Pilgrims (Plymouth Colony)

2025-09-30T17:04:53Z

2A02:A46B:574A:0:1581:E00A:E9E4:B687: /* Voyage */ spelling mistake wrong "Delfthaven" to correct "Delfshaven"

{{short description|Early settlers in Massachusetts}}
{{about|the English settlers of New England|people as pilgrims|Pilgrim|other uses|Pilgrim (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2016}}
[[File:Robert Walter Weir - Embarkation of the Pilgrims - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|''The Embarkation of the Pilgrims'', an 1857 portrait by [[Robert Walter Weir]] now housed at [[Brooklyn Museum]]]]
The '''Pilgrims''', also known as the '''Pilgrim Fathers''', were the English settlers who travelled to [[North America]] on the ship ''[[Mayflower]]'' and established the [[Plymouth Colony]] at what now is [[Plymouth, Massachusetts|Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States]]. [[John Smith (explorer)|John Smith]] had named this territory New Plymouth in 1620, sharing the name of the Pilgrims' final departure port of [[Plymouth|Plymouth, Devon, England]]. The Pilgrims' leadership came from religious congregations of [[Brownist]]s or [[English Dissenters|Separatists]] who had fled religious persecution in England for the tolerance of 17th-century [[Holland]] in [[Netherlands|the Netherlands]].

These Separatists held many of the same [[Calvinist]] religious beliefs as [[Puritans]], but unlike Puritans (who wanted a purified [[established church]]), Pilgrims believed that their congregations should separate from the [[Church of England]], which led to their being labelled Separatists. After several years of living in exile in Holland, they determined to establish a new settlement in the New World and arranged with investors to fund them. In 1620, they established the Plymouth Colony, in which they erected [[Congregationalism|Congregational]] churches.<ref name="Johnson1990">{{Cite book|title=Theology and Identity – Traditions, Movements, and Polity in the United Church of Christ|last=Johnson|first=Daniel L.|publisher=United Church Press|year=1990|isbn=0-8298-0807-8|location=Cleveland, Ohio|pages=[https://archive.org/details/theologyidentity00john/page/4 4]|url=https://archive.org/details/theologyidentity00john/page/4}}</ref> The Puritans' later establishment of the [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]] eventually became more powerful in the area; but the Pilgrims' story nevertheless became a central theme in the history and culture of the United States.<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Davis|first1=Kenneth. C.|title=America's True History of Religious Tolerance|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/americas-true-history-of-religious-tolerance-61312684/?=&no-ist=&page=1|magazine=Smithsonian|access-date=September 21, 2016}}</ref>

==History==
{{See also|Plymouth Colony}}
{{details|Scrooby Congregation}}
[[File:Pilgrim Fathers' departure point.jpg|thumb|Memorial to the departure of congregation members for Holland in 1608, at [[Immingham]] on the southern bank of the [[Humber]] estuary]]

Around 1605, congregations in [[Nottinghamshire]], England led by [[John Robinson (pastor)|John Robinson]], [[Richard Clyfton]], and [[John Smyth (Baptist minister)|John Smyth]] quit the Church of England to form [[English Dissenters|Separatist]] congregations. These held [[Brownist]] beliefs—that true churches were voluntary democratic congregations, not whole Christian nations—as taught by [[Robert Browne (Brownist)|Robert Browne]], [[John Greenwood (Puritan)|John Greenwood]], and [[Henry Barrowe]]. As Separatists, they held that their differences with the Church of England were irreconcilable and that their worship should be independent of the trappings, traditions, and organization of a central church.<ref name="bradford_1_1">{{harvnb|Bradford|(1898)|loc=Book 1, Chapter 1.|Ref=Bradford_1898}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The Journey to the Mayflower|last=Tomkins|first=Stephen|year=2020|publisher=Hodder & Stoughton |isbn=9781473649101}}</ref>
[[File:Edward Winslow.jpg|thumb|left|[[Edward Winslow]] was one of the most influential Pilgrim leaders. He negotiated the treaty with the Wampanoags, he was the Pilgrims' representative to their financial backers in England, and served as governor of Plymouth Colony. This portrait of him is the only portrait of a Pilgrim that was painted from life. It hangs in the [[Pilgrim Hall Museum]] in [[Plymouth, Massachusetts]].]]

The Separatist movement was controversial. Under the [[Act of Uniformity 1559]], it was illegal not to attend official Church of England services, with a fine of one shilling (£0.05; about £{{Formatprice|{{inflation|UK|0.05|1559}}|0}} today){{inflation-fn|UK}} for each missed Sunday and holy day. The penalties included imprisonment and larger fines for conducting unofficial services. The [[Seditious Sectaries Act 1592]] was specifically aimed at outlawing the Brownists. Under this policy, London Underground Church members were repeatedly imprisoned from 1566, and then Robert Browne and his followers were imprisoned in Norfolk during the 1580s. Henry Barrow, John Greenwood, and [[John Penry]] were executed for [[sedition]] in 1593. Browne had taken his followers into exile in [[Middelburg, Zeeland|Middelburg]], and Penry urged the London Separatists to emigrate in order to escape persecution,{{citation needed|date=November 2022}} so after his death they went to Amsterdam.

The Archbishop of York, [[Matthew Hutton (Archbishop of York)|Matthew Hutton]], displayed some sympathy to the Puritan cause, writing to [[Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury|Robert Cecil]], Secretary of State to [[James I of England|James I]] in 1604:
<blockquote>
The Puritans though they differ in Ceremonies and accidentes, yet they agree with us in substance of religion, and I thinke all or the moste parte of them love his Majestie, and the presente state, and I hope will yield to conformitie. But the Papistes are opposite and contrarie in very many substantiall pointes of religion, and cannot but wishe the Popes authoritie and popish religion to be established.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/mss/online/online-exhibitions/exhib_archd/e1.phtml
|title=The Bawdy Court: Exhibits – Belief and Persecution
|publisher=University of Nottingham
|access-date=November 23, 2008
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

Many Puritans had hoped that reforms and reconciliation would be possible when James came to power which would allow them independence, but the [[Hampton Court Conference]] of 1604 denied nearly all of the concessions which they had requested—except for an authorized [[King James Version of the Bible|English translation of the Bible]]. The same year, [[Richard Bancroft]] became Archbishop of Canterbury and launched a campaign against Puritanism and the Separatists. He suspended 300 ministers and fired 80 more, which led some of them to found more Separatist churches. Robinson, Clifton, and their followers founded a Brownist church, making a covenant with God "to walk in all his ways made known, or to be made known, unto them, according to their best endeavours, whatsoever it should cost them, the Lord assisting them".<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Journey to the Mayflower|last=Tomkins|first=Stephen|publisher=Pegasus|year=2020|isbn=9781643133676|location=London and New York|pages=258}}</ref>

