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Pilgrims is the name commonly applied to early settlers of the Plymouth Colony in present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts . Their leadership came from a religious congregation who had fled a volatile political environment in the East Midlands of England for the relative calm of Holland in the Netherlands to preserve their religion. Concerned with losing their cultural identity, the group later arranged with English investors to establish a new colony in North America . The colonists faced a lengthy series of challenges, from bureaucracy, impatient investors and internal conflicts to sabotage, storms, disease,and uncertain relations with the Indigenous People . The colony, established in 1620, became the second successful English settlement in what was to become the United States of America, the first being Jamestown, Virginia , which was founded in 1607. Their story has become a central theme in United States cultural identity. SEPARATISTS IN SCROOBY for each missed Sunday and holy day. The penalties for conducting unofficial services included imprisonment and larger fines. Under the policy of this time, Barrowe and Greenwood were Executed for Sedition in 1593. During much of Brewster's tenure (1595-1606), the Archbishop was Matthew Hutton . He displayed some sympathy to the Puritan (but ''not'' to the Separatist) cause, writing to Robert Cecil , Secretary Of State to James I in 1604: It had been hoped that when James came to power, a reconciliation allowing independence would be possible, but the Hampton Court Conference of 1604 denied substantially all the concessions requested by Puritans, save for an English Translation Of The Bible . Following the Conference, in 1605, Clyfton was declared a nonconformist and stripped of his position at Babworth. Brewster invited Clyfton to live at his home. Scrooby member William Bradford , of Austerfield , kept a journal of the congregation's events that would later be published as '' Of Plymouth Plantation ''. Of this time, he wrote:
MIGRATION TO AMSTERDAM Unable to obtain the papers necessary to leave England, members of the congregation agreed to leave surreptitiously, resorting to Bribery to obtain passage. One documented attempt was in 1607, following Brewster's resignation, when members of the congregation chartered a boat in Boston, Lincolnshire . This turned out to be a Sting Operation , with all arrested upon boarding. The entire party was jailed for one month awaiting Arraignment , at which time all but seven were released. Missing from the record is for how long the remainder were held, but it is known that the leaders made it to Amsterdam about a year later. In a second departure attempt in the spring of 1608, arrangements were made with a Dutch merchant to pick up church members along the Humber estuary at Immingham near Grimsby , Lincolnshire . The men had boarded the ship, at which time the sailors spotted an armed contingent approaching. The ship quickly departed before the women and children could board; the stranded members were rounded up but then released without charges. Ultimately, at least 150 of the congregation did make their way to Amsterdam, meeting up with the Smyth party, who had joined with the Exiled English Church led by Francis Johnson (1562-1617), Barrowe's successor. The Scrooby party remained there for about one year, citing growing tensions between Smyth and Johnson. Smyth had embraced the idea of Believer's Baptism , which Clyfton and Johnson opposed. LEIDEN Of their years in Leiden, Bradford wrote:
Brewster had been teaching English at the university, and in 1615, Robinson enrolled to pursue his Doctorate . There, he participated in a series of debates, particularly regarding the contentious issue of Calvinism versus Arminianism (siding with the Calvinists against the Remonstrants ). See the Synod Of Dort . Holland was, however, a land whose culture and language were strange and difficult for the English congregation to understand or learn. Their children were becoming more and more Dutch as the years passed by. The congregation came to believe that they faced eventual extinction if they remained in Holland. Decision to leave By 1617, although the congregation was stable and relatively secure, there were ongoing issues that needed to be resolved. Reasons for departure are suggested by Bradford, when he notes the "discouragements" of the hard life they had in Holland, and the hope of attracting others by finding "a better, and easier place of living"; the "children" of the group being "drawne away by evill examples into extravagance and dangerous courses"; the "great hope, for the propagating and advancing the gospell of the kingdom of Christ in those remote parts of the world" At the same time, there were many uncertainties about moving to such a place as America. Stories had come back from there about failed colonies. There were fears that the native people would be violent, that there would be no source of food or water, that exposure to unknown diseases