The Pilgrims and the Plymouth colony of 1620

Pilgrims Come to America In the mid 1600s a religious group called the Separatists tried to separate from the church of England..

We want religious freedom Not only did the Separatist groups, like the Pilgrims, break way from the Church of England, they wanted religious freedom. We want religious freedom

The Beginning In order to understand why the Pilgrims and other separatist groups wanted to break way from the official Church of England, its important to start from the beginning.

The Church of England In the 1500s, the King of England created the official Church of England. As time when on the Church of England became a way for the king to rule and control English citizens

The Church of England

You are forbidden to worship anything other than the what the church of England says you can

Persecution of Pilgrims To prove his power, the King of England began attacking and punishing people who did not follow official church rules exactly the way he wanted them to.

Persecution of the Pilgrims The separatists wanted to break away from the Church of England and do things their own way. Because of this, they were persecuted (punished for their beliefs) and were forbidden to worship in public. If they did they could be arrested, beaten or even sentenced to death.

I just want to worship as I please

The Famous Pilgrims One of the most famous separatists group who wanted to separate from the Church of England were the Pilgrims. They wanted religious freedom.

Pilgrims want to Escape At first, the Pilgrims fled to Holland in order to escape persecution (harsh treatment because of their beliefs). However, as time went on, the Pilgrims realized they didn’t really like living in Holland and would rather start a new life and a new colony in America.

Pilgrims Try to Escape England I wish we could build a colony in America Pilgrims Try to Escape England

Pilgrims ask to go to Virginia Eventually, the Pilgrims went to the Virginia Company to ask for help. They wondered if the company would be willing to grant them a charter so they could settle in America and start their own colony. Can you help us get to America so can practice our religion freely?

The Virginia Company says Ok In 1618 the Virginia Company agreed to help the Pilgrims get to America and settle in on the Company’s land. I don’t care if the pilgrims come to America

The Mayflower After two years and several setbacks , the Pilgrims finally boarded a ship called the Mayflower. The Mayflower was to take them across the Atlantic Ocean to America.

England

I’m going to miss England

The Mayflower Originally there were two ships, the Mayflower and the smaller Speedwell. However, after a few miles out they had to turn back because something was wrong with the Speedwell. All the pilgrims now had to get onto the Mayflower. This made it even more crowed, dark and cramped.

What Did the Pilgrims Eat? During the Mayflower's voyage, the Pilgrims main diet consisted primarily (mostly) of hard biscuits, salt pork, dried meats and moldy oatmeal. The primary beverage for everyone, including children, was beer.

Aboard the Ship Conditions on the ship were horrible. It was dark, wet and cramped. The ceiling of the ship was only about 5 feet tall. Everyone had to hunch over. People went to the bathroom in buckets and often got sea sick. For two months the Pilgrims lived aboard the dark, dirty and cramped Mayflower.

Bed and Poop Bucket

Atlantic Storms Hit In late November, during the Mayflower’s second month at sea, a strong Atlantic storm hit the Mayflower. The strong winds broke through the sails and pushed the Mayflower far north of its intended location.

Oh no…this isn’t where we wanted to land Off Course On the early morning of November 9, 1620, the Mayflower's crew spotted land. The Pilgrims aboard the ship because to worry because they landed way north of where they wanted to go. Plus with winter closing in, there was no way they could turn around. Oh no…this isn’t where we wanted to land

We need to agree on rules The Mayflower Compact The Pilgrims knew they would needed a way to keep law and order so the men aboard the ship developed what has become known as the Mayflower Compact. We need to agree on rules

The Mayflower Compact The men created the compact (contract) by writing down on a large sheet of paper simple rules/laws that they all could all agree upon. They all agreed that these laws were for the good of the colony and must be obeyed. All 41 men signed the Mayflower compact.

By signing your name you are agreeing to obey these rules and do whatever is best for the Plymouth colony

Too bad… We are the majority The Mayflower Compact The mayflower compact is important because it established the idea of self government and majority rule. Self government is where people create laws for themselves and majority rule is the idea that whatever the most people want is what will happen. But I don’t want to… Too bad… We are the majority

The Pilgrims Land The Pilgrims had landed in Cape Cod Massachusetts, an area that John Smith had mapped and named “New England”. The Pilgrims named their new colony (town) Plymouth after the town they left in England.

Cape Cod, Massachuettes

We will call this place Plymouth

Building Plymouth 1620 Right away the Pilgrims went to work building their colony in Massachusetts. However the soil was poor and rocky so little grew. Furthermore, the harsh New England winter came quickly. The Pilgrims were not ready.

Starving Time in Plymouth Like the early settlers in Jamestown, the Pilgrims at Plymouth also went through a starving time. Everyone was sick, weak, cold and hungry. Half of the group had died by spring.

Samoset However, in the Spring the Pilgrims were approached by an English speaking Native American named Samoset. Samoset introduced the Pilgrims to Squanto, who also spoke English.

I speak English and we can help you

Squanto Squanto acted as an interpreter between the Pilgrims and his tribe the Wampanoag led by cheif Massasiot. Squanto had learned English when he captured as a boy by English traders.

Sharing Agricultural Practices Squanto and his tribe took pity on the Pilgrims. The Native Americans taught the Pilgrims how to hunt and fish. They also shared their agricultural (farming) practices with the Pilgrims, teaching them how to farm in the hard rock soil. In exchange, Pilgrims traded what little they had.

Example- The Native Americans showed the Pilgrims how to use fish as fertilizer for agriculture (farming)

The Pilgrims Celebrate Sometime in the fall, the Pilgrims held a celebration for the blessings of a good harvest. Thanks to Squanto and the Wampanoag tribe, the Pilgrims had learned to adapted to their new environment. This celebration would become known as Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving

Cool Websites http://www.mayflowerhistory.com/History/plymoth6.php http://www.scholastic.com/scholastic_thanksgiving/voyage/journey.htm

Myths of the Mayflower http://www.history.com/videos/deconstructed-mayflower#mayflower-ship-myths-debunked http://www.history.com/topics/mayflower-compact/media#the-mayflower