Archbishop Hutton died in 1606 and [[Tobias Matthew]] was appointed as his replacement. He was one of James's chief supporters at the 1604 conference,<ref>{{cite book
|last=Luckock
|first=Herbert Mortimer
|author-link=Herbert Mortimer Luckock
|title=Studies in the History of the Book of Common Prayer
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9PACAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA219
|access-date=November 23, 2008
|year=1882
|publisher=Rivingtons
|location=London
|oclc=1071106
|page=219
}}</ref> and he promptly began a campaign to purge the archdiocese of non-conforming influences, including Puritans, Separatists, and those wishing to return to the Catholic faith. Disobedient clergy were replaced, and prominent Separatists were confronted, fined, and imprisoned. He is credited with driving people out of the country who refused to attend Anglican services.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia
|title=Matthew, Tobie (1544?–1628)
|last=Sheils
|first=William Joseph
|encyclopedia=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
|publisher=Oxford University Press
|year=2004
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.exlibris.org/nonconform/engdis/barrowists.html
|date = January 1, 2008
|access-date = November 23, 2008
|title = English Dissenters: Barrowists
|publisher = Ex Libris
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081010025404/http://www.exlibris.org/nonconform/engdis/barrowists.html
|archive-date = October 10, 2008
|df = mdy-all
}}</ref>

[[William Brewster (Pilgrim)|William Brewster]] was a former diplomatic assistant to the Netherlands. He was living in the [[Scrooby]] manor house while serving as postmaster for the village and bailiff to the [[Archbishop of York]]. He had been impressed by Clyfton's services and had begun participating in services led by [[John Smyth (1570–1612)|John Smyth]] in [[Gainsborough, Lincolnshire]].<ref>{{harvnb|Brown|(1891)|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZEIJAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA181 181–182].|Ref=Brown_1891}}</ref> After a time, he arranged for a congregation to meet privately at the Scrooby manor house. Services were held beginning in 1606 with Clyfton as pastor, [[John Robinson (pastor)|John Robinson]] as teacher, and Brewster as the presiding elder. Shortly after, Smyth and members of the Gainsborough group moved on to Amsterdam.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://bassetlawmuseum.org.uk/?page=pilgrimfathers&mwsquery={topic}={pilgrim}&filename=words.mdf
|title=Bassetlaw, Pilgrim Fathers Country
|access-date=November 23, 2008
|author=Bassetlaw Museum
}}</ref> Brewster was fined £20 (about £{{formatprice|{{inflation|UK|20|1607}}|UK}} today{{inflation-fn|UK}}) ''in absentia'' for his non-compliance with the church.<ref>{{harvnb|Brown|(1891)|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZEIJAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA181 181].|Ref=Brown_1891}}</ref> This followed his September 1607 resignation from the postmaster position,<ref>{{cite EB1911|wstitle= Brewster, William | volume= 04 | page = 514 |quote= After an unsuccessful attempt in 1607 (for which he was imprisoned for a short time), he, with other Separatists, removed to Holland in 1608 to obtain greater freedom of worship.}}</ref> about the time that the congregation had decided to follow the Smyth party to Amsterdam.<ref name="bradford_1_1" /><ref name="bradford_1_2">{{harvnb|Bradford|(1898)|loc=Book 1, Chapter 2.|Ref=Bradford_1898}}</ref>

Scrooby member [[William Bradford (governor)|William Bradford]] of [[Austerfield]] kept a journal of the congregation's events which was eventually published as ''[[Of Plymouth Plantation]]''. He wrote concerning this time period:
<blockquote>
But after these things they could not long continue in any peaceable condition, but were hunted & persecuted on every side, so as their former afflictions were but as flea-bitings in comparison of these which now came upon them. For some were taken & clapt up in prison, others had their houses besett & watcht night and day, & hardly escaped their hands; and the most were faine to flie & leave their howses & habitations, and the means of their livelehood.<ref name="bradford_1_1" />
</blockquote>

===Leiden===

[[File:Brewster COE Treatise.png|thumb|Title page of a pamphlet published by William Brewster in Leiden]]
[[File:Leiden - Jan van Hout- toestemming aan de pilgrims om zich in Leiden te vestigen 12 feb 1609 20200815.jpg|thumb|Permission from the city council of [[Leiden]], allowing the Pilgrims to settle there, dated February 12, 1609.]]
The Pilgrims moved to the Netherlands around 1607–08 and lived in [[Leiden]], Holland, a city of 30,000 inhabitants.<ref>John (1895). The Pilgrim Fathers of New England and their Puritan Successors. Reprinted: 1970. Pasadena, Texas: Pilgrim Publications. pp. 118.</ref> Leiden was a thriving industrial center,<ref>{{cite web|url= http://eh.net/encyclopedia/articleHarreld.Dutch|title=The Dutch Economy in the Golden Age (16th–17th Centuries)|last=Harreld|first=Donald|publisher=Economic History Services|access-date=2008-11-11|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930165043/http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/Harreld.Dutch|archive-date=2007-09-30}}</ref>
and many members were able to support themselves working at [[Leiden University]] or in the textile, printing, and brewing trades. Others were less able to bring in sufficient income, hampered by their rural backgrounds and the language barrier; for those, accommodation was constructed on an estate bought by Robinson and three partners.<ref>{{cite web|title=Contract of Sale, De Groene Poort|url=http://www.pilgrimarchives.nl/html/pilgrims/regestenen/152.htm|work=Leiden Pilgrim Archives|access-date=2008-11-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013140858/http://pilgrimarchives.nl/html/pilgrims/regestenen/152.htm|archive-date=2007-10-13}}</ref> Bradford wrote of their years in Leiden:
<blockquote>
For these & other reasons they removed to Leyden, a fair & bewtifull citie, and of a sweete situation, but made more famous by ye universitie wherwith it is adorned, in which of late had been so many learned man. But wanting that traffike by sea which Amerstdam injoyes, it was not so beneficiall for their outward means of living & estats. But being now hear pitchet they fell to such trads & imployments as they best could; valewing peace & their spirituall comforte above any other riches whatsoever. And at length they came to raise a competente & comforteable living, but with hard and continuall labor.<ref name="bradford_1_3">{{harvnb|Bradford|(1898)|loc=Book 1, Chapter 3.|Ref=Bradford_1898}}</ref>
</blockquote>

