Friday, September 15, 2017

Pilgrims (Plymouth Colony)

The Pilgrims or Pilgrim Fathers were early European settlers of the Plymouth Colony in present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States. The Pilgrims' leadership came from the religious congregations of Brownist English Dissenters who had fled the volatile political environment in England for the relative calm and tolerance of 16th–17th century Holland in the Netherlands. The Pilgrims held Puritan Calvinist religious beliefs but, unlike other Puritans, they maintained that their congregations needed to be separated from the English state church. As a separatist group, they were also concerned that they might lose their English cultural identity if they remained in the Netherlands, so they arranged with English investors to establish a new colony in North America. The colony was established in 1620 and became the second successful English settlement in North America (after the founding of Jamestown, Virginia in 1607). The Pilgrims' story became a central theme of the history and culture of the United States.

At the time, the Pilgrim Fathers were living in England there was only one church approved by the English rulers. Everyone was required to attend that church - and ONLY that church - every week. If the English ruler were Protestant, all people of the realm were required to follow the Protestant beliefs and attend those church services; if the ruler were Catholic, everyone in the kingdom was required to practice the Catholic faith and rituals. All religion in the kingdom was strictly dictated by the government. This is what we call a "State Church."

One group was called the Separatists because they demanded a complete separation from the Church of England. They wanted to worship in a very simple manner without all of the ritual and symbols which were used in the Anglican Church. In their study of the Bible they had decided the original church in New Testament times had been a simple church and they wished to follow that example in their own worship. They believed there were so many changes needed to be made in the Anglican Church that it could not be accomplished to their satisfaction. Therefore, the only possibility for them was to "separate" completely from the state church.

By 1606 the Separatist group in Scrooby (in the northeastern county of Nottingham) decided that the situation in England had become so intolerable that they would have to leave England in order to find religious freedom. At that time Holland was tolerant of varying religious beliefs and the Scrooby Separatists decided that this might be an ideal place for their relocation. Other religious groups from England were already establishing themselves in several Dutch cities. One group of Separatists had already settled in Amsterdam, and the Scrooby Separatists planned to join them.

In 1607 the Scrooby Separatists made their first attempt to leave England bound for Amsterdam. However, their plan to leave England was discovered by the English authorities and they were arrested during their attempted departure. Many of the men were jailed for this action. Among the group was William Brewster, who would become a leader of the Scrooby Separatists.

In 1608 the Scrooby congregation made another attempt to leave England. During this attempt they were again troubled by the authorities who discovered their plot. The men had already boarded the ship, but the women and children were still on shore when the authorities arrived. The Dutch captain of the ship was forced to depart with the men, while the crying women and children on shore were taken into custody by the authorities. However, it was not long until the Separatist families were re-joined in Amsterdam.

Through the following years a number of other Separatists from England made their way to Holland to join the growing numbers in exile.

The decision to leave Holland was based on a number of considerations. In the early 17th Century, Holland was overpopulated in relation to the economic situation of the day much like England. William Bradford spoke of "the hardness of the place and country." The only occupations available to English immigrants were those in low-paying jobs such as cloth-making, related trades and other labor-intensive occupations. Some of the English who had fled to Holland expended their funds and "returned to the prisons of England rather than endure the hardships in Holland."
When the time came for them to leave Holland, the departing group was accompanied by the entire congregation as they traveled by barge from Leiden to Delfshaven where the Speedwell was waiting to take them to Southampton, England, where they were to meet the waiting Mayflower.

Voyage
The Speedwell was originally named Swiftsure. It was built in 1577 at sixty tons, and was part of the English fleet that defeated the Spanish Armada. It departed Delfshaven in July 1620 with the Leiden colonists, after a canal ride from Leyden of about seven hours. It reached Southampton, Hampshire and met with the Mayflower and the additional colonists hired by the investors. With final arrangements made, the two vessels set out on August 15.

Soon thereafter, the Speedwell crew reported that their ship was taking in water, so both were diverted to Dartmouth, Devon. There it was inspected for leaks and sealed, but a second attempt to depart also failed, bringing them only as far as Plymouth, Devon. It was decided that Speedwell was untrustworthy, and it was sold; the ship's master and some of the crew transferred to the Mayflower for the trip. William Bradford observed that the Speedwell seemed "overmasted", thus putting a strain on the hull; and he attributed her leaking to crew members who had deliberately caused it, allowing them to abandon their year-long commitments. Passenger Robert Cushman wrote that the leaking was caused by a loose board.

Atlantic crossing
Of the 120 combined passengers, 102 were chosen to travel on the Mayflower with the supplies consolidated. Of these, about half had come by way of Leiden, and about 28 of the adults were members of the congregation. The reduced party finally sailed successfully on September 16, 1620.
Initially the trip went smoothly, but under way they were met with strong winds and storms. One of these caused a main beam to crack, and the possibility was considered of turning back, even though they were more than halfway to their destination. However, they repaired the ship sufficiently to continue using a "great iron screw" brought along by the colonists (probably either a jack to be used for house construction or a cider press). Passenger John Howland was washed overboard in the storm but caught a top-sail halyard trailing in the water and was pulled back on board.

One crew member and one passenger died before they reached land. A child was born at sea and named Oceanus.

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