Pilgrims, Puritans, and that ship called the Mayflower

Saints & Strangers Disagreements between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Church of England Fear of the Church being “too Catholic” –Puritans wanted to “purify” the Church of England –Separatists wanted to “separate” altogether Believed they should be allowed to speak to God directly without priest interference Wanted to separate from the Church of England and form own congregations Called themselves “Saints” Others called them troublemakers!

Puritan vs. Catholic

Those Rebellious Saints! King James says “no!” –Attend the Church of England or go to jail –No, thank you, King James! –Separatists from Scrooby, England leave their homes and old lives behind Leyden, Holland – freedom! Learned Dutch customs and language but didn’t like it Children forgot how to be “English”

1620: Off to America Inspired by John Smith’s Description of New England Pilgrim – anyone who takes a trip for religious purposes Scrooby people = Separatists = Saints = P ilgrims

The Mayflower Sets Sail September 6, 1620 Carries 102 passengers aboard, plus 50 officers and crew Half are Saints; half are “strangers” Strangers had their own agendas –Adventure –Safety –New beginnings What did the passengers have in common? –Lower classes –Skilled in a trade –Expected to work hard –Ambitious –Discontented with the ideas changing England

Who was who? The Strangers from London: –10 indentured servants –4 indentured orphans –1 professional soldier –1 barrel maker –1 man soon to be convicted of murder The Saints (Separatists) from Leiden: –William Bradford, the future second governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony –First baby born at sea, Oceanus Hopkins

Hello, America! Mayflower heads to northern territory of the Virginia Colony Storms blew passengers off course, positioning the ship near Cape Cod –Reroute to Plymouth, which was previously explored and named by John Smith Pilgrims followed a long list of previous explorations, but they were the first permanent settlers from England Previous explorers included French fishermen and trappers, such as Samuel de Champlain, who named the area “Cape Cod”

The Mayflower Compact Agreement signed aboard the Mayflower by 41 English colonists on Nov 11, 1620 Originated due to onboard troubles between Saints and Strangers Written to avoid additional arguments upon settling in Plymouth First governing document of Plymouth Colony First written framework of government established in what is now the United States

Signing the Compact

End Part 1