William Brewster had been teaching English at the university, and Robinson enrolled in 1615 to pursue his doctorate. There he participated in a series of debates, particularly regarding the contentious issue of [[Calvinism]] versus [[Arminianism]] (siding with the Calvinists against the [[Remonstrants]]).<ref>See the [[Synod of Dort]].</ref>
Brewster acquired [[typesetting]] equipment about 1616 in a venture financed by Thomas Brewer, and began publishing the debates through a local press.<ref>{{harvnb|Griffis|(1899)|pp=[https://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/pageviewer?frames=1&root=%2Fmoa%2Fnewe%2Fnewe0025%2F&tif=00569.TIF&view=50 561–562].|Ref=Griffis_1899}}</ref>
[[File:Jabez Howland House in Plymouth MA.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Jabez Howland House]] in Plymouth, Massachusetts is the only house in which one of the Pilgrims lived that still stands. The house was built by Jabez Howland. His parents, Pilgrims [[John Howland]] and his wife, [[Elizabeth Tilley Howland]], lived with Jabez and his family in this house in their senior years. The house is now a museum.]]

The Netherlands, however, was a land whose culture and language were strange and difficult for the English congregation to understand or learn. They found the Dutch political situation to be unstable, and their children were becoming more and more Dutch as the years passed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dutchreview.com/culture/history/the-pilgrims-in-leiden/|title=The pilgrims in Leiden: Where were the pilgrims before they sailed to America?|website=DutchReview.com|access-date=November 19, 2021}}</ref> The congregation came to believe that they faced eventual extinction if they remained there.<ref>Bradford writes: "so as it was not only probably thought, but apparently seen, that within a few years more they would be in danger to scatter, by necessities pressing them, or sinke under their burdens, or both." (''Of Plimoth Plantation'', chapt. 4)</ref>

====Decision to leave Holland====
By 1617, the congregation was stable and relatively secure, but there were ongoing issues which needed to be resolved. Bradford noted that many members of the congregation were showing signs of early aging, compounding the difficulties which some had in supporting themselves. A few had spent their savings and given up and returned to England, and the leaders feared that more would follow and that the congregation would become unsustainable. The employment issues made it unattractive for others to come to Leiden, and younger members had begun leaving to find employment and adventure elsewhere. Also compelling was the possibility of missionary work in some distant land, an opportunity that rarely arose in a Protestant stronghold.<ref name="bradford_1_4">{{harvnb|Bradford|(1898)|loc=Book 1, Chapter 4.|Ref=Bradford_1898}}</ref>

Bradford lists some of the reasons for which the Pilgrims felt that they had to leave, including the discouragements that they faced in the Netherlands and the hope of attracting others by finding "a better, and easier place of living", the children of the group being "drawn away by evil examples into extravagance and dangerous courses", and the "great hope, for the propagating and advancing the gospel of the kingdom of Christ in those remote parts of the world."<ref name="bradford_1_4" /> [[Edward Winslow]]'s list was similar. In addition to the economic worries and missionary possibilities, he stressed that it was important for the people to retain their English identity, culture, and language. They also believed that the English Church in Leiden could do little to benefit the larger community there.<ref>{{harvnb|Winslow|(2003)|pp=[http://static.squarespace.com/static/50a02efce4b046b42952af27/t/50a86ec2e4b0ea694c52fade/1353215682312/HypocrisyUnmasked.pdf#page=62 62–63].|Ref=none}}</ref>

At the same time, there were many uncertainties about moving to such a place as America, as stories had come back about failed colonies. There were fears that the native people would be violent, that there would be no source of food or water, that they might be exposed to unknown diseases, and that travel by sea was always hazardous. Balancing all this was a local political situation which was in danger of becoming unstable. The truce was faltering in the [[Eighty Years' War]], and there was fear over what the attitudes of Spain might be toward them.<ref name="bradford_1_4" />

Possible destinations included [[The Guianas|Guiana]] on the northeast coast of South America where the Dutch had established [[Essequibo (colony)|Essequibo]] colony, or another site near the [[Colony of Virginia|Virginia]] settlements. Virginia was an attractive destination because the presence of the older colony might offer better security and trade opportunities; however, they also felt that they should not settle too near, since that might inadvertently duplicate the political environment back in England. The [[London Company]] administered a territory of considerable size in the region, and the intended settlement location was at the mouth of the [[Hudson River]] (which instead became the Dutch colony of [[New Netherland]]). This plan allayed their concerns of social, political, and religious conflicts, but still promised the military and economic benefits of being close to an established colony.<ref>Brown, John (1970). The Pilgrim Fathers of New England and their Puritan Successors. Pasadena, Texas: Pilgrim Publications. pp. 194.</ref>

[[Robert Cushman]] and [[John Carver (Mayflower passenger)|John Carver]] were sent to England to solicit a land patent. Their negotiations were delayed because of conflicts internal to the London Company, but ultimately a patent was secured in the name of John Wincob on June 9 ([[Old Style]])/June 19 (New Style), 1619.<ref>{{cite book
|editor-last=Kingsbury
|editor-first=Susan Myra
|title=The Records of the Virginia Company of London
|url=http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mtj8&fileName=mtj8pagevc01.db&recNum=231
|access-date=November 11, 2008
|volume=1
|year=1906
|publisher=[[United States Government Printing Office]]
|location=Washington, D.C.
|page=228
}}</ref>
The charter was granted with the king's condition that the Leiden group's religion would not receive official recognition.<ref name="bradford_1_5">{{harvnb|Bradford|(1898)|loc=Book 1, Chapter 5.|Ref=Bradford_1898}}</ref>

Preparations then stalled because of the continued problems within the London Company, and competing Dutch companies approached the congregation with the possibility of settling in the Hudson River area.<ref name="bradford_1_5" /> David Baeckelandt suggests that the Leiden group was approached by Englishman Matthew Slade, son-in-law of Petrus Placius, a cartographer for the Dutch East India Company. Slade was also a spy for the English Ambassador, and the Pilgrims' plans were therefore known both at court and among influential investors in the Virginia Company's colony at Jamestown. Negotiations were broken off with the Dutch, however, at the encouragement of English merchant [[Thomas Weston (merchant adventurer)|Thomas Weston]], who assured them that he could resolve the London Company delays.<ref name="bradford_1_6">{{harvnb|Bradford|(1898)|loc=Book 1, Chapter 6.|Ref=Bradford_1898}}</ref> The London Company intended to claim the area explored by Hudson before the Dutch could become fully established, and the first Dutch settlers did not arrive in the area until 1624.

