Story]

28. See what ya get with a poor immigration policy :) (nt)