Pilgrim Hall Museum - About the Pilgrims - The Pilgrims' Landing in America The Pilgrims' Landing in America Having landed on Cape Cod, a small party set out to explore. Coming on a place where Native People had stored corn underground, they confiscated it to use for seed. Finding poor soil and lack of fresh water, they decided to look further. The Mayflower’s pilot, Robert Coppin, remembered Plymouth Harbor from a previous visit. An exploring party set out in the shallop: ...though it was very dark and rained sore, yet in the end they got under the lee of a small island [Clark's Island] and remained there all that night in safety... And this being the last day of the week, they prepared there to keep the Sabbath. On Monday they sounded the harbor and found it fit for shipping, and marched into the land and found divers cornfield, and little running brooks, a place (as they supposed) fit for situation. At least it was the best they could find. - William Bradford The Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor by Halsall William Bradford writes of how the exploring party from the Mayflower, sailing in the shallop, survived a storm and landed on Clark’s Island.

After spending the Sabbath on the island, the party finally landed for the first time in Plymouth: From hence they departed, & co[a]sted all along, but discerned no place likely for harbor; & therfore hasted to a place that their pillote, (one Mr. Coppin who had bine in ye cuntrie before) did assure them was a good harbor, which he had been in, and they might fetch it before night; of which they were glad, for it begane to be foule weather. After some houres sailing, it begane to snow & raine, & about ye midle of ye afternoone, ye wind increased, & ye sea became very rough, and they broake their ruder, & it was as much as 2 men could doe to steere her with a cupple of oares. But their pillott bad them be of good cheere, for he saw ye harbor; but ye storme increasing, & night drawing on, they bore what saile they could to gett in, while they could see.

But herwith they broake their mast in 3 peeces, & their saill fell over bord, in a very grown sea, so as they had like to have been cast away; yet by Gods mercie they recovered them selves, & having ye floud with them, struck into ye harbore. But when it came too, ye pillott was deceived in ye place, and said, ye Lord be mercifull unto them, for his eys never saw yt place before; & he & the mr. mate would have rune her ashore, in a cove full of breakers, before ye winde. But a lusty seaman which steered, bad those which rowed, if they were men, about with her, or ells they were all cast away; the which they did with speed. So he bid them be of good cheere & row lustly, for ther was a faire sound before them, & he doubted not but they should find one place or other wher they might ride in saftie. And though it was very darke, and rained sore, yet in ye end they gott under ye lee of a smale iland, and remained ther all yt night in saftie.

But they knew not this to be an iland till morning, but were devided in their minds; some would keepe ye boate for fear they might be amongst ye Indians; others were so weake and cold, they could not endure, but got a shore, & with much adoe got fire, (all things being so wett,) and ye rest were glad to come to them; for after midnight ye wind shifted to the north-west, & it frose hard. But though this had been a day & night of much trouble & danger unto them, yet God gave them a morning of comforte & refreshing (as usually he doth to his children), for ye next day was a faire sunshinig day, and they found them sellvs to be on an iland secure from ye Indeans, wher they might drie their stufe, fixe their peeces, & rest them selves, and gave God thanks for his mercies, in their manifould deliverances. And this being the last day of ye weeke, they prepared there to keepe ye Sabath.

On Munday they sounded ye harbor, and founde it fitt for shipping; and marched into ye land [Plymouth], & found diverse cornfeilds, & litle runing brooks, a place (as they supposed) fitt for situation; at least it was ye best they could find, and ye season, & their presente necessitie, made them glad to accepte of it. So they returned to their shipp againe with this news to ye rest of their people, which did much comforte their harts. The Landing of the Pilgrims by Corne The exploring party went ashore at Plymouth on December 21, 1620. Bradford noted "it was the best they could find, and the season and present necessity made them glad to accept of it." The 17th century records do not mention Plymouth Rock. Nevertheless, Plymouth Rock has become one of the most enduring symbols of the Pilgrims. There is much more information about Plymouth Rock in “Beyond the Pilgrim Story.” Finding the place "very good for situation," they resolved to stay. Soon, however, the little band began to suffer mightily from cold and disease.

Of the 102 Mayflower passengers, only half remained alive by spring. The Mayflower sailed back to England in the spring of 1621. Despite the hardships of the winter, none of the Pilgrims returned with the ship. The Mayflower resumed transporting cargo, never returning to Plymouth. By 1624, the Mayflower’s sailing life was over and the ship was described as being "in ruins." It was not until April of 1621, that Samoset (a Native Abenaki who spoke English) entered the village and said "Welcome!" LATER SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PILGRIMS LANDING "Two thousand miles westward from the rock where their fathers landed, may now be found the sons of the Pilgrims ... [cherishing the blessings] of wise institutions, of liberty, and religion." - Daniel Webster, 1820 Paintings from the early years of the new American nation emphasize the Pilgrims' separation from the Old World or their landing in the New. They show the Pilgrims as larger-than-life heroes. Later scenes are more sentimental. Usually missing is the Pilgrims' sense of identity as loyal Englishmen!

Some paintings show the Native Peoples who occupied the continent, although the meeting of the two groups is often skewed. By the 1840s, however, Natives are absent from landing scenes, reflecting the emerging idea of "manifest destiny" and America's push to the Pacific Ocean. The Pilgrims - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.com Google The Mayflower Voyage The group that set out from Plymouth, in southwestern England, in September 1620 included 35 members of a radical Puritan faction known as the English Separatist Church. In 1607, after illegally breaking from the Church of England, the Separatists settled in the Netherlands, first in Amsterdam and later in the town of Leiden, where they remained for the next decade under the relatively lenient Dutch laws. Due to economic difficulties, as well as fears that they would lose their English language and heritage, they began to make plans to settle in the New World. Their intended destination was a region near the Hudson River, which at the time was thought to be part of the already established colony of Virginia .

In 1620, the would-be settlers joined a London stock company that would finance their trip aboard the Mayflower, a three-masted merchant ship, in 1620. A smaller vessel, the Speedwell, had initially accompanied the Mayflower and carried some of the travelers, but it proved unseaworthy and was forced to return to port by September. Did You Know? Bradford and the other Plymouth settlers were not originally known as Pilgrims, but as "Old Comers." This changed after the discovery of a manuscript by Bradford in which he called the settlers who left Holland "saints" and "pilgrimes." In 1820, at a bicentennial celebration of the colony's founding, the orator Daniel Webster referred to "Pilgrim Fathers," and the term stuck. Some of the most notable passengers on the Mayflower included Myles Standish, a professional soldier who would become the military leader of the new colony; and William Bradford , a leader of the Separatist congregation who wrote the still-classic account of the Mayflower voyage and the founding of Plymouth Colony .