Weston did come with a substantial change, telling the Leiden group that parties in England had obtained a land grant north of the existing Virginia territory to be called [[New England]]. This was only partially true; the new grant did come to pass, but not until late in 1620 when the [[Plymouth Council for New England]] received its charter. It was expected that this area could be fished profitably, and it was not under the control of the existing Virginia government.<ref name="bradford_1_6" /><ref name="necharter">{{cite web
| url = http://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/mass01.asp
| title = The Charter of New England: 1620
| access-date = November 11, 2008
| work = The Avalon Project
| date = December 18, 1998
| publisher = Yale Law School
| location = New Haven
}}</ref>

A second change was known only to parties in England who did not inform the larger group. New investors had been brought into the venture who wanted the terms altered so that half of the settled land and property would revert to the investors at the end of the seven-year contract. Also, there had been a provision in the original agreement that allowed each settler to have two days per week to work on personal business, but this provision was dropped from the final agreement without the knowledge of the Pilgrims.<ref name="bradford_1_6" />

Amid these negotiations, William Brewster found himself involved with religious unrest emerging in Scotland. In 1618, King James had promulgated the [[Five Articles of Perth]] which were seen in Scotland as an attempt to encroach on their Presbyterian tradition. Brewster published several pamphlets that were critical of this law, and they were smuggled into Scotland by April 1619. These pamphlets were traced back to Leiden, and the English authorities unsuccessfully attempted to arrest Brewster. English ambassador [[Dudley Carleton, 1st Viscount Dorchester|Dudley Carleton]] became aware of the situation and began pressuring the Dutch government to extradite Brewster, and the Dutch responded by arresting Thomas Brewer the financier in September. Brewster's whereabouts remain unknown between then and the colonists' departure, but the Dutch authorities did seize the typesetting materials which he had used to print his pamphlets. Meanwhile, Brewer was sent to England for questioning, where he stonewalled government officials until well into 1620. He was ultimately convicted in England for his continued religious publication activities and sentenced in 1626 to a 14-year prison term.<ref>{{harvnb|Griffis|(1899)|p=[https://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/pageviewer?frames=1&root=%2Fmoa%2Fnewe%2Fnewe0025%2F&tif=00583.TIF&view=50 575].|Ref=Griffis_1899}}</ref>

====Preparations====
Not all of the congregation were able to depart on the first trip. Many members were not able to settle their affairs within the time constraints, and the budget was limited for travel and supplies; also, the group decided that the initial settlement should be undertaken primarily by younger and stronger members. The remainder agreed to follow if and when they could. Robinson would remain in Leiden with the larger portion of the congregation, and Brewster was to lead the American congregation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=dayspring |date=2022-08-08 |title=The Real Story of the Pilgrims – America's Sacred Story: The True Story of the Pilgrims |url=https://www.dayspringchristian.com/blog/americas-sacred-story-the-true-story-of-the-pilgrims/ |access-date=2022-11-01 |website=Dayspring Christian Academy in Lancaster County, PA |language=en-US}}</ref> The church in America would be run independently, but it was agreed that membership would automatically be granted in either congregation to members who moved between the continents.

With personal and business matters agreed upon, the Pilgrims procured supplies and a small ship. ''[[Speedwell (1577 ship)|Speedwell]]'' was to bring some passengers from the Netherlands to England, then on to America where it would be kept for the fishing business, with a crew hired for support services during the first year. The larger ship ''[[Mayflower]]'' was leased for transport and exploration services.<ref name="bradford_1_6" /><ref name="bradford_1_7">{{harvnb|Bradford|(1898)|loc=Book 1, Chapter 7.|Ref=Bradford_1898}}</ref>

===Voyage===

[[File:Het vertrek van de Pilgrims uit Delfshaven, 1620. A. Willaerts.jpg|thumb|Contemporary depiction of the Pilgrims leaving Delfshaven aboard the Speedwell by [[Adam Willaerts]]. {{circa|1620}}]]

The ''[[Speedwell (1577 ship)|Speedwell]]'' was originally named ''Swiftsure''. It was built in 1577 at 60 tons and was part of the English fleet that defeated the Spanish Armada. It departed [[Delfshaven]] in July 1620 with the Leiden colonists, after a canal ride from Leyden of about seven hours.<ref>Brown, John (1895). The Pilgrim Fathers of New England and their Puritan Successors. Reprinted: 1970. Pasadena, Texas: Pilgrim Publications. pp. 185.
</ref> It reached [[Southampton]], [[Hampshire]], and met with the ''[[Mayflower]]'' and the additional colonists hired by the investors. With final arrangements made, the two vessels set out on August 5 ([[Old Style]])/August 15 (New Style).<ref name="bradford_1_7" />
[[File:17th-century-merchantman.jpg|thumb|Model of a typical [[Cargo ship|merchantman]] of the period, showing the cramped conditions that had to be endured]]
Soon after, the ''Speedwell'' crew reported that their ship was taking on water, so both were diverted to [[Dartmouth, Devon]]. The crew inspected ''Speedwell'' for leaks and sealed them, but their second attempt to depart got them only as far as [[Plymouth]], [[Devon]]. The crew decided that ''Speedwell'' was untrustworthy, and her owners sold her; the ship's master and some of the crew transferred to the ''Mayflower'' for the trip. [[William Bradford (Plymouth Colony governor)|William Bradford]] observed that the ''Speedwell'' seemed "overmasted", thus putting a strain on the hull; and he expressed suspicions that crew members might have deliberately caused it, allowing them to abandon their year-long commitments. Passenger Robert Cushman wrote that the leaking was caused by a loose board.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/w/captcha/question/|title=Project Gutenberg|website=Project Gutenberg|access-date=2016-09-12}}</ref>

====Atlantic crossing====
Of the 120 combined passengers on the two ships, 102 were chosen to travel on the ship with the supplies consolidated. Of these, about half had come by way of Leiden, and about 30 of the adults were members of the congregation.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.histarch.uiuc.edu/plymouth/Maysource.html
|title=Passengers on the Mayflower: Ages & Occupations, Origins & Connections
|last1=Deetz
|first1=Patricia Scott
|work=The Plymouth Colony Archive Project
|first2=James F.
|last2=Deetz
|access-date=November 10, 2008
}}</ref>
The reduced party finally sailed successfully on September 6 ([[Old Style]])/September 16 (New Style), 1620.

