It all started in a small town in Nottinghamshire County in the years 1605 – 1606. Scrooby is where a core group of the Separatists, having had their full of King James I imposing His Majesty’s Church on them, decided to leave England for The Netherlands. Amsterdam was merely a stop-over, however, as they soon relocated to Leiden, where they lived for more than ten years.
The Mayflower II at Sunset
After living a decade in Leiden, the would-be colonists, concretely sensing the passing of time and understanding that they were perhaps growing old beyond their useful years, became anxious to begin their new lives, so embarked upon a project of acquiring access to the New World. In 1617 this was no small feat, as they needed more people, a charter to give them legal access to the land and, as is true to this day regarding any endeavor, money. Because of their desire to launch their plan, the Separatists agreed to an arrangement that was less favorable to them from Thomas Weston, the leader of a group of English merchants. The deal would mean that for seven years, this band of "adventurers" [A Little Commonwealth by John Demos, p.5] would owe the company store. Nevertheless, they accepted, procured the legal right to the land near the Hudson River and swelled their ranks with like-minded and some not so like-minded folks from East Anglia, London, Kent as well as a few soldiers who were stationed in Leiden at the time, including Myles Standish.
This picture shows the characteristic shape of the Mayflower.
And thus began the journey of 102 Pilgrims, who referred to themselves as such, and who, after suffering a year of hardship, would recall a thanksgiving holiday they celebrated in The Netherlands which commemorated the ending of the assault on Leiden on October 3rd, 1574. A little more than half the congregation would live to enjoy the feasts and games at harvest time in 1621, but those that did were extraordinarily grateful.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, October, 2009, "Pilgrim Fathers" by Jeremy Dupertuis Bangs
http://www.oxforddnb.com/public/themes/93/93695.html
A Little Commonwealth, Family Life in Plymouth Colony, by John Demos, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2000, Second Edition, pp.2-11.
Massachusetts, A Concise History, by Richard D. Brown & Jack Tager, University of Massachusetts Press, Amherst, MA, 2000, pp. 21-26.
Plimoth Plantation website
http://www.plimoth.org/features/mayflower-2/
1 comment:
A delightful summary. Thank you for taking the time to write it.
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