While still on board the ship, a group of 41 men signed the so-called Mayflower Compact , in which they agreed to join together in a “civil body politic.” This document would become the foundation of the new colony’s government. Settling at Plymouth Rough seas and storms prevented the Mayflower from reaching their initial destination, and after a voyage of 65 days the ship reached the shores of Cape Cod, anchoring on the site of Provincetown Harbor in mid-November. After sending an exploring party ashore, the Mayflower landed at what they would call Plymouth Harbor, on the western side of Cape Cod Bay, in mid-December. During the next several months, the settlers lived mostly on the Mayflower and ferried back and forth from shore to build their new storage and living quarters. The settlement’s first fort and watchtower was built on what is now known as Burial Hill (the area contains the graves of Bradford and other original settlers). More than half of the English settlers died during that first winter, as a result of poor nutrition and housing that proved inadequate in the harsh weather.

Leaders such as Bradford, Standish, John Carver, William Brewster and Edward Winslow played important roles in keeping the remaining settlers together. In April 1621, after the death of the settlement’s first governor, John Carver, Bradford was unanimously chosen to hold that position; he would be reelected 30 times and served as governor of Plymouth for all but five years until 1656. Relations with Native Americans The native inhabitants of the region around Plymouth Colony were the various tribes of the Wampanoag people, who had lived there for some 10,000 years before the Europeans arrived. Soon after the Pilgrims built their settlement, they came into contact with Tisquantum, or Squanto, an English-speaking Native American. Squanto was a member of the Pawtuxet tribe (from present-day Massachusetts and Rhode Island ) who had been seized by the explorer John Smith’s men in 1614-15. Meant for slavery, he somehow managed to escape to England, and returned to his native land to find most of his tribe had died of plague.

In addition to interpreting and mediating between the colonial leaders and Native American chiefs (including Massasoit, chief of the Pokanoket), Squanto taught the Pilgrims how to plant corn, which became an important crop, as well as where to fish and hunt beaver. In the fall of 1621, the Pilgrims famously shared a harvest feast with the Pokanokets; the meal is now considered the basis for the Thanksgiving holiday. After attempts to increase his own power by turning the Pilgrims against Massasoit, Squanto died in 1622, while serving as Bradford’s guide on an expedition around Cape Cod. Other tribes, such as the Massachusetts and Narragansetts, were not so well disposed towards European settlers, and Massasoit’s alliance with the Pilgrims disrupted relations among Native American peoples in the region. Over the next decades, relations between settlers and Native Americans deteriorated as the former group occupied more and more land. By the time William Bradford died in 1657, he had already expressed anxiety that New England would soon be torn apart by violence. In 1675, Bradford’s predictions came true, in the form of King Philip’s War.

(Philip was the English name of Metacomet, the son of Massasoit and leader of the Pokanokets since the early 1660s.) That conflict left some 5,000 inhabitants of New England dead, three quarters of those Native Americans. In terms of percentage of population killed, King Philip’s War was more than twice as costly as the American Civil War and seven times more so than the American Revolution . The Pilgrim Legacy in New England Repressive policies toward religious nonconformists in England under King James I and his successor, Charles I, had driven many men and women to follow the Pilgrims’ path to the New World. Three more ships traveled to Plymouth after the Mayflower, including the Fortune (1621), the Anne and the Little James (both 1623). In 1630, a group of some 1,000 Puritan refugees under Governor John Winthrop settled in Massachusetts according to a charter obtained from King Charles I by the Massachusetts Bay Company. Winthrop soon established Boston as the capital of Massachusetts Bay Colony, which would become the most populous and prosperous colony in the region.

Compared with later groups who founded colonies in New England, such as the Puritans, the Pilgrims of Plymouth failed to achieve lasting economic success. After the early 1630s, some prominent members of the original group, including Brewster, Winslow and Standish, left the colony to found their own communities. The cost of fighting King Philip’s War further damaged the colony’s struggling economy. Less than a decade after the war King James II appointed a colonial governor to rule over New England, and in 1692, Plymouth was absorbed into the larger entity of Massachusetts. Bradford and the other Plymouth settlers were not originally known as Pilgrims, but as “Old Comers.” This changed after the discovery of a manuscript by Bradford in which he called the settlers who left Holland “saints” and “pilgrimes.” In 1820, at a bicentennial celebration of the colony’s founding, the orator Daniel Webster referred to “Pilgrim Fathers,” and the term stuck. Tags The Pilgrim Fathers - History Learning Site Home » Stuart England » The Pilgrim Fathers The Pilgrim Fathers Citation: C N Trueman "The Pilgrim Fathers" historylearningsite.co.uk.

The History Learning Site, 17 Mar 2015. 16 Aug 2016. In 1620 one hundred Puritans boarded the ‘Mayflower’ bound for the New World. These people were the Pilgrim Fathers. The Pilgrim Fathers saw little chance of England becoming a country in which they wished to live. They viewed it as un-Godly and moving from a bad to worse state. The Pilgrim Fathers believed that a new start in the New World was their only chance. A lot of the trials and tribulations about where they should sail to, the journey across the Atlantic to the New World and the initial problems experienced by the Pilgrim Fathers are contained in a diary written by William Bradford. “The place they thought of was one of those vast and unpeopled countries of America, which are fruitful and fit for living. There are only savages and brutish men, just like wild beasts. This idea led to many and different opinions. But, after many things were said, it was agreed by the major part to carry it out. Some were keen for Guiana, or some of those fertile places in those hot climates. Others were for some part of Virginia.

After they had enjoyed fair winds and weather for a time, they met cross winds and many fierce storms. With these the ship was greatly shaken, and her upper decks made very leaky. In many of these storms, winds were so fierce and the seas so high that they could not carry a scrap of sail. A in one of them, a lusty young man called John Howland, coming for some occasion upon deck, was with a heel of the ship thrown into the sea. But, it pleased God that he caught hold of the topsail ropes, which hung overboard and ran out at length.” On November 9th, 1620, the ‘Mayflower’ sighted what is now Cape Cod. Despite seeing land, the crew of the ‘Mayflower’ searched for another month to find somewhere to land. Where they eventually landed was called New Plymouth. On December 25th, after finding a place where the ‘Mayflower’ could be safely anchored, the Pilgrim Fathers began to build the first house for common use. Bradford described in his diary how the “foulness” of winter affected all and that many became sick.

By February 1621, Bradford claimed that 50% of the Pilgrim Fathers had died as a result of the cold weather and the inadequate housing that they had built for themselves. A Native American called Squanto helped those Pilgrim Fathers who survived the harsh winter. He showed them how to sow maize and how to cultivate the crop. Bradford claimed that seeds brought from England were of little use in their new environment. By the summer of 1621, the Pilgrim Fathers had built houses for themselves and had gathered up a small harvest. Bradford claimed that: “They were well recovered in health and strength, and had all things in good plenty. For, as some were thus working in the fields, others took part in fishing for cod and bass and other fish. Of these, they took good store, a large amount of which every family had its share. All the summer there was of no want. And then began to arrive flocks of duck and geese.” However, not all Native Americans were friendly. As a result, a wooden fence with watchtowers surrounded the homes that had been built and the gates in the fence were locked at night.