Initially the trip went smoothly, but under way they were met with strong winds and storms. One of these caused a main beam to crack, and the possibility was considered of turning back, even though they were more than halfway to their destination. However, they repaired the ship sufficiently to continue by using a "great iron screw" brought along by the colonists (probably a jack to be used for either house construction or a cider press).<ref>{{cite journal
|last=Bangs
|first=Jeremy Dupertuis
|date=Winter 2003
|title=Pilgrim Life: Two Myths – Ancient and Modern
|journal=New England Ancestors
|volume=4
|issue=1
|pages=52–55
|publisher=New England Historic Genealogical Society
|location=Boston
|issn=1527-9405
|oclc=43146397
}}</ref> Passenger [[John Howland]] was washed overboard in the storm, but he caught a top-sail halyard trailing in the water and was pulled back on board.

One crew member and one passenger died before they reached land. A child was born at sea and named [[Oceanus Hopkins|Oceanus]].<ref name="bradford_1_8-9">{{harvnb|Bradford|(1898)|loc=Book 1, Chapters 8–9.|Ref=Bradford_1898}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Fleming|first=Thomas|title=One Small Candle|year=1963|publisher=W.W. Norton|location=New York|pages=89–90}}</ref>

===Arrival in America===
[[File:Cape Cod 1620.svg|thumb|1620 place names mentioned by Bradford]]
The ''Mayflower'' passengers sighted land on November 9, 1620 after enduring miserable conditions for about 65 days, and [[William Brewster (Mayflower passenger)|William Brewster]] led them in singing [[Psalm 100]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.myplainview.com/news/article/The-landing-of-the-Pilgrims-10617826.php|title=The landing of the Pilgrims|last=Meacham|first=Gene|work=[[Plainview Daily Herald]]|date=November 16, 2016|access-date=November 5, 2022}}</ref> They confirmed that the area was [[Cape Cod]] within the New England territory recommended by Weston. They attempted to sail the ship around the cape towards the [[Hudson River]], but they encountered shoals and difficult currents around Cape Malabar (the old French name for [[Monomoy Island]]). They decided to turn around, and the ship was anchored in [[Provincetown Harbor]] by November 11/21.<ref name="bradford_1_8-9" /><ref>{{harvnb|Winslow|(2003)|p=[http://static.squarespace.com/static/50a02efce4b046b42952af27/t/50a86ec2e4b0ea694c52fade/1353215682312/HypocrisyUnmasked.pdf#page=64 64].|Ref=none}}</ref>

====The Mayflower Compact====
{{further|Mayflower Compact}}
The charter was incomplete for the Plymouth Council for New England when the colonists departed England (it was granted while they were in transit on November 3/13).<ref name="necharter" /> They arrived without a patent; the older Wincob patent was from their abandoned dealings with the London Company. Some of the passengers, aware of the situation, suggested that they were free to do as they chose upon landing, without a patent in place, and to ignore the contract with the investors.<ref>{{harvnb|Bradford and Winslow|(1865)|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=xb3coQS13NYC&pg=PA5 5–6]|Ref=Bradford_Winslow_1865}}</ref><ref name="bradford_2_1620">{{harvnb|Bradford|(1898)|loc=Book 2, Anno 1620.|Ref=Bradford_1898}}</ref>

The Leiden congregants, therefore, drafted a brief contract known as the [[Mayflower Compact]], promising cooperation among the settlers "for the general good of the Colony unto which we promise all due submission and obedience." It organized them into what was called a "civill body politick," in which issues would be decided by voting, the key ingredient of democracy. It was ratified by majority rule, with 41 adult male Pilgrims signing<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.histarch.uiuc.edu/plymouth/compact.html |title=Mayflower Compact, 1620|access-date=November 11, 2008|last1=Deetz|first1=Patricia Scott |first2=Christopher|last2=Fennell|date=December 14, 2007|work=The Plymouth Colony Archive Project}}</ref> for the 102 passengers (74 males and 28 females). Included in the company were 13 male servants and three female servants, along with some sailors and craftsmen hired for short-term service to the colony.<ref>John (1895). ''The Pilgrim Fathers of New England and their Puritan Successors''. Reprinted: 1970. Pasadena, Texas: Pilgrim Publications. pp. 196.</ref> At this time, [[John Carver (Mayflower passenger)|John Carver]] was chosen as the colony's first governor. It was Carver who had chartered the ''Mayflower'' and his is the first signature on the Mayflower Compact, being the most respected and affluent member of the group. The Mayflower Compact is considered to be one of the seeds of American democracy, and historians have called it the world's first written constitution.<ref>Philbrick, Nathaniel, ''Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War'' p. 43, Viking, New York, 2006. The Great Charter of the [[Virginia Company]] granted self governance to the Virginia Colony and could conceivably also be considered as a "seed of democracy", although it was not a contract in the sense of the Mayflower Compact.</ref><ref>"[http://www.pilgrimhall.org/CarverJohn.htm John and Catherine Carver] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727174640/http://www.pilgrimhall.org/CarverJohn.htm |date=July 27, 2011 }}," Pilgrim Hall Museum Web site. Retrieved January 28, 2011.</ref><ref name="Shakespeare1">{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/shakespearefound00gay/page/n7|title=Shakespeare and the Founders of Liberty in America|last=Gayley|first=Charles Mills|date=1917|website=Internet Archive|access-date=2018-11-30}}</ref>{{rp|90–91}}<ref name="The Fortnightly Club2">{{cite web|url=http://www.redlandsfortnightly.org/papers/burgessRon2010.htm|title=The Fortnightly Club}}</ref>

====First landings====
Thorough exploration of the area was delayed for more than two weeks because the [[shallop]] or [[pinnace (ship's boat)|pinnace]] (a smaller sailing vessel) which they brought had been partially dismantled to fit aboard the ''Mayflower'' and was further damaged in transit. Small parties, however, waded to the beach to fetch firewood and attend to long-deferred personal hygiene.

