Pilgrims and the Mayflower
The Pilgrims who came to America in 1620, were mainly a group of Christians called Separatists. Because of the persecution of Separatists by the Church-State system of government in England, one group of Separatists moved to the Netherlands in 1608.After a while they became dissatisfied with conditions there and decided their hope lay in the new land of America.
In 1620, on July 12th, they left the Netherlands with 35 members of their congregation and their leaders William Bradford and William Brewster aboard the ship Speedwell, and at Southhampton, joined up with other Englishmen who had hopes of bettering their lives in the new world. The London Company granted them the right to establish a settlement in Virginia.
A total of about 120 passengers boarded both the Speedwell and the chartered vessel Mayflower, and left Southampton on August 5th , but had to Return to England twice because of dangerous leaks on the Speedwell.
Finally, at the English port of Plymouth, late in the sailing season, after much discussion about what they should do, some of the passengers from the Speedwell were transferred to the Mayflower, and on September 6th , the Pilgrims, 102 men, women, and children, left on their historic voyage across the vast still uncharted ocean.
During the voyage, the Mayflower was badly shaken by storms with many leaks in the upper parts of the ship. One of the main beams in the middle of the ship bowed and cracked, causing great distress, until a screw jack brought by one of the passengers was used to raise the beam and the carpenters supported it with a post and other timber.
The tireing voyage across the Atlantic Ocean took 66 days and claimed 2 lives. However, they still arrived with 102 souls, since a boy, "Oceanus Hopkins", was born at sea in route, and another, "Peregrine White", was born as the ship anchored at Cape Cod.
The Pilgrims had planned to settle somewhere near the Hudson River, in the area determined by their grant from the Virginia Company of London, but the LORD in his providence sent winds that urged the Mayflower north, where they sighted Cape Cod, November 9th.
Being brought to a good harbor they fell on their knees and blessed the God of heaven, who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean, and delivered them from all the perils and miseries thereof, again to set their feet on the firm and stable earth, their proper element."
(--William Bradford)
After anchoring inside the tip of Cape Cod (in Provincetown harbor) The Mayflower Compact, "the first plan for a self-determining government in America", was written and signed by 41 men aboard the Mayflower on November 11th, 1620.
The compact became the basis of a temporary government in the Plymouth Colony. After it was signed, the Pilgrims elected John Carver as their first governor. They were to meet in a yearly General Court to elect the governor and assistants, enact laws, and levy taxes."
These weary travelers wanted to establish a model religious community that was pure in religion and without the grandure of the Church of England. They called the land New England for this reason.
Being weary of life aboard ship, the Pilgrims were anxious to explore the country for a place to settle down. On December 11th, they landed at Plymouth where there was some cleared land, a stream with clear pure water, and a high hill that could be fortified. There had previously been a native American village there, but a plague in 1617 had wiped them out.
Several days later, on December 16th, the Mayflower sailed across to the rocky western shore of Cape Cod Bay in southeastern Massachusetts, and dropped anchor in Plymouth Harbor. This area had been so named on John Smith’s map in 1614.
Although Christopher Jones, the captain of the Mayflower had previously threatened to leave the Pilgrims unless they quickly found a place to land, he remained, with his ship, at Plymouth during that terrible first winter of 1620-21, during which about half of the colonists died. (After the winter in 1621, the Mayflower finally departed from Plymouth on April 5th, and returned to England.
Life in the New World was not easy. Lack of proper food, exhausting and never ending work, and extreme weather decreased their resistance to sickness, and there was much suffering and death. They lost 52 members, including their governor John Carver. Thirteen of the twenty-four heads of families died, as well as fourteen of the eighteen mothers. By spring only a few able-bodied men and boys were left to plant crops.