By 1622 the Pilgrim Fathers had built a fort to protect themselves. It also served as a meeting place to discuss issues of government within the new colony. Over the next few years, as life for Puritans became more uncomfortable in England, more and more made the journey across the Atlantic. By 1630, their numbers were such that the Puritans were able to establish the Massachusetts Bay Company and establish Boston, which was to grow as a major port. Despite the privations of 1620, the Puritans founded colonies that thrived and their success depended on fishing, shipbuilding, trade and farming.

The Pilgrims and Plymouth Colony:1620 ---- Link to illustration of sailors carrying a tun barrel in 1597 ---- Link to details about The Ship ---- Link to 17th Century Navigation and numerous Student Activities CHRISTOPHER JONES: MASTER OF THE MAYFLOWER LIFE ABOARD THE MAYFLOWER ---- Link to a list of Mayflower Passengers November 25, 2013 ---- Link to Pilgrim Search puzzle ---- Link to Medical Arts on the Mayflower ---- Link to "Ship Surgeon's Chest" ---- Link to Children on the Mayflower ---- Link to Mayflower Classroom Activity STORMS AT SEA [William Bradford's account] October 2003 ---- Link to Dr. Mike Haywood's painting of Mayflower approaching a head sea entitled "The Wind Freshens" ---- Link to Dr.

Mike Haywood's painting of "John Howland Overboard" ANIMALS ON BOARD ---- Link to The Mayflower Dogs PROVISIONS ---- Link to Clothing of the Pilgrims FURNITURE ---- Link to an explanation of "Dual Dates" ---- Link to Elementary Compact Study ---- Link to Upper Level Compact Study THE FIRST EXPLORATIONS ---- Link to photos of Cape Cod CAPE COD BAY ---- Link to photo of Provincetown CAPE COD ---- Link to photos of Pilgrim Spring CORN HILL ---- Link to a coloring sheet on Indian Dwellings ---- Link to photos of Corn Hill FIRST ENCOUNTER BEACH ---- Link to photo of a shallop exploring an inlet ---- Link to Shallop in Sail (shallop coloring sheet) ---- Link to photo of a Plaque marking "First Encounter Beach" NEW PLIMOTH [now PLYMOUTH] ---- Link to photos of Town Brook ---- Link to Map Skills Project HOME-BUILDING BEGUN ---- Link to student work on Deaths the First Winter THE SPRING OF 1621 Click here for The Mayflower Dogs PROVISIONS Besides her human cargo of one hundred and thirty or more passengers and crew, the lading of Mayflower when she sailed from Plymouth,

 England, September 6/16, 1620, was considerable.

Judging from authentic sources of the period the food supply brought on Mayflower by the Pilgrims would have included those mentioned by Capt. John Smith a few years later. [from Capt. John Smith's A Sea Grammar, 1627] "A Commander at sea should provision himself and company at sea with bedding, linen, arms and apparel; and keep his table aboard, and his expenses at shore, and provide his petty Tally, which is a component proportion according to the number of these particulars following: Fine wheat flour, close and well packed. Rice. Almonds. Comfits, and such like." Fruits (natural, dried and preserved) were probably in rather small supply in that day. Dried or preserved fruits were not yet in common use in the early 17th Century. CLOTHING The clothing supplies of the Pilgrims included hats, caps, shirts, neck-cloths, jerkins, waistcoats, breeches (cloth and leather), stockings, shoes, boots, belts, cloth, piece-goods (for dresses), etc. By the will of William Mullins, it appears he had twenty-one dozen pairs of shoes and thirteen pairs of boots on board.

Undoubtedly, he intended to use these as a medium of exchange or barter. By the terms of the contract with the Pilgrims, the Merchant Adventurers were to supply all their actual necessities of food, clothing, etc., for a full term of seven years. The Wampanoag had an established system of government and religion. Children learned from their parents about their future adult roles as individuals and their responsibilities to the community. MEETING OF THE TWO CULTURES The first recorded facts concerning the Wampanoag People comes from the written accounts of many early explorers who found their way - in advance of the Pilgrims - to the Northeast coastal areas now known as New England. 1502 Miguel Cortereal, a Portuguese, sailing under his country's flag, commanded the first recorded expedition to lands within the Pokanoket realm. 1524 Among the earliest of these adventurers was the Florentine explorer Giovanni de Verrazzano who sailed out of Madeira in the year 1524 under the sponsorship of Francis I of Spain. In a letter to the King of France after his return, he described his discovery of what is believed to be Block Island, situated in Narragansett Bay.

He wrote: "We found about twenty small boats of the people which, with divers cries and wonderings, came about our ship; coming no nearer than fifty paces towards us, they stared and beheld the artificialness of our ship, our shape, our apparel, then they all made a loud shout together, declaring that they rejoiced; when we had something animate them, using their gestures, they came so near us, that we cast them bells, glasses, and many toys, which when they had received, they looked on them with laughing, and came without fear on board our ship." 1602 Cuttyhunk Island in the Elizabethan group was discovered by Bartholomew Gosnold in the year 1602. Bartholomew Gosnold sailed into the waters of Buzzards Bay and explored the Island of Cuttyhunk which now has a town by the name of Gosnold. It was possibly Gosnold who named the largest island of this group Martha's Vineyard.

[Roger Williams first referred to it as "Martin's Vineyard."] 1603 In 1603 Martin Pring explored Cape Cod [Truro-Provincetown area] where his men harvested sassafrass and did some trading with the native people. During his visit, the native people were antagonized by the explorer's large mastiff dogs. 1605/06 In the years of 1605 and 1606 the French explorer Samuel de Champlain visited the same localities, and also landed on Martha's Vineyard. Champlain produced several maps of Wampanoag settlements. Some trading with the native people was conducted while Champlain's men were in the area, but several skirmishes occurred during that time. 1611 The Dutch explorer, Captain Adriaen Block visited this same group of islands and Block Island was named for this adventurer. In that same year, the celebrated Captain John Smith made a voyage to the area, and landed at Cape Cod in the vicinity of the Nauset Indians. He was responsible for mapping the New England region and published his account prior to the Pilgrims' departure from England.

1614 Men on an English ship commanded by Nicholas Hobson captured the Indian named Epenow. However, Epenow tricked them into bringing him back to Capowack under the pretense he knew where gold ore was to be found. At Capowack Epenow managed his escape. In that same year Captain John Smith explored the coast from Megan Island (Maine) as far south as the tip of Cape Cod. 1615 It is also known that Captain Thomas Hunt, who sailed under Smith's command, visited the Elizabethan Islands and mingled with the tribes on Martha's Vineyard in the year 1615. While in the area, Hunt captured 20 native people from Patuxet (including Squanto/Tisquantum) and 7 men from Nauset to sell as slaves in Spain. Squanto was taken to England on a Bristol ship. As a result the Wampanoag became hostile towards Europeans. In that year, Adriaen Block, a Dutch explorer, mapped the southern New England coast from the Hudson River to eastern Massachusetts. ca. 1616 A European epidemic began in Eastern Abnaki territory, which is now Maine.