[[Myles Standish]] was an English soldier from [[Chorley]] whom the colonists had met while in Leiden, and they had asked him to join them as their military adviser. He and [[Christopher Jones (sailor)|Christopher Jones]] led several exploratory trips ashore while awaiting the shallop's repair. They encountered an old European-built house and iron kettle, left behind by some ship's crew, and a few recently cultivated fields showing corn stubble.<ref>Brown, John (1895). The Pilgrim Fathers of New England and their Puritan Successors. Reprinted: 1970. Pasadena, Texas: Pilgrim Publications. pp. 198.
</ref>

They came upon an artificial mound near the dunes which they partially uncovered and found to be an Indian grave. Farther along, a similar mound was found, more recently made, and they discovered that some of the burial mounds also contained corn. The colonists took some of the corn, intending to use it as seed for planting, while they reburied the rest. [[William Bradford (Plymouth Colony governor)|William Bradford]] later recorded in his book ''[[Of Plymouth Plantation]]'' that, after the shallop had been repaired,
<blockquote>
They also found two of the Indian's houses covered with mats, and some of their implements in them; but the people had run away and could not be seen. Without permission they took more corn, and beans of various colours. These they brought away, intending to give them full satisfaction when they should meet with any of them—as about six months afterwards they did.

And it is to be noted as a special providence of God, and a great mercy to this poor people, that they thus got seed to plant corn the next year, or they might have starved; for they had none, nor any likelihood of getting any, till too late for the planting season.
</blockquote>

By December, most of the passengers and crew had become ill, coughing violently. Many also were suffering from the effects of [[scurvy]]. There had already been ice and snowfall, hampering exploration efforts, and nearly half of the Pilgrim passengers died during the first winter.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Klinkenborg|first1=Verlyn|title=Why Was Life So Hard for the Pilgrims?|journal=American History|date=December 2011|volume=46|issue=5|page=36}}</ref>

====First contact====
Explorations resumed on December 6/16. The shallop party headed south along the cape, consisting of seven colonists from Leiden, three from London, and seven crew; they chose to land at the area inhabited by the [[Nauset]] people (the area around [[Brewster, Massachusetts|Brewster]], [[Chatham, Massachusetts|Chatham]], [[Eastham, Massachusetts|Eastham]], [[Harwich, Massachusetts|Harwich]], and [[Orleans, Massachusetts|Orleans]]) where they saw some people on the shore who fled when they approached. Inland they found more mounds, one containing acorns which they exhumed, and more graves, which they decided not to disturb. They remained ashore overnight and heard cries near the encampment. The following morning, they were attacked by Indians who shot at them with arrows. The colonists retrieved their firearms and shot back, then chased them into the woods but did not find them. There was no more contact with them for several months.<ref name="bradford_1_10">{{harvnb|Bradford|(1898)|loc=Book 1, Chapter 10.|Ref=Bradford_1898}}</ref>

The Indians were already familiar with the English, who had intermittently visited the area for fishing and trade before ''Mayflower'' arrived. In the Cape Cod area, relations were poor following a visit several years earlier by [[Thomas Hunt (slaver)|Thomas Hunt]]. Hunt kidnapped 20 people from Patuxet (the site of Plymouth Colony) and another seven from Nausett, and he attempted to sell them as slaves in Europe. One of the Patuxet men was [[Squanto]], who became an ally of the Plymouth Colony. He had escaped slavery and made his way to England, where he became fluent in English. He ultimately returned to America, only to discover that his entire village had died from plague.<ref name="bradford_2_1620" /><ref>{{harvnb|Bradford and Winslow|(1865)|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=xb3coQS13NYC&pg=PA90 90–91].|Ref=Bradford_Winslow_1865}}</ref>

====Settlement====
{{main|Plymouth Colony}}
[[File:Port St Louis Annotated.png|thumb|upright=1.15|[[Samuel de Champlain]]'s 1605 map of Plymouth Harbor showing the Wampanoag village of Patuxet, with some modern place names added for reference. The star marks the approximate location of the Plymouth Colony.]]
[[File:Plymouth Rock, Plymouth, MA, jjron 03.05.2012.jpg|thumb|[[Plymouth Rock]] commemorates the landing of the ''[[Mayflower]]'' in 1620]]

Continuing westward, the shallop's mast and rudder were broken by storms and the sail was lost. They rowed for safety, encountering the harbor formed by [[Duxbury, Massachusetts|Duxbury]] and Plymouth barrier beaches. They remained at this spot for two days to recuperate and repair equipment. They named it Clark's Island for a ''Mayflower'' mate who first set foot on it.<ref>John (1895). ''The Pilgrim Fathers of New England and their Puritan Successors''. Reprinted: 1970. Pasadena, Texas: Pilgrim Publications. pp. 198.</ref>

They resumed exploration on Monday, December 11/21 when the party crossed over to the mainland and surveyed the area that ultimately became the settlement. The anniversary of this survey is observed in Massachusetts as [[Forefathers' Day]] and is traditionally associated with the [[Plymouth Rock]] landing tradition. This land was especially suited to winter building because it had already been cleared, and the tall hills provided a good defensive position.

The cleared village was known as Patuxet to the [[Wampanoag people]] and was abandoned about three years earlier following a plague that killed all of its residents. The "Indian fever" involved hemorrhaging<ref name="bradford_2_1622">{{harvnb|Bradford|(1898)|loc=Book 2, Anno 1622.|Ref=Bradford_1898}}</ref> and is assumed to have been fulminating [[smallpox]]. The outbreak had been severe enough that the colonists discovered unburied skeletons in the dwellings.<ref name="bradford_2_1621">{{harvnb|Bradford|(1898)|loc=Book 2, Anno 1621.|Ref=Bradford_1898}}</ref>

The exploratory party returned to the ''Mayflower'', which was anchored {{convert|25|mi|km|spell=in}} away,<ref>John (1895). ''The Pilgrim Fathers of New England and their Puritan Successors''. Reprinted: 1970. Pasadena, Texas: Pilgrim Publications. pp. 200</ref> having been brought to the harbor on December 16/26. The Pilgrims evaluated the nearby sites and selected a hill in Plymouth (so named on earlier charts) on December 19/29.<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.histarch.uiuc.edu/plymouth/smithmap.html
|title = Smith's Map of New England, 1614
|access-date = November 11, 2008
|last1 = Deetz
|first1 = Patricia Scott
|first2 = Christopher
|last2 = Fennell
|date = December 14, 2007
|work = The Plymouth Colony Archive Project
}}</ref>

