WHO WERE THE NEXT ENGLISHMEN TO SETTLE THE AMERICA’S AFTER

JAMESTOWN?

The Pilgrims and the Plymouth colony of

1620

Pilgrims Come to AmericaIn the mid 1600s a religious group called the Separatists tried to separate from the church of England..

Religious Freedom• Not only did the Separatist groups, like the

Pilgrims, break way from the Church of England, they wanted religious freedom.

We want religious freedom

We want religious freedom

The Beginning• Well, in order to truly understand the

problems that the Pilgrims and other separatists faced, its important to start from the beginning.

The Church of England• In the beginning, before England began

colonizing the New World, England was a Catholic country.

• In the 1500s, King Henry VIII (8th) of England broke away from the Catholic church and established the official Church of England.

• The Separatists (a religious group) wanted to break away from the Church of England. They didn’t approve of the Church of England because they thought it was too much like the Catholic Church.

The Separatists

Persecution of Pilgrims• Religion was a very big deal in England. To

prove his power, King James began attacking and punishing people who did not follow the official church.

Persecution of the PilgrimsThe separatists who, rejected the Church of England and wanted to separate, were persecuted (treated cruelly) and forbidden to worship in public. If they did they could be arrested, beaten or even sentenced to death.

The Famous PilgrimsOne of the most famous separatists group who wanted to separate from the Church of England were the Pilgrims. They wanted religious freedom.

• At first, the Pilgrims fled to Holland in order to escape persecution (harsh treatment).. However, as time went on, the Pilgrims realized they didn’t really like living in Holland and would rather start a new life and a new colony in America.

Pilgrims want to Escape

Pilgrims ask to go to VirginiaEventually, the Pilgrims went to the Virginia Company to ask for help. They wondered if the company would be willing to grant them a charter so they could settle in America and start their own colony. Can you help us get

to America so can practice our religion

freely?

Can you help us get to America so can

practice our religion freely?

The Virginia Company says Ok

In 1618 the Virginia Company agreed to help the Pilgrims get to America and settle in on the Company’s land.

I don’t care if the pilgrims come to

America

The MayflowerAfter two years and several setbacks , the Pilgrims finally boarded a ship called the Mayflower. The Mayflower was to take them across the Atlantic Ocean to America.

The Mayflower• Originally there were two ships, the Mayflower

and the smaller Speedwell. However, after a few miles out they had to turn back because something was wrong with the Speedwell. All the pilgrims now had to get onto the Mayflower. This made it even more crowed, dark and cramped.

What Did the Pilgrims Eat? During the Mayflower's voyage, the Pilgrims main diet consisted primarily (mostly) of hard biscuits, salt pork, dried meats and moldy oatmeal. The primary beverage for everyone, including children, was beer.

Aboard the ShipConditions on the ship were horrible. It was dark, wet and cramped. The ceiling of the ship was only about 5 feet tall. Everyone had to hunch over. People went to the bathroom in buckets and often got sea sick. For two months the Pilgrims lived like this aboard the Mayflower.

Atlantic Storms HitThe first month across the Atlantic went fairly smoothly. However, during late November several Atlantic storms began to hit the Mayflower. The strong winds broke through the sails and pushed the Mayflower far north of its intended location.

Off Course• On the early morning of November 9, 1620,

the Mayflower's crew spotted land.  It was the first land they had seen in more than two months. However, the Pilgrims aboard the ship knew that they had landed outside the area the the Virginia Company controlled. Oh no…this

isn’t where we wanted to land

The Pilgrims Land

The Pilgrims had landed in Cape Cod Massachusetts, an area that John Smith had mapped and named “New England”. The Pilgrims named their new colony (town) Plymouth after the town they left in England.

The Mayflower CompactThe men created the compact (contract) by writing down on a large sheet of paper simple rules/laws that they all could all agree upon. They all agreed that these laws were for the good of the colony and must be obeyed. All 41 men signed the Mayflower compact.

The Mayflower Compact

The Mayflower Compact is important because it established the idea of self government and majority rule. Self government is where people create laws for themselves and majority rule is the idea that whatever the most people want is what will happen.

But I don’t want to…

Too bad… We are the majority

Building Plymouth 1620Right away the Pilgrims went to work building their colony in Massachusetts. However the soil was poor and rocky and little grew. Furthermore, the harsh New England winter came quickly. The Pilgrims were not ready.

Starving Time in PlymouthLike the early settlers in Jamestown, the Pilgrims at Plymouth also went through a starving time. Everyone was sick, weak, cold and hungry. Half of the group had died by spring.

SamosetHowever, in the Spring the Pilgrims were approached by an English speaking Native American named Samoset. Samoset introduced the Pilgrims to Squanto, who also spoke English.

SquantoSquanto acted as an interpreter between the Pilgrims and his tribe the Massasiot. The Native Americans began sharing their agricultural (farming) practices. In exchange for teaching the Pilgrims how to plant crops, hunt and fish, the Pilgrims traded what little they had.

The Pilgrims CelebrateSometime in the fall, the Pilgrims held a celebration for the blessings of a good harvest. Thanks to Squanto, the Pilgrims were surviving in their new environment. This celebration would become known as Thanksgiving.