About that time a French ship was wrecked off of Cape Cod. The crew of that ship was attacked and most of the men were killed. Three or four were captured and dispersed to several native areas including Nemasket and Massachuset. Another French ship was attacked in Massachusetts Bay near Peddock's Island. In that instance, the entire crew was killed and the ship burned. ca. 1618 The European epidemic spread south and reached Wampanoag country causing massive depopulation. Because of the epidemic, warfare with the Narragansetts was interrupted and about that time the Massasoit, Sachem of the weakened Wampanoag People, submitted to Canonicus of the Narragansett. 1619 The first Englishman known to have visited the Massasoit was Captain Thomas Dermer. In the year 1619, he wrote an account of his explorations about the shore and into the lands occupied by the Wampanoags. He had with him the Indian Squanto, who was believed to be returning to his native homeland; hence the stop at Patuxet where Squanto had lived previous to his capture and shipping to England.

[Squanto was one of the five natives kidnapped from the coast of New England in the year 1615 by a Captain George Weymouth who was sent by England in search of a Northwest Passage.] In his account Dermer states his belief that the Indians might have killed him at Nemasket had it not been for his guide, Squanto. He mentioned stopping at Patuxet (the area in which the Pilgrims later settled) where he found all the people dead. Then traveling overland into the forest, Dermer moved westward into the Nemasket country, which is now the town of Middleboro, Mass. From that point he sent a message to the Massasoit.

From his account we are told: "When I arrived at my savage's [referring to Squanto] native country, finding all dead, I traveled alongst a day's journey, to a place called Nemasturghurt [Nemasket] where, finding inhabitants, I dispatched a messenger a day's journey farther West to Pokonokit, which bordered on the sea, whence came to see me two kings, attended with a guard of fifty armed men, who being desirous of novelty, gave me content in whatsoever I demanded, where I found that former relations [Indian hospitalities] were true." He reported there were places which had been inhabited, but he saw no evidence of living people and believed a great sickness was destroying the tribes. In this expedition, Captain Dermer reclaimed two Frenchmen, who had been shipwrecked off the coast. In their usual custom of hospitality, the Indians had cared for them for three years. THE ARRIVAL OF THE PILGRIMS The Pilgrims' first winter in America had been difficult. They lacked food, and about half of the colonists had died of the "great sickness" during the first terrible winter and most of the survivors were too weak to properly defend themselves from any attack.

The Pilgrims were quite aware of the Indian presence. The Indians undoubtedly kept the plantation under constant surveillance and probably knew of their losses. One may wonder why they did not attack and destroy the settlement. Of course, the Mayflower had not yet returned to England, quite possibly leading the Indians to believe the ship and its crew were to remain here indefinitely. Based on their past experiences with those on European ships, they may have decided to have a wait and see attitude toward the little settlement. SAMOSET'S ARRIVAL It was not until March 16/26, some three months after the Pilgrims arrived, that a tall Indian walked boldly into the plantation crying out, "Welcome! Welcome, Englishmen!" The Pilgrims were startled when the Indian named Samoset introduced himself to the Pilgrims in English. Samoset, an Abnaki Indian from Maine, had been kidnapped by explorers and taken to England. Although it was a relatively cold and windy day, he wore only moccasins and a fringed loin skin.

Over his shoulders were a bow and empty quiver, while in his right hand he carried two arrows, one with a stone point, the other with no tip, probably to signify that he and his people were prepared for either war or peace. In broken English, he told the Pilgrims that he was Samoset, Sachem of a tribe in Mohegan Island, Maine, where he had learned to speak a little English from his contact with the fishermen and traders who visited his island each year. He had been visiting the Wampanoags for the past eight months, but he intended to return to his own people within a short time. [He had sailed with Capt.

Dermer from Monhegan to Cape Cod some six months before the arrival of the Mayflower, and spending the winter with the Nauset Indians, reached the Plymouth settlement on that Spring day in 1621.] Since he was the first Indian with whom the Pilgrims had spoken since they arrived in New England, they questioned him for some time, learning from him that the Patuxets, who formerly owned the land on which they had built their settlement, had all died four years before [1617] from the plague, and that their nearest neighbors were the Nemaskets, a tribe of about 300 people. [This information is in agreement with the account of Capt. Thomas Dermer.] He told them that the Massasoit, Great Sachem of the Wampanoags, was then staying at Nemasket, attended by a number of his Councilors. After tossing a coat over his shoulders to ward off the chill winds, the Pilgrims fed him, then continued to question him. Samoset told the Pilgrims of the seizure by Capt.

Thomas Hunt of twenty Indians from the tribe which lived there at Patuxet, of seven Indians from the Nauset tribe, whom he had enticed on board his ship under the pretense of trading with them, then carried them off to be sold into slavery. The Spanish monks proved to be less cruel than the English captain. Through the efforts of the monks, the Indian survivors were rescued and given their liberty. When it became evident that Samoset did not intend to leave, the Pilgrim leaders decided to let him sleep on the Mayflower since it would be almost impossible for him to commit any treachery out in the harbor. However, the water was too rough for them to launch the shallop with any degree of safety and it was decided to allow him to sleep at the house of Stephen Hopkins, who would keep watch over him throughout the night. Samoset left after breakfast the next morning, but came back on the following Sunday with five more Indians who not only returned some of the Pilgrims' tools they had found in the woods, but brought some furs to trade.

After the Pilgrims fed them, they explained that they could not conduct any business on the Sabbath, asking the Indians to return at another time with more furs. Samoset, who complained that he felt ill, did not leave with the others but remained in Plymouth until Wednesday morning. Click here for more information on Samoset SQUANTO VISITS THE COLONY He returned again the following day, this time accompanied by Squanto who amazed the Pilgrims with his almost flawless command of English. He told them that the Massasoit, the Great Leader of the Wampanoag Nation, who was waiting in the nearby woods, intended to come to Plymouth later in the day, and a short time later the Great Sachem did appear at the top of a nearby hill, attended by 60 of his men. Later he returned with Squanto. Squanto was born about 1585 near what is now known as Plymouth, Massachusetts. He was a Pawtuxet Indian who was captured in 1614 by English seamen and taken to Spain where he was sold as a slave. Squanto escaped to England, where he lived for several years and learned to speak English.