The Pilgrims began construction immediately, with the first common house nearly completed by January 9/19, 20 feet square and built for general use.<ref name="John 1895 pp. 202">John (1895). ''The Pilgrim Fathers of New England and their Puritan Successors''. Reprinted: 1970. Pasadena, Texas: Pilgrim Publications. pp. 202.</ref> At this point, each single man was ordered to join himself to one of the 19 families in order to eliminate the need to build any more houses than absolutely necessary.<ref name="John 1895 pp. 202"/> Each extended family was assigned a plot one-half rod wide and three rods long for each household member,<ref name="John 1895 pp. 202"/> then each family built its own dwelling. They brought supplies ashore, and the settlement was mostly complete by early February.<ref name="bradford_1_10" /><ref>{{harvnb|Bradford and Winslow|(1865)|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=xb3coQS13NYC&pg=PA60 60–65], [https://books.google.com/books?id=xb3coQS13NYC&pg=PA71 71–72].|Ref=Bradford_Winslow_1865}}</ref>

When the first house was finished, it immediately became a hospital for the ill Pilgrims. Thirty-one of the company were dead by the end of February, with deaths still rising. Coles Hill became the first cemetery, on a prominence above the beach, and they allowed grass to overgrow the graves for fear that the Indians would discover how weakened the settlement had actually become.<ref name="John 1895 pp. 203">John (1895). ''The Pilgrim Fathers of New England and their Puritan Successors''. Reprinted: 1970. Pasadena, Texas: Pilgrim Publications. pp. 203.</ref>

Between the landing and March, only 47 colonists had survived the diseases that they contracted on the ship.<ref name="John 1895 pp. 203"/> During the worst of the sickness, only six or seven of the group were able to feed and care for the rest. In this time, half the ''Mayflower'' crew also died.<ref name="bradford_2_1620" />

[[William Bradford (Plymouth Colony governor)|William Bradford]] became governor in 1621 upon the death of [[John Carver (Mayflower passenger)|John Carver]]. On March 22, 1621, the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony signed a peace treaty with [[Massasoit]] of the [[Wampanoag people|Wampanoags]]. Bradford surrendered the patent of [[Plymouth Colony]] to the [[Freeman (Colonial)|freemen]] in 1640, minus a small reserve of three tracts of land. He served as governor for 11 consecutive years, and was elected to various other terms before his death in 1657.

The colony contained [[Bristol County, Massachusetts|Bristol County]], [[Plymouth County, Massachusetts|Plymouth County]], and [[Barnstable County, Massachusetts]]. The [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]] was reorganized and issued a new charter as the [[Province of Massachusetts Bay]] in 1691, and Plymouth ended its history as a separate colony.

==Etymology==

===Bradford's history===
The first use of the word ''pilgrims'' for the ''Mayflower'' passengers appeared in [[William Bradford (Plymouth Colony governor)|William Bradford]]'s 1651 ''[[Of Plymouth Plantation]]''. In recounting his group's July 1620 departure from Leiden, he used the imagery of [[Hebrews 11]] ([https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=hebrews+11%3A13-16&version=GNV Hebrews 11:13–16]) about [[Old Testament]] "strangers and pilgrims" who had the opportunity to return to their old country but instead longed for a better, heavenly country.
<blockquote>
So they lefte goodly & pleasante citie, which had been ther resting place, nere 12 years; but they knew they were pilgrimes, & looked not much on these things; but lift up their eyes to y<sup>e</sup> heavens, their dearest cuntrie, and quieted their spirits.<ref name="bradford_1_7" />
</blockquote>

There is no record of the term ''Pilgrims'' being used to describe Plymouth's founders for 150 years after Bradford wrote this passage, except when quoting him. The ''Mayflower's'' story was retold by historians [[Nathaniel Morton]] (in 1669) and [[Cotton Mather]] (in 1702), and both paraphrased Bradford's passage and used his word ''pilgrims''. At Plymouth's [[Forefathers' Day]] observance in 1793, Rev. Chandler Robbins recited this passage.<ref>{{harvnb|Matthews|(1915)|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=47gMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA356 356–359].|Ref=Matthews_1915}}</ref>

===Popular use===
[[File:1920USstamp2centPilgrimTercentenaryLanding.jpg|thumb|right|1920 U.S. stamp celebrating the Pilgrim Tercentenary]]
The name ''Pilgrims'' was probably not in popular use before about 1798, even though Plymouth celebrated [[Forefathers' Day]] several times between 1769 and 1798 and used a variety of terms to honor Plymouth's founders. The term ''Pilgrims'' was not mentioned, other than in Robbins' 1793 recitation.<ref>{{harvnb|Matthews|(1915)|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=47gMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA297 297–311], [https://books.google.com/books?id=47gMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA351 351].|Ref=Matthews_1915}}</ref>
The first documented use of the term that was not simply quoting Bradford was at a December 22, 1798, celebration of Forefathers' Day in [[Boston]]. A song composed for the occasion used the word ''Pilgrims'', and the participants drank a toast to "The Pilgrims of Leyden".<ref>{{harvnb|Matthews|(1915)|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=47gMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA323 323–327].|Ref=Matthews_1915}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
| title = Toasts Drank at the Celebration of Our Country's Nativity
| work = Massachusetts Mercury
| location = Boston
| pages = [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:EANX&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=10AEDEE4944F7680&svc_dat=HistArchive:ahnpdoc&req_dat=0F418C809CE5EA70 2], [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:EANX&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=10AEDEE592F83B50&svc_dat=HistArchive:ahnpdoc&req_dat=0F418C809CE5EA70 4]
| date = December 28, 1798
}}
</ref>
The term was used prominently during Plymouth's next Forefather's Day celebration in 1800, and was used in Forefathers' Day observances thereafter.<ref>{{harvnb|Matthews|(1915)|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=47gMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA312 312–350].|Ref=Matthews_1915}}</ref>

