Finally underway, the 1620 voyage of the Mayflower took 65 days, from September 6 (we today would say 16) to November 11 (we would say 21), from Plymouth, England, to present-day Provincetown Harbor. [SEM, OPP, pg. 60] So, this coming week of 2020 is the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the Mayflower and the Pilgrims and the rest of the British passengers in John Smith’s New England. (more…)
Inside the Mayflower II Replica ~ 2016, Plymouth, Massachusetts
It’s July 1620 in Leyden, the Netherlands. The financially strapped group of Separatist Puritans finally (“at length,” writes William Bradford) bought and fitted a small ship ~ the Speedwell ~ with a plan for it to remain with them in their New World colony for fishing and “other affairs.” (more…)
The only known, recorded suggestion that George Washington, Commander-in-Chief of fledgling America’s army, should become king of the new country came from one of Washington’s officers, Colonel Lewis Nicola in a letter to Washington, dated May 22, 1782. (more…)
A Mast of the Mayflower Replica, Plymouth Harbor (Taken 2016 by author)
It’s June of 2020. What was the group we call the Pilgrims doing 400 years ago? Never mind contemplating the fearsome challenges of an Atlantic crossing and an alien environment. Pilgrim leaders and representatives were trying to overcome a series of serious obstacles on the Dutch and English side of the ocean before they could even set foot on a ship’s deck. (more…)
Plymouth’s Famous Rock (author’s photo)
Above, you see a famous rock (boulder) that resides for viewing within an enclosure on the beach of Plymouth, Massachusetts. At some point, the date 1620 was carved into it. Look closely and you will see where the rock had broken into two pieces and was repaired. (more…)