In 1619, Squanto returned to his home and found most of the people of his tribe had died of disease. He joined the Wampanoags who were living near Plymouth, and in 1621, he met the Pilgrims. It was Squanto who would teach the Pilgrims how to find herring, a kind of fish, and to use it as a fertilizer when planting corn, pumpkins and beans. This was especially important to the Pilgrims because the seeds they had brought with them from England did not do well in the New England soil. Squanto also showed them how to find clams and eels in the rivers and how to hunt for deer, bears and turkeys. The children also learned where to find nuts and berries of all kinds. Click here for a Squanto Biography THE INDIAN PEACE TREATY Gradually, Squanto and Samoset reassured the Wampanoags that their new neighbors were peaceful and meant them no harm. He told them of the Pilgrims' desire to make a treaty of peace with them.

On March 22/April 1, 1621, Samoset and Squanto appeared in the little colony with three other Indians. They brought with them a few skins and some red herrings newly taken and dried to trade. They told the Pilgrims that their great sagamore (chief), the Massasoit, was nearby with Quadequina his brother and about sixty men. They were able to arrange a meeting between the Massasoit and the first governor of Plymouth Colony, John Carver. Following introductory ceremonies, Carver and the Massasoit agreed upon the terms of a peace treaty between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoags. Click here for details of the Treaty Signing and illustration When the treaty ceremonies were ended, a number of Indians remained behind as hostages while Governor Carver escorted the Massasoit to the edge of the brook. The Pilgrims thought that Winslow would rejoin them as soon as the Massasoit was with his own people, but Squanto soon reappeared at the settlement to let them know that Quadequina was also coming to see them.

It is interesting to note that Quadequina was so afraid of the English guns that he would not sit down until they took their weapons to another building. When this last round of formalities was over, Quadequina returned to where the others were waiting, and Winslow was released. BENEFICIAL ASPECTS OF THE TREATY Although the treaty obviously favored the English, the mutual-assistance clause benefited the Massasoit and the Wampanoags as much as it did the English, possibly more so, for when the news of it spread throughout the southern New England tribes, those that might have contemplated defecting to the Narragansets were dissuaded by their fear of the English weaponry that was committed to the Massasoit's side. It is even possible that his sphere of influence was broadened by his new alliance. Although the extent of his power prior to the coming of the Pilgrims is not known, it is believed that the tribes submitting to his authority after the treaty was signed included a number living between Plymouth and Boston (all those living on Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, the Elizabeth Islands), some of the Nipmucks living along the Connecticut River, and several tribes living in Rhode Island.

What is even more remarkable than the extent of his power is the fact that most of these tribes remained faithful to him until he died. Click here for more information on the Massasoit CONTINUING PEACEFUL RELATIONS During the next few months, the Native Americans and the colonists worked together to till and plant the first successful crops. The first feast of Thanksgiving, in October of 1621, was a harvest festival filled with fellowship, good food and games. The Indians and the colonists shared the fruits of their labor: venison, duck, turkey, corn and pumpkin. We are told any misgivings between the two races faded from memory and the peaceful relations between the Pilgrims and their Indian friends continued. In his A Letter Sent from New England in December, 1621, Edward Winslow reported: "Wee have found the Indians very faithfull in their Covenant of Peace with us; very living and readie to pleasure us: we often goe to them, and they come to us; some of us have bin fiftie myles by Land in the Country with them; the occasions and Relations . . .

Yea it hath pleased God so to possess the Indians with a feare of us, and love unto us, that not onely the greatest King amongst them call Massasoyt, but also all the Princes peoples round about us, have either made sute unto us, or beene glad of any occasion to make peace with us, so that seaven of them at once have sent their messengers to us to that end . . . So that there is now great peace amongst the Indians themselves, which was formerly, neither would have bin but for us; and we for our parts walke as peaceably and safely in the wood, as in the hie ways in England, we entertain them familiarly in our houses, and they as friendly bestowing their Venison on us." TRADE WITH THE PILGRIMS The Pilgrims had a deep and sincere friendship for the natives that endured for over fifty years. Nine thousand years of coping with the wilderness had ceased with the arrival of a more advanced culture. Rugged cutting steel blades, farming tools, trim clothing, warm blankets, glass and metal containers and ornaments that no stone or shell work could duplicate-all these were available for trade.

The Indians had all the makings of a good trade-plenty of pelts and a surplus of land. Outside their planting fields and villages lay vast tracts of unused countryside. John Josselyn, a non-puritan who visited America for a second time in 1663, reported, "Their merchandise are their beads [wampum], which are their better money. Of these there are two sorts: blue beads and white beads. The first is their gold, the last their silver. These they work out of certain shells so cunning… They drill them and string them, and make many curious works with them to adorn the persons of their sagamors and principal men and young women, as belts, girdles, tablets, borders for their women's hair, bracelets, necklaces, and links to hang in their ears." THE GATHERING STORM CLOUDS OF DISTRUST The peace born of mutual support and trust eventually eroded. Another plague-the small pox epidemic of 1633-34-swept away thousands of Algonquins and made more land available. Only between fifteen to eighteen thousand Native People still survived in all of New England.

Meanwhile, the expanding colonial towns were bulging with the new arrivals, eager to start claiming and clearing their own piece of America. LAND DISPUTES Land transfer was not a simple matter. The colonial laws guarded the rights of the natives. Only through qualified agents could purchases be made. Interpreters must be present, as well as several witnesses for both parties. The Indian owner or his family must be present for the formal signing, for unlike communal tribal lands of the western Indians, much of the land was owned by individual tribesmen. Finally, the sachem must also add his mark if he were in agreement. If all this puzzled the land-rich warrior, he may have been aware of his rights under English law. And when all was said and done, he generally retained his right to hunt and fish on the property. To the twentieth century mind, trade goods seems a small price to pay for a slice of real estate. But values must be interpreted as to time and place, and the Algonquin was certain he had the best of the bargain. In 1675, a full-scale war erupted between the increasing number of colonists and the Indians.

Now known as King Phillip's War, after the name of the Massasoit's son, who was then chief, the clash lasted eleven years and caused great destruction on both sides. The Wampanoag were defeated, and peaceful relations between the two groups were forever shattered. The peaceful relations between the Pilgrims and Indians had lasted 54 years, during the lifetimes of the Massasoit and the original members of Plymouth Colony. About the Author The content within this website was written by Duane A. Cline Mr. Cline received his M.A. degree in Speech and Theater from Northwestern University (Evanston, IL) and continued post graduate studies in radio and television production at Oklahoma University. His formal education included extensive courses in American and English literature, European history, journalism, art and speech, as well as theatrical history, criticism and design. Following seminary courses in Bible and religion, he was ordained by his home church. Over the years he has written, designed and directed a great many theatrical productions and historical pageants in his capacity as a university professor, head of theater department and founding director of a regional art center.

