The voyage of the Mayflower, its arrival in the New World and the whole story around it can be traced back to the 1500s, when a change in English law divided the nation and religion (Mayflower 400, 2019).
The change within the English church started in the 1500s with King Henry VIII, who wanted a divorce from his first wife Catherine of Aragon. When the pope refused to divorce the couple, Henry decided to break away from the Roman Catholic Church. He created his own church: The Church of England. Henry was expelled by the pope for doing so. The reformation of the English church had started.
As a result of this development, the marginalised groups of Puritans and Separatists formed. The Puritans believed that the new Church of England was still too similar to the Catholic Church and wanted to separate it even more by purifying it of all Catholic practices. The Separatist wanted to break away entirely from the church, not only change it. They faced prosecution by King Henry VIII because they didn’t follow the state religion.
A group of Separatists decided that they would emigrate in pursuit of their religious freedom. They escaped to Holland and settled in the Dutch town of Leiden. But the life in Holland was difficult – not only because of the unknown urban context, but also because of the hard work and small wages. After living in the Netherlands for more than 12 years, some of the Separatists decided to move again. Since they were British but could not return to England, they wanted to emigrate to the then British colonies in America (Mayflower 400, 2019).
They planned to speak with the congregation that was still back in England and then travel to Virginia in America to build a new place where they could worship and live just as they pleased.
N/A. (2019) Mayflower. Available at: https://www.mayflower400uk.org/education/the-mayflower-story/ (Accessed: 28 October 2019).
They got help from the Virginia Company, a company created to establish colonies in North America, to finance the trip. The Separatists promised to send back fish, furs and wood for trade. With their ship called the Speedwell they set sail in August 1620 to meet the Mayflower in Southampton. The Mayflower was a merchant ship that the Separatists in England had hired to join the voyage to the New World. Even though there were already concerns about the condition of the Speedwell, both ships set sail on 15 August 1620. They didn’t get very far, because the Speedwell began to take on water. The sailors changed course and landed in Dartmouth to repair the leak. A second attempt was unsuccessful as well: The Speedwell began leaking again and could not risk continuing the journey. Both boats turned back to Plymouth, where some of the Pilgrims dropped out while the rest of them crowded onto the Mayflower. She left Plymouth on 16 September 1620 with a total number of 30 crew members and 102 passengers (Mayflower 400, 2019).
Mayflower 400 (2019) A Brief History of the Mayflower. Available at: https://www.mayflower400uk.org/about/brief-history-of-the-mayflower/ (Accessed: 28 October 2019).
Documentation of MEDI512 "Experiment" 