Where Did The Pilgrims First Land ?

Oklahoma Priority Academic Student Skills

Objectives Students will learn that the Pilgrims first landed on the tip of Cape Cod. Students will discover why the Pilgrims did not establish a settlement on Cape Cod, but chose Plymouth as a permanent settlement instead. Students will ascertain where the Native Americans lived and how they made their living. Students will detect what the interaction between European settlers and Native Americans was and what happened to the Native Americans’ way of life as they were pushed out of their traditional lands.

The Pilgrims were separatists who broke away from the Church of England to seek religious freedom. They sailed from Plymouth, England, aboard the Mayflower for the New World.

The Mayflower encountered many fierce crosswinds on the voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. wer.html

This painting depicts the dramatic rescue of John Howland during the voyage of the Mayflower.

The Mayflower sailed through dangerous riptides and shallows off the coast of Cape Cod.

The 102 Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower first landed on the tip of Cape Cod at what is now Provincetown, Massachusetts. All photos without URLs are by Glenda Sullivan

The Mayflower was anchored off Cape Cod at dawn on November 11, 1620, after a 65-day voyage across the Atlantic.

Provincetown Cape Cod was a narrow strip of sandy land about sixty miles long. Good drinking water was scarce and the sandy soil was not good for growing crops.

The men, led by Myles Standish, set out to explore the country. The explorers saw two Indians who immediately took off into the forest. The women were glad to go ashore to wash their clothes after the long voyage. Since it was a Monday, wash day in New England has always been on Monday.

Provincetown Pilgrim Monument commemorates the Pilgrims’ first landing in the New World on November 11, 1620.

The Pilgrims stayed in Provincetown Harbor for five weeks, where they created and signed the Mayflower Compact.

The Mayflower Compact was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. These are the names of the forty-one male passengers who signed the document.

Provincetown lies on the very narrow tip of Cape Cod peninsula on an unprotected spit of land in the path of the icy winds brought by the cold Labrador Current in the winter. The Pilgrims found the land to be rocky underneath the constantly shifting sands which was not good for farming. There were few streams and the salt water coming in from the ocean at high tide made the water undrinkable.

After five weeks in Provincetown, the Pilgrims sailed across Cape Cod Bay and founded a settlement at Plymouth. The Pilgrims made their historic Plymouth Rock landing on December 21, 1620.

Provincetown Plymouth The Pilgrims chose Plymouth as a permanent settlement because it had good drinking water, an excellent harbor and land for cultivation.

In 1621, the Pilgrims and Indians held a three-day feast. Lobster was plentiful and was served at this feast. It was this harvest celebration that later became known as the “First Thanksgiving.”

When the Pilgrims arrived on Cape Cod and at Plymouth they found lobster so plentiful that they could pick it up on the beaches.