In addition, he has written two books: Navigation in the Age of Discovery: an Introduction, and Centennial History: General Society of Mayflower Descendants. He has twice been invited to serve as a Guest Curator at Pilgrim Hall in Plymouth, Massachusetts. When he learned both he and his wife, Carolyn, were descendants of Mayflower passengers, he became affiliated with the General Society of Mayflower Descendants. Through the years he had served that organization in many capacities on both state and national levels. Most notably, he was a Former Assistant Governor General of the national Society, and had served a number of years at its Education Chair. FROM THE FAMILY OF DUANE CLINE: Duane A. Cline passed April 9, 2006. He felt his mission was to serve and to find truth. He strived to write objectively. Through his work, the readers of this site can share in his enthusiasm and be inspired by the story of interaction of two cultures. We hope the readers will be encouraged to search out and uncover more information that has been long forgotten. Our wish is for the readers of this site to continue the quest for truth. Mr.

Cline was assisted by Dave Lossos as webmaster for the "Pilgrims and Plymouth Colony: 1620" website. Mr. Lossos is also the creator and webmaster of the popular "Genealogy in St. Louis" website and author of "Irish St. Louis" (ISBN 0738532223), "St. Louis Casa Loma Ballroom" (ISBN 0738533785), and "Now & Then - Saint Louis" (ISBN 0738539554). Dave, who received his engineering degree from St. Louis University, spent 30 years with IBM in New York, Maryland, Virginia, and Vermont before returning to his hometown of St. Louis where he is now retired. In 1990 Dave was named "Engineer of the Year" in the St. Louis IBM Branch Office. Last modified November 25, 2013 by Who were the Pilgrims? | Plimoth Plantation Who were the Pilgrims? Who were the Pilgrims? Who were the Pilgrims?

The people we know as Pilgrims have become so surrounded by legend that we are tempted to forget that they were real people. Against great odds, they made the famous 1620 voyage aboard the ship Mayflower and founded Plymouth Colony, but they were also ordinary English men and women. To understand them, it is important that we look beyond the legend. This story will help you get to know these people, now known as the Pilgrims, through their first years in New England. England was a Roman Catholic nation until 1534, when King Henry VIII (reigned 1509-1547) declared himself head of a new national church called the Church of England. Although he and his daughter, Queen Elizabeth I (reigned 1558-1603), changed some things that made the Church of England different from the Roman Catholic Church, a few people felt that the new Church retained too many practices of the Roman Church. They called for a return to a simpler faith and less structured forms of worship. In short, they wanted to return to worshipping in the way the early Christians had.

Because these people wanted to purify the church, they came to be known as “Puritans.” Another group, considered very radical, went even further. They thought the new Church of England was beyond reform. Called “Separatists,” they demanded the formation of new, separate church congregations. This opinion was very dangerous; in England in the 1600s, it was illegal to be part of any church other than the Church of England. The Separatist church congregation that established Plymouth Colony in New England was originally centered around the town of Scrooby in Nottinghamshire, England. Members included the young William Bradford and William Brewster. Like others who refused to follow the Church of England’s teachings, some of them were harassed, fined or even sent to jail. When they felt they could no longer suffer these difficulties in England, they chose to flee to the Dutch Netherlands. There, they could practice their own religion without fear of persecution from the English government or its church. The Pilgrims in Holland (the Netherlands) Although they had religious freedom, life in the Netherlands was not easy. The Separatists had to leave their homeland and friends to live in a foreign country without a clear idea of how they would support themselves.

The congregation stayed briefly in Amsterdam and then moved to the city of Leiden. There they remained for the next 11 or 12 years. Most found work in the cloth trades, while others were carpenters, tailors and printers. Their lives required hard work. Even young children had to work. Some older children were tempted by the Dutch culture and left their families to become soldiers and sailors. Their parents feared that they would lose their identity as English people. To make matters worse, the congregation worried that another war might break out between the Dutch and Spanish. They decided to move again. The Move to America After careful thought, the congregation decided to leave Holland to establish a farming village in the northern part of the Virginia Colony. At that time, Virginia extended from Jamestown in the south to the mouth of the Hudson River in the north, so the Pilgrims planned to settle near present-day New York City. There they hoped to live under the English government, but they would worship in their own, separate church. Because their own money wasn’t enough to establish their village, they entered into an agreement with financial investors. The company of investors would provide passage for the colonists and supply them with tools, clothing and other supplies.

The colonists in turn would work for the company, sending natural resources such as fish, timber and furs back to England. All assets, including the land and the Pilgrims’ houses, would belong to the company until the end of seven years when all of it would be divided among each of the investors and colonists. The colonists and investors had many disagreements, but eventually the Pilgrims were able to leave Europe for America. The entire congregation could not come to America together. Those who could settle their affairs in Leiden went first while the greater number, including their pastor John Robinson, remained behind. The congregation purchased a small ship, Speedwell, to transport them across the sea and to use for fishing and trading in America. At Southampton, a port in England, they were joined by a group of English colonists who had been gathered by the investors. Speedwell and Mayflower – a ship rented by the investors – departed for America together. After twice turning back to England because Speedwell leaked, they were forced to leave the ship. As a result, many families were divided when some passengers had to be turned back for lack of space.

A month after first leaving England, on September 6, 1620, Mayflower set out alone with 102 passengers. For more information on the voyage of Mayflower and the Mayflower Compact, please visit Mayflower: The Journey, the People, the Ship and the Mayflower Compact . Arrival at Plymouth Mayflower arrived in New England on November 11, 1620 after a voyage of 66 days. Although the Pilgrims had originally intended to settle near the Hudson River in New York, dangerous shoals and poor winds forced the ship to seek shelter at Cape Cod. Because it was so late in the year and travel around Cape Cod was proving difficult, the passengers decided not to sail further and to remain in New England. It was here, in Cape Cod Bay, that most of the adult men on the ship signed the document that we know as the Mayflower Compact . It laid the foundation for the community’s government. A party of the most able men began exploring the area to find a suitable place to settle. After several weeks, the exploring party arrived at what appeared to be an abandoned Wampanoag community.

The plentiful water supply, good harbor, cleared fields, and location on a hill made the area a favorable place for settlement. Mayflower arrived in Plymouth Harbor on December 16, 1620 and the colonists began building their town. While houses were being built, the group continued to live on the ship. Many of the colonists fell ill. They were probably suffering from scurvy and pneumonia caused by a lack of shelter in the cold, wet weather. Although the Pilgrims were not starving, their sea-diet was very high in salt, which weakened their bodies on the long journey and during that first winter. As many as two or three people died each day during their first two months on land. Only 52 people survived the first year in Plymouth. When Mayflower left Plymouth on April 5, 1621, she was sailed back to England by only half of her crew. Building a Town & Relationships with Native People Although they occasionally caught glimpses of Native People, it wasn’t until four months after their arrival that the colonists met and communicated with them.