Even these men, who had been town laborers in Holland for years, might have been lost if it had not been for the help (by the providence of God) of two Native Americans, Samoset and Squanto, who had been captives on an English vessel and had learned English. As the story goes, "One spring morning, an Indian walked into the village,
and introduced himself to the startled people as Samoset. Two weeks later he returned with Squanto. The two Indians introduced the Pilgrims to Massasoit,the chief, of the Wampanoag tribe that controlled all southeastern Massachusetts. An exchange of gifts and good relations resulted in a peace that lasted over 50 years. The Pilgrims, under Squanto's direction, caught fish and used them as fertilizer in planting corn, pumpkins, and beans. They hunted and fished for food.”
Another factor in the survival of the Plymouth Colony was the leadership of William Bradford, who served as governor for 30 years. Elections were held by the colonist yearly. Bradford combined discipline with both tact and common sense. He and several other leaders assumed the total cost of the colonists which needed to be paid to the London backers, and then divided the land and goods equally among the inhabitants.
First thanksgiving
The LORD Jesus Christ so wonderfully blessed their first harvest, that Governor Bradford declared a special celebration. The Pilgrims invited their Native American friends to join them in a three-day festival in the Autumn of 1621 in what we now call the first Thanksgiving
It was not until 1793 that the name "Pilgrims" was used. On the celebration of "Forefathers Day" at Plymouth, the "Reverend" Chandler Robbins, used the term. He had gone through the church records and had found a copy of William Bradford's description of the departure from the Old World. Bradford said, "but they knew they were _pilgrims_ and looked not much on those things, but lifted up their eyes to the heavens, their dearest country, and quieted their spirits”. In his sermon Robbins used the name Pilgrims to describe Plymouth’s Forefathers and the name has been used from that point.(--Collier's Ency.)
The Mayflower Compact
The original document has not survived, but this version of the Compact is found in William Bradford's history Of Plimoth Plantation:
This second version of the Compact is a modernized version with spelling and grammar updates:
In ye name of god Amen· We whofe names are vnderwriten, the Loyall subjecTs of our dread fouraigne Lord King James by ye grace of god, of great britaine, franc, & Ireland king, defender of ye faith, &c
Haueing vndertaken, for ye glorie of god, and aduancemente of ye chrisTian ^faith and honour of our king & countrie, a uoyage to plant ye first
colonie in ye Northerne parts of Virginia· Doe by thefe prefents solemnly & mutualy in ye prefence of god, and one of another, couenant, & combine our felues
together into a ciuill body politick, for ourye better ordering, & preferuation & fur= therance of ye ends aforefaid; and by vertue hearof to enacte,
constitute, and frame fhuch just & equall Lawes, ordinances, Acts, constitutions, & offices, from time to time, as fhall be thought most meete & conuenient for
ye generall good of ye colonie: vnto which we promife all due submiffion and obedience.
In witnes whereof we haue herevnder subfcribed our names at cap= codd ye ·11· of Nouember, in ye year of ye raigne of our soueraigne Lord king James Of England, france, & Ireland ye eighteenth and of Scotland ye fiftie fourth. Ano: Dom 1620 In the name of God, Amen:
We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, etc.
Having undertaken for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and the honour of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia: Do by these Presents, solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and of one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politick, for our better ordering and preservation, and furtherance of the aforesaid ends; And by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions and Offices, from time to time, as Shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.
In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape Cod the 11th
of November, in the reign of our Sovereign Lord, King James of England, France and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Domini, 1620.
Signers of the Mayflower Compact
John Carver, Richard Warren, John Turner, Edmon Margeson, William Bradford, John Howland, Francis Eaton, Peter Brown, Edward Winslow, Stephen Hopkins, James Chilton, Richard Britteridge, William Brewster, Edward Tilly, John Crackston, George Soule, Isaac Allerton, John Tilly, John Billington, Myles Standish, Francis Cooke, Moses Fletcher, Richard Gardiner, John Alden, Thomas Rogers, John Goodman, John Allerton, Samuel Fuller, Thomas Tinker, Degory Priest, Thomas English, Christopher Martin, John Rigdale, Thomas Williams, Edward Doty, William Mullins, Edward Fuller, Gilbert Winslow, Edward Leister, William White, Richard Clarke.
The Honored 102. William Bradford, second governor of Plymouth, wrote a history of the Mayflower adventure.