The Mayflower carried Pilgrims from England to Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620, seeking religious freedom. The journey was difficult, with one child and one crew member dying en route. The colonists founded Plymouth and signed the Mayflower Compact. The ship returned to England and was later broken up, while a second Mayflower was lost at sea in 1641.
The Mayflower was the ship that carried Pilgrims, or English separatists, from England to Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620. It is a symbol of early European colonization and religious freedom in the United States; the pilgrims left their hometown of Plymouth, England to seek a place where they would not be persecuted for their puritanical religion. Plymouth, Massachusetts is the oldest city in New England and one of the oldest in the entire United States.
The Pilgrims decided to leave for America around 1617. They had lived in the Netherlands for nearly ten years, where they had fled their native England to escape religious persecution. The pilgrims disagreed with the Church of England and refused to attend its services, preferring to conduct their own independent worship. They chose to leave the Netherlands because they feared assimilation into a foreign language and culture and believed the country’s moral climate was too lax.
The first boat the Pilgrims took out of the Netherlands, the Speedwell, kept leaking and the boat only made it to Plymouth, England. Later, the Pilgrims transferred to the Mayflower, which would successfully take them to the modern United States. However, the journey was difficult, plagued by bad weather and illness. The vessel was carrying 102 passengers, along with 25-30 crew members. One child and one crew member died en route and a child was born and named Oceanus.
The journey from England to America took 66 days, arriving in New England in November, during a severe winter. While the Pilgrims originally intended to land near the Hudson River, the ship was blown off course by inclement weather and ended up on Cape Cod. The colonists founded a new city at the site of their landing, which they named Plymouth after the English port city from which they had begun their journey. They also drafted and signed the Mayflower Compact, a set of rules and regulations governing the agreement.
The Mayflower left Plymouth, Massachusetts to return to England in April of the following year, arriving about a month later. She returned to her use as a cargo ship carrying trade goods between European countries and was probably broken up in 1623. A second ship called the Mayflower made several voyages from England to America, bringing new settlers. In 1641, on her sixth voyage to America, that vessel was lost at sea.
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