When the Pilgrims took the Mayflower to sail to the New World, the living conditions on the ship were terrible: Many endured hunger and the winter storms blew the ship off course. The ship arrived in Cape Harbour on 21 November 1620, not in New Virginia as they had planned to (Mayflower 400, 2019).
The 21 November 1620 is known in history as the day the Mayflower Compact was written by the settlers. This compact was signed by 41 men on board and understood as an agreement for the general good of the colony. In this preliminary constitution, the Pilgrims described themselves as loyal subjects to the English King but claimed for themselves the right to establish their own administration and to issue their own laws. The Mayflower Compact was later claimed to be the foundation of democracy in America (Mayflower 400, 2019).
They departed the shores of Cape Harbour later and arrived in Plymouth Bay (Massachusetts) on 26 December 1620. The Pilgrims found it difficult to settle there: The winter was cold and many passengers didn’t leave the Mayflower. The ship quickly became the home of the sick and dying, as everyone spread contagious diseases. Nearly half the passengers and crew members passed away in that first winter.
N/A. (2019) Mayflower Replica. Available at: https://www.mayflower400uk.org/education/the-mayflower-story/ (Accessed: 28 October 2019).
During March 1621, the Pilgrims made the first contact with the indigenous people, the so-called Wampanoag. Two English speaking Native Americans, named Samoset and Squanto, entered the grounds of the colony and arranged a meeting between the settlers and the Wampanoag chief Massasoit. A good relationship between the Wampanoag and the settlers developed: The natives taught the Pilgrims how to grow crops, fish and hunt. Squanto ensured the safe of the Pilgrims and lived with them as a translator and advisor.
In the autumn of 1621, the colonists had an especially successful and bountiful harvest which they celebrated with the Wampanoag in a three-day festival of prayer. This event is now known as the first Thanksgiving.
N/A. (2019) The First Thanksgiving. Available at: https://www.mayflower400uk.org/education/the-mayflower-story/ (Accessed: 28 October 2019).
In the 250 years that followed the Pilgrims voyage into the new world around 11 million people would follow them across the Atlantic Ocean (Moritz, 2003). It was one of the greatest migrations in history. Nowadays, more than 30 million people can trace their ancestry to the passengers and crew members of the Mayflower: It really is a story that spans hundreds of years.
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).
Moritz, B. (2003) Die Reise der Pilgerväter mit der Mayflower. Available at: http://www.seemotive.de/html/dpilgrim.htm (Accessed: 27 October 2019).
header photo: Curran, J. (N/A) The Mayflower II. Available at: https://cdn.britannica.com/22/171122-050-C2D09E78/Mayflower-II.jpg (Accessed: 28 October 2019).
Documentation of MEDI512 "Experiment" 