In March 1621, they made a treaty of mutual protection with the Pokanoket Wampanoag leader, Ousamequin (also known as Massasoit to the Pilgrims). The treaty had six points. Neither party would harm the other. If anything was stolen, it would be returned and the offending person returned to his own people for punishment. Both sides agreed to leave their weapons behind when meeting, and the two groups would serve as allies in times of war. Squanto, a Wampanoag man who had been taken captive by English sailors and lived for a time in London, came to live with the colonists and instructed them in growing Indian corn. In the fall of 1621, the colonists marked their first harvest with a three-day celebration. Massasoit and 90 of his men joined the English for feasting and entertainment. In the 1800s this famous celebration became the basis for the story of the First Thanksgiving. Over the next six years, more English colonists arrived and many of the people who had to stay behind in England or Holland when Mayflower left England were able to join their families.

By 1627, Plymouth Colony was stable and comfortable. Harvests were good and families were growing. In 1627, about 160 people lived in Plymouth Colony. Why “Pilgrims”? A pilgrim is a person who goes on a long journey often with a religious or moral purpose, and especially to a foreign land. After the Mayflower arrived, the first baby born was a boy. His parents (William and Susannah White) named him Peregrine - a word which means travelling from far away and also means pilgrim. The writer of Mourt's Relation in 1622 refers to the Plymouth Colonists as pilgrims. Governor William Bradford calls the Plymouth settlers pilgrims when he writes about their departure from Leiden, Holland to come to America: “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.” Governor Bradford also wrote a poem in which he refers to himself as a pilgrim.

'Pilgrim' became (by the early 1800s at least) the popular term applied to all the Mayflower passengers - and even to other people arriving in Plymouth in those early years - so that the English people who settled Plymouth in the 1620s are generally called the Pilgrims. My Ancestors - With the Pilgrims and the Voyage to the New World Arrival With the Pilgrims in the New World Mary Chilton - First to Step on Plymouth Rock Henry A. Bacon - "The Landing of the Pilgrims" The Mayflower and The Pilgrims My Pilgrim ancestors who arrived on the Mayflower, and those who later arrived in Plymouth Colony a few years later, were very ordinary people. They came to America to escape religious persecution. In England during the early 1600's, the government and the Church of England were virtually the same. Anyone who argued against, or broke any of the laws of the church were punished severely by the state. Any land they owned could be taken away. They could be thrown into jail, or even put to death...and more than a few were.

The Pilgrims, or Separatists, as they preferred to be called, separated from the Church of England because they objected to the way that church was organized and the way that it demanded people should worship. The Pilgrims wanted to do away with bishops and set rituals. They wanted each church to be independent of the next and to have its ministers chosen by the people. Their service would consist of a reading from the Bible, a sermon, and a new prayer each Sunday. Because of their beliefs, they were persecuted in England and some of them fled to Leyden in The Netherlands. The Chilton and Furner Branches Separatist, James Chilton, was born in Canterbury, Kent County, England in 1556. He was a fairly well-to-do tailor. He inherited two tenaments in Canterbury from his father and was listed as a Freeman there in 1583. His wife, Susanna Furner was the daughter of his stepmother. Seven of their children were baptized in Canterbury. About 1600, the family moved to Sandwich, where three more children were baptized, including the youngest daughter, Mary, who was baptized at St. Peter's in 1607.

As far as can be determined, only Mary and one other daughter lived to adulthood and had children. In Sandwich, James met Moses Fletcher, who was destined to be a fellow passenger on The Mayflower, and was drawn into the Pilgrim movement. The family moved to Leyden in the Netherlands (possibly as early as 1615), to escape persecution for their religious beliefs. But, the Pilgrims continued to be persecuted in the Netherlands. James (at age 63) and one of his daughters (probably Mary) were returning to their house in Leyden when about 20 boys began throwing rocks at them. This assault has been interpreted as one of the reasons that led the Pilgrims to believe they were becoming less welcome in Leiden, and was a factor in their decision to leave for New England. (See notes in, The Great Migration Begins by Robert Charles Anderson.) Many of the Pilgrims were afraid of sailing across the Atlantic Ocean to America and of the Indians who lived there. One hundred and thirty settlers bound for the New World had recently perished at sea. My distant uncle, Edward Winslow, was a leader of the Pilgrims in Leyden.

He and the other leaders convinced a small group of the Pilgrims that the chance to settle "a land unstained by sin" was worth the risk. James was already an old man, probably the oldest passenger on the Mayflower. It's hard to comprehend why at his age, he decided to make an extremely dangerous voyage to an unknown world. Mary was their only child that accompanied James and Susanna on the trip. After many difficulties, 102 people sailed on the Mayflower. Thirty-four of them were children. They left Plymouth, England on September 6, 1620, much later in the year than originally planned. It took them 66 days to cross the Atlantic. The plan was to land in Virginia, but violent storms carried the Mayflower further North. It was November 9th when they finally saw land at Cape Cod. The Pilgrim leaders realized that they needed to make some kind of agreement with each other about how they would be ruled. Forty-one men signed the famous Mayflower Compact that set forth their laws that established majority rule. This is considered an important document because it established a precedent about how other colonies in North America would be governed.

The Pilgrims did what few men before them had dared to do...they had decided to govern themselves. My ancestor, James Chilton was one of those that signed the document. He was 64 years old at the time and the long, rough crossing had drained him. He died December 6, 1620 and was buried near what is now called Provincetown at the very tip of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. As far as we can determine, James was the first Pilgrim to die in America. (William Bradford's wife, Dorothy fell overboard and drown a few days later. It's possible that Dorothy took her own life out of despair.) The Pilgrims wasted precious time arguing about whether they should stay on Cape Cod or look for a better harbor. Finally, a boatload of men went in search of a better place, and on December 11th, they found Plymouth Harbor, where they decided to establish their colony.

On December 16, 1620, the Pilgrims moved the Mayflower to Plymouth Harbor, and according to a book entitled, Mary Chilton's Title to Celebrity by Charles Thornton Libby (printed in Boston in 1926), Mary leaped onto Plymouth Rock on December 21st and became the first Pilgrim to do so. She was 13 years old at the time. Whether the Pilgrims actually landed on Plymouth Rock is not known, but they established the first permanent settlement in New England. The Pilgrims could not have landed at a worse time, however. Winters in New England are cold, harsh, and long. The land looked bleak and unfriendly. As one Pilgrim wrote, it was a, "hideous and desolate wilderness, full of wilde beests and wilde men." A little over a month later, on January 21th, 1620/21, Mary's mother, Susanna Furner died at age 56 and was one of the first Pilgrims to be buried at Plymouth. She probably died of pneumonia or tuberculosis, diseases which began to overcome many of the Pilgrims. Mary was left an orphan.

