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KF5JRV > TODAY 18.12.18 13:29l 52 Lines 2766 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 27206_KF5JRV
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Subj: Today in History - Dec 18
Path: IZ3LSV<IK6ZDE<VE2PKT<N3HYM<N9LCF<KQ0I<AB0AF<KF5JRV
Sent: 181218/1227Z 27206@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA BPQ6.0.17
On December 18, 1620, the British ship Mayflower docked at modern-day
Plymouth, Massachusetts, and its passengers prepared to begin their new
settlement, Plymouth Colony.
The famous Mayflower story began in 1606, when a group of reform-minded
Puritans in Nottinghamshire, England, founded their own church, separate
from the state-sanctioned Church of England. Accused of treason, they
were forced to leave the country and settle in the more tolerant
Netherlands. After 12 years of struggling to adapt and make a decent
living, the group sought financial backing from some London merchants to
set up a colony in America. On September 6, 1620, 102 passengers–dubbed
Pilgrims by William Bradford, a passenger who would become the first
governor of Plymouth Colony–crowded on the Mayflower to begin the long,
hard journey to a new life in the New World.
On November 11, 1620, the Mayflower anchored at what is now Provincetown
Harbor, Cape Cod. Before going ashore, 41 male passengers–heads of
families, single men and three male servants–signed the famous Mayflower
Compact, agreeing to submit to a government chosen by common consent and
to obey all laws made for the good of the colony. Over the next month,
several small scouting groups were sent ashore to collect firewood and
scout out a good place to build a settlement. Around December 10, one of
these groups found a harbor they liked on the western side of Cape Cod
Bay. They returned to the Mayflower to tell the other passengers, but
bad weather prevented them from docking until December 18. After
exploring the region, the settlers chose a cleared area previously
occupied by members of a local Native American tribe, the Wampanoag. The
tribe had abandoned the village several years earlier, after an outbreak
of European disease. That winter of 1620-1621 was brutal, as the
Pilgrims struggled to build their settlement, find food and ward off
sickness. By spring, 50 of the original 102 Mayflower passengers were
dead. The remaining settlers made contact with returning members of the
Wampanoag tribe and in March they signed a peace treaty with a tribal
chief, Massasoit. Aided by the Wampanoag, especially the
English-speaking Squanto, the Pilgrims were able to plant
crops–especially corn and beans–that were vital to their survival. The
Mayflower and its crew left Plymouth to return to England on April 5,
1621.
Over the next several decades, more and more settlers made the trek
across the Atlantic to Plymouth, which gradually grew into a prosperous
shipbuilding and fishing center. In 1691, Plymouth was incorporated into
the new Massachusetts Bay Association, ending its history as an
independent colony.
73 de Scott KF5JRV
Pmail: KF5JRV@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA
email: KF5JRV@ICLOUD.COM
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