The Mayflower and its Passengers

Mayflower

Mayflower Timeline

The Mayflower Society is named for the ship that brought the Pilgrims to America in 1620. The ship was small and voyages across the Atlantic were very dangerous, especially sailing in the North Atlantic during the fall stormy season.

  • 1607--The cargo ship, built in England typically carried wine, and many believe that years of spilled wine protected the ship against woodworms and the Pilgrims from disease during the voyage.

  • The exact dimensions of the Mayflower are not known; it is estimated to have been 100 feet long and 25 feet wide.  At that time, most cargo ships sat only about 12 feet from the waterline to the keel which led to the ship bobbing a lot at sea. After a Pilgrim fell overboard and was rescued, passengers were required to stay inside below deck. The second deck was called the gun deck and held several canons, powder room, cargo winches, their small boat and the 102 passengers. The 30 or so crewmen lived in various enclosed places on the main deck. A cross section view of the ship is here: http://mayflowerhistory.com/cross-section/.    

  • July 22, 1620 --The Pilgrim voyage started with those living in the Netherlands boarding a ship named the Speedwell near Leiden, Holland. It sailed to Southampton, England to meet with the Mayflower and more passengers. The Speedwell leaked on the short voyage to England and had to be repaired. On August 5th the two ships sailed.

  • August 12, 1620 -- The Speedwell continued to leak and both ships returned to Dartmouth Harbor.                

  • August 21, 1620 -- After more Speedwell repairs both ships departed England. After 300 miles at sea, the Speedwell was leaking again, and the two ships returned to Plymouth, England. The decision was made to leave the Speedwell in England, transferring cargo and passengers onto the Mayflower. Several passengers decided to remain behind rather than face the overcrowded conditions aboard the Mayflower. The Pilgrims included men, women and children including 3 women six months pregnant.

  • September 6, 1620 -- the Mayflower left England for the third time.

  • November 9, 1620 -- After 66 days at sea enduring many bad storms, the shore of Cape Cod was sighted. The Pilgrim’s goal was to settle in the English claimed territory, however, because of currents, headwinds, and many uncharted sandbars their attempts failed, and a decision was made to not sail south again.

  • November 11, 1620 -- They made a short trip north and around the tip of Cape Cod into Provincetown Harbor where they anchored. Here they signed the "Mayflower Compact" binding themselves together in government. In the Mayflower ship's hold was a 21-foot boat with oars and a small sail. After recuperating, they assembled and launched this boat to explore the interior of Cape Cod Bay looking for a suitable place for a settlement. Exploring was hampered by snow and bad weather. When not exploring, the Pilgrims remained aboard the ship.

  • December 25, 1620 -- After exploring the whole bay in a clockwise direction a decision was made to settle at Plymouth and the Mayflower was moved there.  The site had all the elements for a site they desired:  several good year-round freshwater springs, a good stream with fish and eels and room to put their small boat in safety during storms, the land was cleared ready to plant, no one was living there, and there was a tall hill near the shore that would give their cannon extra reach into the bay against possible pirates. The Indians were not present as they thought the area was haunted after all the previous tribe had died there.

Captain Jones planned to return immediately to England with the Mayflower, however, given the poor weather he decided to stay through winter.  The passengers lived on the ship while they constructed houses on shore. The ship finally left in the spring having lost several crew members to disease. The return voyage had good winds and took about half the time as the voyage to America. Records are scarce but the ship likely made cargo voyages around England after returning until captain and part-owner Jones death in 1622. It may not have sailed after his death and was valued at a very low price in May 1624. It presumably was sold for scrap. The name Mayflower was a very popular name for an English ship and so many were so named that more than one existed at times. 

PILGRIM or PURITAN

No they are not the same, not really. They both arose out of a desire for the Church of England to accept reforms of the Protestant Reformation around the year 1600. The puritans wished to try to reform or purify the Church of England from inside with no promise of success. Others became separatists in order to worship as they wanted now. These were persecuted by both the official church and the government and many flied to Holland. It was this group that left Holland and started Plymouth Colony in 1620. The name pilgrim was given to them later because of their wonderings.  

That is the main difference. Pilgrims came to Plymouth Colony which they started in 1620. The Puritans came to Salem and Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony starting 10 years later. And they came in much greater numbers.

By 1691 the Plymouth Colony Royal Charter was expiring and they reluctently merged with the Massachusetts Bay Colony rather than face a probable takeover by the crown. There were many other practical differences and the Puritans were usually more strict in most matters.

 

Why did the Pilgrims choose Plymouth to settle?

They were partially financed by the same group of people in England that financed the Jamestown settlement. One person on board, Stephen Hopkins, had lived at Jamestown. The Jamestown site had several deficiencies and the town was later moved 6 miles because of them. So they had knowledge of what local geography would and would not be best for them. They spent almost a month looking around Cape Cod Bay. They wanted:

·       A sheltered harbor for large ships. Anywhere in Cape Cod Bay would provide this.

·      A spot where they could get their 21 foot fishing boat ashore and safe from storms. The shoreline was gentle and also the creek allowed them to safely bring the boat upstream. There was even a prominent rock to step off onto.

·     A dependable source of fresh water. They found that the Cape Cod hook had only small or seasonal water sources. Plymouth had springs including a very good one in the center of town. Also there was a brook in the center of town that was the outlet of a spring feed lake.

·   A defensible location against pirates and ships from unfriendly nations. The hill just above the bay now known as Burial Hill gave them an excellent location for a block house and provided elevation for their cannon that gave it greater range than shipboard cannons. Yes, the Pilgrims brought a very big cannon with them.

·   A place where the Indians were friendly. They had some less than friendly encounters exploring around the bay. The tribe that lived at Plymouth had completely died out from disease a few years before and the site was abandoned. Neighboring tribes considered
the land cursed and did not want it. They would sign a peace treaty with the closest tribe that lasted 75 years.

·  Land that they could quickly plant crops in to feed themselves the next year. Plymouth had good soil and trees had been cleared from some of it. Other areas around the bay were too sandy or had poor drainage.

·  Oh by the way, the Pilgrims didn’t name it Plymouth. It was already named on early maps.