By the 1820s, the term ''Pilgrims'' was becoming more common. [[Daniel Webster]] repeatedly referred to "the Pilgrims" in his December 22, 1820, address for Plymouth's bicentennial which was widely read.<ref>{{cite book
|last=Webster |first=Daniel |author-link=Daniel Webster |editor=Edward Everett |title=The Works of Daniel Webster |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bGIOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PR1 |access-date=November 30, 2008 |edition=8th |volume=1 |year=1854 |publisher=Brown, Little & Co. |location=Boston |pages=lxiv–lxv, 1–50
|no-pp=true }}</ref> [[Harriet Vaughan Cheney]] used it in her 1824 novel ''A Peep at the Pilgrims in Sixteen Thirty-Six'', and the term also gained popularity with the 1825 publication of [[Felicia Hemans]]'s classic poem "The Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers".<ref>{{cite book
|editor-last=Wolfson |editor-first=Susan J. |title=Felicia Hemans |year=2000 |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton |isbn=978-0-691-05029-4 |pages=416–417 }}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Reformed Christianity|United States|New England}}
* [[Mayflower Society]]
* [[National Monument to the Forefathers]]
* [[Pilgrim Hall Museum]]
* [[Pilgrim Tercentenary half dollar]]
* [[Thanksgiving (United States)]]
* [[List of Mayflower passengers|List of ''Mayflower'' passengers]]
* [[List of Mayflower passengers who died at sea November/December 1620|List of ''Mayflower'' passengers who died at sea November/December 1620]]
* [[List of Mayflower passengers who died in the winter of 1620–21|List of ''Mayflower'' passengers who died in the winter of 1620–21]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|35em}}

==References==
* {{cite book
|last=Bradford
|first=William
|author-link=William Bradford (Plymouth Colony governor)
|author2=Edward Winslow|editor=Henry Martyn Dexter
|title=Mourt's Relation, or Journal of the Plantation at Plymouth
|orig-year=1622
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xb3coQS13NYC
|access-date=November 28, 2008
|year=1865
|publisher=John Kimball Wiggin
|location=Boston
|oclc=8978744
|ref=Bradford_Winslow_1865
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Bradford
|first=William
|author-link=William Bradford (Plymouth Colony governor)
|editor=Hildebrandt, Ted
|title=Bradford's History "Of Plimoth Plantation"
|url=http://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/Ted_Hildebrandt/NEReligiousHistory/Bradford-Plimoth/Bradford-PlymouthPlantation.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/Ted_Hildebrandt/NEReligiousHistory/Bradford-Plimoth/Bradford-PlymouthPlantation.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live
|access-date=November 28, 2008
|orig-year=1651
|year=1898
|publisher=Wright & Potter Printing Co.
|location=Boston
|ref=Bradford_1898
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Brown
|first=Cornelius
|author-link=Cornelius Brown
|title=A History of Nottinghamshire
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZEIJAAAAIAAJ&pg=PR3
|access-date=November 28, 2008
|year=1891
|publisher=Elliot Stock
|location=London
|oclc=4624771
|ref=Brown_1891
}}
* {{cite journal
|last=Griffis
|first=William
|author-link=William Elliot Griffis
|journal=New England Magazine
|title=The Pilgrim Press in Leyden
|pages=559–575
|volume=19/25
|issue=January 1899
|publisher=Warren F. Kellogg
|location=Boston
|url=https://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/pageviewer?frames=1&root=%2Fmoa%2Fnewe%2Fnewe0025%2F&tif=00567.TIF&view=50
|access-date=November 28, 2008
|ref=Griffis_1899
}}
* {{cite journal
|last=Matthews |first=Albert |year=1915
|title=The Term ''Pilgrim Fathers'' and Early Celebrations of Forefathers' Day
|journal=Publications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts
|volume=17
|pages=293–391
|publisher=The Society |location=Boston
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=47gMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA293
|access-date=November 28, 2008
|ref=Matthews_1915
}}
* {{cite web
|url = http://static.squarespace.com/static/50a02efce4b046b42952af27/t/50a86ec2e4b0ea694c52fade/1353215682312/HypocrisyUnmasked.pdf
|title = Hypocrisy Unmasked
|access-date= November 28, 2008
|last = Winslow
|first = Edward
|author-link= Edward Winslow
|editor-first = Caleb
|editor-last = Johnson
|year = 2003
|publisher = MayflowerHistory.com
}}

==Further reading==
* Cheney, Glenn Alan. ''Thanksgiving: The Pilgrims' First Year in America'' (New London Librarium, 2007)
* Fraser, Rebecca. ''The Mayflower Generation: the Winslow Family and the Fight for the New World'' (Vintage, 2017)
* Tompkins, Stephen. ''The Journey to the Mayflower: God’s Outlaws and the Invention of Freedom '' (Hodder and Stoughton, 2020)
* Vandrei, Martha. "The Pilgrim's Progress," ''History Today'' (May 2020) 70#5 pp 28–41. Covers the historiography 1629 to 2020; online
* Whittock, Martyn. ''Mayflower Lives'' (Simon and Schuster, 2019).

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Pilgrim Fathers}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090521175344/http://www.pilgrimarchives.nl/en/pilgrims-in-documents/pilgrims-in-documents Pilgrim Archives], Searchable municipal and court records from Leiden Regional Archive
* {{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20080603063046/http://www.fenlandlincs.com/mayflower Photographs of New York (Lincs – UK) and Pilgrim Fathers monument (Lincs – UK)]}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090430012122/http://www.8townsquare.org/History.html Church of the Pilgrimage], founded after an 1801 schism
* [http://www.pilgrimhall.org/ Pilgrim Hall Museum] Pilgrim history and artifacts
* [http://www.mayflowersteps.co.uk/ ''Mayflower'' Steps] All about the ''Mayflower'' and Pilgrim Fathers with a Plymouth (UK) focus. Many pictures
* [http://www.mayflowerpub.co.uk/ The Mayflower Pub London] The original mooring point of The Pilgrim Fathers’ ''Mayflower'' ship in Rotherhithe, London and the oldest pub on the River Thames
* [http://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm Pilgrim ships from 1602 to 1638] Pilgrim ships searchable by ship name, sailing date and passengers.
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007rlb6 The Pilgrim Fathers], BBC Radio 4 discussion with [[Kathleen Burk]], Harry Bennett & Tim Lockley (''In Our Time'', July 5, 2007)

{{Mayflower passengers and related topics|state=expanded}}
{{Christian History|collapsed}}
{{Thanksgiving}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Protestantism in England]]
[[Category:Congregationalism]]
[[Category:English emigration]]
[[Category:English colonization of the Americas]]
[[Category:History of the Church of England]]
[[Category:History of Lincolnshire]]
[[Category:Pre-statehood history of Massachusetts]]
[[Category:17th century in the Dutch Republic]]
[[Category:Reformed Christianity in the Dutch Republic]]
[[Category:British expatriates in the Dutch Republic]]
[[Category:History of the Thirteen Colonies]]
[[Category:Plymouth Colony]]
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[[Category:New England Puritanism]]
[[Category:Epistle to the Hebrews]]

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Pilgrims (Plymouth Colony)