In 1650, Governor Bradford wrote, "James Chilton and his wife also died in the first infection, but their daughter Mary is still living and hath nine children..." At age 13, Mary Chilton was left an orphan. No record reveals with whom she spent the next few years, but perhaps for at least a part of the time she was a member of either the Alden or the Standish households, for in the 1623 land division, "Marie" Chilton received her share...three acres between the shares of John Alden and Myles Standish. Mary probably received one acre for herself and one for each of her deceased parents. The dead were buried at night in unmarked graves to hide their losses from any Indians that might be watching them. Of the 102 Pilgrims, only fifty lived through the first winter. At one time only six or seven of the Pilgrims could stand up and tend to the sick. The Winslow Branch and More About Mary Chilton The surviving Pilgrims made it through the first year and on November 11th, 1621, they sighted a ship coming into Plymouth harbor.

It was the Fortune, carrying 35 additional Pilgrims. John Winslow, a Yeoman, was one of them. John was unmarried, so consequently he had but one acre of land assigned to him. At age 16, Mary Chilton was probably considered well-to-do, having inherited her parents estate and acres. On May 22, 1625, John married Mary. They drew shares during the cattle division in May 1627 and were included with John Shaw's group. John was listed as a Freeman in 1633 and became active in the government of the colony, setting off and appraising land. He served jury duty and in 1653 became a member of "a counsell of warr". John and Mary moved to Boston, Massachusetts in 1655 and bought the mansion of Antipas Boice, on September 19, 1671. They had ten children, although all of them did not live to adulthood and have children of their own. They lived into their 70's and died in Boston as relatively wealthy people.

Mary did extremely well for a 13 year old orphan girl who arrived hungry and sick in the New World. Her descendants probably now number in the millions. The Latham Branch There was another ancestor that came to America on the Mayflower in 1620. William Latham was 11 years old. He was a servant boy in the family of John Carver, who was elected as the first Govenor of Plymouth Colony. When William grew up, he had two sons, Robert and Cary. They also probably worked as servants in Cambridge, Massachusetts while they were boys. We don't know the name of William's wife. Later in life, he returned to England and then went to the Bahama Islands. Research Starters: Plymouth Colony Political principle that prevents government restrictions on people in the choice of religious beliefs. Separatists Those Puritans who actually broke away from the Church of England, in contrast to the majority who initially sought to reform the church from within. Wampanoag North American Indian tribe of Eastern Algonquian linguistic stock; skilled at cultivating fruits and vegetables. Their leader, Massasoit, welcomed the English.

Plymouth Colony, America's first permanent Puritan settlement, was established by English Separatist Puritans in December 1620. The Pilgrims left England to seek religious freedom, or simply to find a better life. After a period in Holland, they set sail from Plymouth, England, on Sept. 16, 1620, aboard the Mayflower, its 102 passengers spending 65 days at sea. Passengers, now known as the Pilgrim Fathers, included leader William Brewster; John Carver, Edward Winslow, and William Bradford, early governors of Plymouth Colony; John Alden, assistant governor; and Myles Standish, a professional soldier and military advisor. The Mayflower dropped anchor near present-day Provincetown on Nov. 21, 1620, and 41 male passengers signed the Mayflower Compact, an agreement to enact "just and equal laws for the general good of the colony." The Pilgrims finally landed at the site of present-day Plymouth, Mass., on Dec. 26, 1620. By legend the Pilgrims stepped ashore at Plymouth Rock; their records do not mention this landmark.

Settlers began erecting buildings and rough shelters for the winter. But harsh climate and illness took their toll. By the end of winter half the colonists had died. The colonists encountered the Indian Samoset, who surprised them by speaking English, learned from English traders on the coast of Maine. Samoset introduced the colonists to Massasoit, chief of the Wampanoag Indians, who signed a peace treaty with the Pilgrims. Squanto, another English-speaking Indian, acted as guide and interpreter, and with his help the colonists learned to plant corn, catch fish, and gather fruit. The Pilgrims invited the Indians to celebrate their first harvest in 1621, an event now celebrated as Thanksgiving Day. After Massasoit's death, the Wampanoag joined a tribal coalition to eliminate English settlers, but in the ensuing King Philip's War the Wampanoag were nearly exterminated. The colony gradually grew in size, and the original settlement known as the Plimoth Plantation expanded as settlers built houses in the area. Plymouth Colony retained its independence for over 70 years, and by 1691 its population exceeded 7,000.

It was integrated with the Massachusetts Bay Company's much larger colony to establish the royal colony of Massachusetts  now the state of the same name. Here are some topics to explore that relate to the Plymouth Colony. Looking at the articles, images, and other materials in this Research Starter may give you more ideas. Each topic has one or more articles to start you on your research, but remember that it takes more than one article to make a research paper. Continue your research with our list of articles below. The reasons the Pilgrims emigrated from England. Plymouth Rock (1620), Plymouth, Massachusetts Plymouth Rock is an American icon, a symbol of intrepid discovery, liberty, and freedom of conscience. From anywhere in Plymouth, Massachusetts , road signs and residents guide you to Plymouth Rock on the waterfront. A Bit of Geology The stone itself is granite, probably from a formation known as the Dedham granite, formed 608 million years ago (give or take 17 million years)—that is, a long time before 1620!

The Rock was picked up from this formation at a spot south or west of Boston and transported by a glacier to the spot later named Plymouth about 20,000 years ago. The spot it left was somewhere in the terrane (specific geologic area) called Atlantica, which surrounds Boston . Geologists who study plate tectonics say that many millions of years ago there was a huge continent called Pangaea (pan-JEE-uh) which split into eastern and western parts, the eastern becoming Europe and Africa, the western part North America. The Dedham granite is found mostly in Africa, so it is surprising to consider that Plymouth Rock came over from another continent just as the Pilgrims did, only millions of years earlier! The Pilgrims Arrive When the Pilgrims arrived, they may or may not have stepped on Plymouth Rock. If they did, they never mention it in their letters and written accounts. In any case, the Rock was much larger in 1620, but erosion by sea and wind has reduced it to a mere fraction of its former self.

Nature played havoc with the Rock, but humans did worse, chipping off small pieces for patriotic souvenirs, taking large pieces to put on display to build patriotic fervor, even using it as part of a wharf at one time. In 1774, 20 yoke of oxen came to move Plymouth Rock, and it split in the process. Half of the Rock was put on display at Pilgrim Hall Museum from 1834 to 1867, but was then brought back here. In November 1989, the Rock was repaired and strengthened to withstand the blows from the sea and the laserlike gazes and tossed coins of a million affectionate visitors. Today Plymouth Rock is sheltered by a monumental enclosure, designed by McKim, Mead & White and built in 1921, which stands in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Pilgrim Memorial State Park . Just as the Rock marks the beginning of the Pilgrims ' adventure in America, so it can serve as the beginning point for your tour of Plymouth . After your look at it, head for the Mayflower II , moored only a few minutes' stroll away.

Mayflower departs England - Sep 16, 1620 - HISTORY.com Mayflower departs England Publisher A+E Networks 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. Related Videos

Question: What rock is where the "Pilgrim Fathers" are said to have landed in North America in 1620?
Answer: Plymouth