Objective: To examine the causes and effects of the Pilgrim’s settlement in America.

In 1607, a group of English Separatists, known as Pilgrims, moved to Holland in order to worship freely.

Title page of a pamphlet published by William Brewster in Leiden

The Pilgrims received a charter from the London Company in 1620 to settle in northern Virginia. Charter – legal document giving certain rights to a person or company The Pilgrims agreed to work for the company as indentured servants.

In 1620, the Pilgrims set sail for Virginia on the Mayflower, but a storm blew them instead to Massachusetts.

The Pilgrims developed the Mayflower Compact, which was an agreement to make laws for the benefit of the whole settlement.

The Mayflower Compact November 11, 1620

Written and signed before the Pilgrims disembarked from the ship. Not a constitution, but an agreement to form a crude govt. and submit to majority rule.  Signed by 41 adult males. Led to adult male settlers meeting in assemblies to make laws in town meetings.

The Pilgrims named their new settlement Plymouth.

Colonizing New England

That First Year…. Winter of  Only 44 out of the original 102 survived. None chose to leave in 1621 when the Mayflower sailed back. Fall of 1621  First “Thanksgiving.”  Colony survived with fur [especially beaver], fish, and lumber. Plymouth stayed small and economically unimportant.  1691  only 7,000 people  Merged with Massachusetts Bay Colony.

More than half of the settlers died during the first winter.

Characteristics of New England Settlements Low mortality  average life expectancy was 70 years of age. Many extended families. Average 6 children per family. Average age at marriage:  Women – 22 years old  Men – 27 years old.

Patriarchy Authoritarian male father figures controlled each household. Patriarchal ministers and magistrates controlled church congregations and household patriarchs.

Samoset and Squanto were Native Americans who taught the Pilgrims how to farm and trap animals.

The Pilgrims and their Native American friends celebrated America’s first Thanksgiving together.

William Bradford Self-taught scholar. Chosen governor of Plymouth 30 times in yearly elections. Worried about settlements of non-Puritans springing up nearby and corrupting Puritan society. A Model of Christian Charity

On your own paper start a classification map PilgrimsPuritans Add some of your own information about Pilgrims using the notes