Plymouth colony Leaving England In England in the

Plymouth colony

Leaving England • In England in the 1600 s, there were laws that required all people to follow the rules of the Church of England. • Some groups did not want to follow these rules. • Separatist- people wanted to separate from the official Church of England • Pilgrims founded the Plymouth colony to escape religious persecution

Separatists

Church of England

Separatist believed • Church services should be simple. • Only 2 ceremonies should be performed by the church: baptism & communion • Local leaders should make their own rules & choose their own leaders

Religious Problems • Separatist set up their own churches but were arrested and imprisoned. • Because of this the decided England. • In 1608, a group Separatists escaped from England. persecution Separatist to leave of

Religious Problems • They went to the Netherlands where they could worship freely. • But the men had a hard time making a living. • They had to learn new skills but even the best-paying jobs were given to Dutch men.

Netherlands

Religious Problems • The Separatist lived in the Netherlands for 12 years. • Their children married into Dutch families and spoke Dutch. • The Separatists were worried that their children were forgetting English customs and becoming more Dutch.

Religious Problems • They decided to look for a new place to live. • To preserve their customs and their beliefs the Separatists decided to move to North America. • They learned about North America from Captain John Smith’s book “A Description of New England.

Religious Problems • The Separatist thought about moving to South America but thought it would be better to be near other English people in Jamestown. • The Virginia Company granted permission to the Separatist to settle just north of Jamestown but could not offer them financial support. • A group of 70 English investors formed a joint stock company called the Merchant Adventurers.

Starting a new colony • They raised the money the Separatists needed for building a settlement. • In return the Separatist agreed to send fish, timber, furs, and other goods to the company for seven years. • The Separatist returned to England to prepare for the voyage. • Because the Separatists were taking such a long trip they became known as the Pilgrims.

Sailing to the new colony • In September 1620, 102 passengers, including 41 Pilgrims, sailed on the Mayflower to North America • Others were workers, indentured servants, and the ship’s crew. • After 60 days they spotted land but they were no where near Virginia.

Mayflower

Mayflower cross section

Sailing to the new colony • The Captain’s sailing mistakes & raging winds forced the Mayflower off course. • On Nov. 9 the colonist landed on Cape Cod in the present day state of Massachusetts. • Bad weather prevented them from sailing back to England or to Virginia so they decided to stay. • The Colonist were outside the land controlled by the Virginia company.

Pilgrims cancel Christmas

Beginning the new colony • Before the colonist left the ship, the Pilgrim leaders drew up an agreement signed by 41 adults on board. • The Mayflower Compact was how Pilgrims agreed to set up their government. • John Carver was chosen as the colony’s 1 st Governor.

John Carver

The Signing of the Mayflower Compact

Beginning the new colony • Once the Compact was signed, the colonist looked for a site for their colony. • They chose a spot with a harbor and named it Plymouth. • The colonist chose a good site but they faced cold weather & little food during their 1 st winter.

Plymouth Colony

Colonial Life • In March, only 4 months after reaching Cape Cod more than half of the colonists had died including Governor Carver. • The colonist were still determined to build England’s 2 nd permanent colony in North America.

Colonial Life • In the spring of 1621. William Bradford was elected the 2 nd Governor of Plymouth. • William Bradford the governor of Plymouth colony for 30 years.

Native American Assistance • In March of 1621, Massasoit, leader of the powerful Native American tribe Wampanoag, visited Plymouth. • Squanto came with him as his guide & interpreter. • Squanto learned English when he was captured by an English Sea Captain but escaped.

Squanto lived at Plymouth and taught colonists: • how to rake clams at low tide • how to grow corn and pumpkins • how to make maple syrup • Where to hunt deer & beaver • Which wild plants were poisonous.

Thanksgiving • Little rain fell the summer of 1621, the corn began to dry out. • The Pilgrims set aside a day of prayer to ask for help and rain began to fall. • When harvest time came, the colonist had plenty of food to last the winter. • The Pilgrims, other colonist, Massasoit & 90 other Wampanoags gathered to celebrate the harvest. • They feasted for 3 days on deer, lobster, clams & other local foods.

1 st Thanksgiving

1 st Thanksigiving

Why were the Pilgrims so successful? • • Plymouth colonist faced difficulties. They had only 1 winter of “starving time. ” They made peace with the Native Americans They began to build the kind of community that they wanted.