was possible, and that travel by sea was always hazardous. Balancing all this was a local political situation that was in danger of becoming unstable: the truce in what would be known as the Eighty Years' War was faltering, and there was fear over what the attitudes of Spain toward them might be. Candidate destinations included Guiana , where the Dutch had already established Essequibo ; or somewhere near the existing Virginia settlements. Virginia was an attractive destination because the presence of the older colony might offer better security. It was thought, however, that they should not settle too near since that might too closely duplicate the political environment back in England. The London Company that administered Virginia covered a large area, so some distance would be possible. Negotiations A second change was known only to parties in England who chose not to inform the larger group. New investors who had been brought into the venture wanted the terms altered so that at the end of the seven year contract, half of the settled land and property would revert to them; and that the provision for each settler to have two days per week to work on personal business was dropped. Brewster's diversion Amid these negotiations, William Brewster found himself involved with religious unrest emerging in Scotland . In 1618, James had promulgated the Five Articles Of Perth , which were seen in Scotland as an attempt to encroach on their Presbyterian tradition. Pamphlets critical of this law were published by Brewster and smuggled into Scotland by April 1619. These pamphlets were traced back to Leiden, and a failed attempt to apprehend Brewster was made in July when his presence in England became known. Also in July in Leiden, English ambassador Dudley Carleton became aware of the situation and began leaning on the Dutch government to Extradite Brewster. An arrest was made in September, but only Thomas Brewer, the financier, was in custody. Brewster's whereabouts between then and the colonists' departure remain unknown. Brewster's type was seized. After several months of delay, Brewer was sent to England for questioning, where he stonewalled government officials until well into 1620. One resulting concession that England did obtain from the Netherlands was a restriction on the press that would make such publications illegal to produce. Thomas Brewer was ultimately convicted in England for his continued religious publication activities and sentenced in 1626 to a fourteen year prison term. Preparations Not all of the congregation would be able to depart on the first trip. Many members would not be able to settle their affairs within the time constraints, and the budget for travel and supplies was limited. It was decided that the initial settlement should be undertaken primarily by younger and stronger members. The remainder agreed to follow if and when they could. Robinson would remain in Leiden with the larger portion of the congregation, and Brewster was to lead the American congregation. While the church in America would be run independently, it was agreed that membership would automatically be granted in either congregation to members who moved between the continents. VOYAGE False starts In July 1620, '' Speedwell '' departed Delfshaven with the Leiden colonists. Reaching Southampton , Hampshire , they met with '' Mayflower '' and the additional colonists hired by the investors. With final arrangements made, the two vessels set out on August 5 ( Old Style )/ August 15 (New Style). 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 so far as Plymouth , Devon . It was decided that '' Speedwell '' was untrustworthy, and it was sold. It would later be learned that crew members had deliberately caused the ship to leak, allowing them to abandon their year-long commitments. The ship's master and some of the crew did transfer to '' Mayflower '' for the trip. Atlantic crossing The reduced party finally sailed successfully on September 6 / September 16 , 1620. brought along by the colonists, they repaired the ship sufficiently to continue. One passenger, John Howland, was washed overboard in the storm but caught a rope and was rescued. ARRIVAL IN AMERICA Land was sighted on November 10 / November 20 , 1620 . It was confirmed that the area was Cape Cod , within the New England territory recommended by Weston. An attempt was made to sail the ship around the cape towards the Hudson River , also within the New England grant area, but they encountered shoals and difficult currents around Malabar (a land mass that formerly existed in the vicinity of present-day Monomoy ). It was decided to turn around, and by November 11 / November 21 the ship was anchored in what is today known as Provincetown Harbor . Mayflower Compact At this time, John Carver was chosen as the colony's first governor. First landings Thorough exploration of the area was delayed for over two weeks because the Shallop or Pinnace (a smaller sailing vessel) they brought had been partially dismantled to fit aboard '' Mayflower '' and was further damaged in