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On the
death of Queen Elizabeth 1st, James 1st became king and immediately
installed the Protestant faith as the one true religion for England and
Scotland all other religions were discouraged or barred.
In Nottinghamshire, members of the Puritan Separatist Church became
increasingly concerned that they were unable to practice their religion
and to avoid fines and persecution members of the church left England in
secrecy and set up a community in Holland. The ‘separatists’ as they
became known found it difficult to settle due to cultural and language
differences and yearned for a home of their own.
The answer to their problem came via an English stock company that
offered to pay for settlers to found a new colony in Virginia to protect
their interests in North America.
On the 16th September 1620, 102 men and women including 35 Puritan
separatists sailed from Plymouth in Devon on a ship called the Mayflower
captained by Myles Standish.
Conditions on board the Mayflower were harsh with very little food or
water and cramped living quarters. The Pilgrim Fathers faced violent
storms that led many of the pilgrims to become overcome by seasickness.
Despite the harrowing conditions there was only one death, William
Butten of Austerfield, perhaps even more surprising was there was also
one birth aboard, a boy Oceanus Hopkins.
In addition to the harsh conditions the 35 Puritan separatists clashed
with the other passengers on board due to their religious differences
but to avert further problems the Mayflower Compact was signed
establishing the rights of non-Puritans, this document formed the basis
for government of the new colony.
The Mayflower was blown off course by a violent storm and failed to
reach Virginia but they finally, after 66 days at sea, dropped anchor in
Plymouth Sound on November 21st, 1620.
In December, the Pilgrim Fathers landed at Cape Cod and decided that
they would stay, by the 21st December they had established their own
government in the New Plymouth colony.
Life in the new colony that first winter was severe with over half of
the original settlers dying from a combination of poor food, illness and
the severe weather. The remainder survived mainly due to their own
perseverance and help from local Indians.
The following year in November 1621 the established community celebrated
its first Thanksgiving a tradition, which still takes place in the USA
to this day almost 400 years later.
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