The Pilgrims’ Perilous Voyage

by | Nov 10, 2020 | 17th-Century British & American History, The Pilgrims, The Year of the Mayflower

An Ocean of Troubles

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…)

Saga of the Speedwell

by | Sep 11, 2020 | 17th-Century British & American History, European and British Colonization of America, The Pilgrims, The Year of the Mayflower

Inside the Mayflower II Replica ~ 2016, Plymouth, Massachusetts

The Surrender of the Speedwell ~ Incompetence or Intent?

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…)

Pilgrims’ Uneasy Preparations ~ So Many Obstacles

by | Jun 30, 2020 | 17th-Century British & American History, The Pilgrims, The Year of the Mayflower

A Mast of the Mayflower Replica, Plymouth Harbor (Taken 2016 by author)

June of 1620 ~ Would the Journey Ever Happen?

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…)

Who Were the Pilgrims & Why Were They So Brave? (Part II)

by | May 10, 2020 | 17th-Century British & American History, Braving the New World, European and British Colonization of America, The Pilgrims, The Year of the Mayflower

Plymouth’s Famous Rock (author’s photo)

 

Physical & Spiritual Rocks of Faith & Bravery

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…)

Who Were the Pilgrims & Why Were They So Brave? (Part I)

by | Apr 26, 2020 | 17th-Century British & American History, Braving the New World, European and British Colonization of America, The Pilgrims, The Year of the Mayflower

Dwelling Interior, Plimouth Plantation, Plymouth, Massachusetts (author’s photo)

So they left that goodly and pleasant city which had been their resting place near twelve years; but they knew they were pilgrims…William Bradford

 

Why Do We Call the Mayflower Passengers “Pilgrims”?

The words above, penned (literally) by Plymouth Governor William Bradford, are a reference to the New Testament letter to the Hebrews (11:13). The letter’s eleventh chapter is known as the hall of fame of (more…)

The Wars and the Plague That Prepared a Place for the Pilgrims

by | Mar 28, 2020 | 17th-Century British & American History, Braving the New World, Captain John Smith, Captain Thomas Dermer, European and British Colonization of America, Sir Ferdinando Gorges, The Pilgrims, The Year of the Mayflower

“An Extraordinary Plague”

This blog entry is dated March 28, 2020, so it is perhaps a pertinent time, as we Americans endure an unprecedented and rather peculiar quarantine, to explore a curious and historically important plague of four centuries ago.

In 1616, several years prior to the year of the Mayflower, an unseen enemy stalked (more…)