transit. Small parties, however, waded to the beach to fetch firewood and attend to long-deferred personal hygiene. While awaiting the shallop, exploratory parties led by Myles Standish —a Manx soldier the colonists had met while in Leiden—and Christopher Jones were undertaken. They encountered several old buildings, both European-built and Native-built, and a few recently cultivated fields. An artificial mound was found near the Dune s, which they partially uncovered and found to be a Native grave. Further along, a similar mound, more recently made, was found, and as the colonists feared they might otherwise starve, they ventured to remove some of the provisions which had been placed in the grave. Baskets of Maize were found inside, some of which the colonists took and placed into an iron kettle they also found nearby, while they reburied the rest, intending to use the borrowed corn as seed for planting. William Bradford later recorded in his book, " Of Plymouth Plantation ", that after the shallop had been repaired,
By December, most of the passengers and crew had become ill, coughing violently. Many were also suffering from the effects of Scurvy . There had already been ice and snowfall, hampering exploration efforts. During the first winter, 47% of them died. Contact Explorations resumed on December 6 / December 16 . The shallop party—seven colonists from Leiden, three from London, and seven crew—headed south along the cape and chose to land at the area inhabited by the Nauset people (roughly, present-day Brewster , Chatham , Eastham , Harwich and Orleans ), where they saw some native people on the shore, who ran when the colonists approached. Inland they found more mounds; one containing acorns, which they exhumed and left; and more graves, which they decided not to dig. The local people were already familiar with the English, who had intermittently visited the area for fishing and trade before '' Mayflower '' arrived. In the Cape Cod area, relations were poor following a visit several years earlier by Thomas Hunt . Hunt kidnapped twenty people from Patuxet (the place that would become New Plymouth) and another seven from Nausett, and he attempted to sell them as Slaves in Europe. One of the Patuxet abductees was Tisquantum , who would become an ally of the Plymouth colony. The Pokanoket , who also lived nearby, had developed a particular dislike for the English after one group came in, captured numerous people, and shot them aboard their ship. There had by this time already been reciprocal killings at Martha's Vineyard and Cape Cod. 's 1605 map of Plymouth Harbor, showing Wampanoag village Patuxet, with some modern place names added for reference. The star is the approximate location of the 1620 English settlement.]] Settlement Continuing westward, the shallop's mast and rudder were broken by storms, and their sail was lost. Rowing for safety, they encountered the harbor formed by the current Duxbury and Plymouth barrier beaches and stumbled on land in the darkness. They remained at this spot—Clark's Island—for two days to recuperate and repair equipment. Resuming exploration on Monday, December 11 / December 21 , the party crossed over to the mainland and surveyed the area that ultimately became the settlement. The anniversary of this survey is observed in Massachusetts as Forefathers' Day and is traditionally associated with the Plymouth Rock landing legend. This land was especially suited to winter building because the land had already been cleared, and the tall hills provided a good defensive position. With the local population in such a weakened state, the colonists faced no resistance to settling there. chosen on December 19 / December 29 . Construction commenced immediately, with the first common house nearly completed by January 9 / January 19 . At this point, single men were ordered to join with families. Each extended family was assigned a plot and built its own dwelling. Supplies were brought ashore, and the settlement was mostly complete by early February. Between the landing and March, only 47 colonists had survived the diseases they contracted on the ship. During the worst of the sickness, only six or seven of the group were able and willing to feed and care for the rest. In this time, half the '' Mayflower '' crew also died. William Bradford became governor in 1621 upon the death of Carver, served for eleven consecutive years, and was elected to various other terms until his death in 1657. The patent of Plymouth Colony was surrendered by Bradford to the Freemen in 1640, minus a small reserve of three tracts of land. On March 22 , 1621 , the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony signed a peace treaty with Massasoit of the Wampanoag s. The colony contained roughly what is now Bristol County , Plymouth County , and Barnstable County, Massachusetts . When the Massachusetts Bay Colony was reorganized and issued a new charter as the Province Of Massachusetts Bay in 1691, Plymouth ended its history as a separate colony. SEE ALSO
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