When the people we call the Pilgrims- only about 22 of the 103 passengers on the Mayflower were actually Separatists Puritans. They called themselves the “Saints”. They called the other passengers, “The Strangers”. By the way, they weren’t called the Pilgrims until the 1800s. These “Saints” are held up as models to this day as evidenced by the video. Americans don’t celebrate our national founding at Thanksgiving with stories about Jamestown; instead Thanksgiving celebrates these “Saints”.

They were very brave people. No doubt about it. They knew that practicing their faith in England was putting their lives at risk. Eventually, as I said in class last week, they went to Holland which was far more tolerant of diverse religious beliefs. They were afraid their kids would lose their “Englishness” and so they set off to America. Which was almost akin to going to the moon with a one way ticket. They knew they’d never see home again. That’s brave.

In my musings below, I write nothing to purposely disparage these people.  The claims we make for them are not claims they make for themselves. The  most common/ silliest claim is that they came to establish religious freedom. (No! They came to establish a colony for their own religion. You couldn’t be anything else in Plymouth.) Instead, I want us to think about how we use history to make myths and heroes and what is left in and what is left out as we tell the story of America.

This textbook gets part of the story right and is similar to how basically all text books write about Plymouth. But it only tells  part of it. It acknowledges the Mayflower didn’t land in Virginia as intended. If anything, the argument that winter was coming as a reason to stay up North seems to prove the opposite point. If winter was coming, wouldn’t it make a lot more sense to go where there was food for them to eat?   Here’s the textbook’s account. 

“Are We There Yet?  “The Mayflower and Plymouth Colony [ushistory.org].” (http://www.ushistory.org/us/3a.asp. Accessed 15 Sep. 2019.)

One of the greatest twists of fate in human history occurred on that epochal voyage. The Pilgrims were originally bound for Virginia to live north of Jamestown under the same charter granted to citizens of Jamestown. Fate charted a different course. Lost at sea, they happened upon a piece of land that would become known as Cape Cod. After surveying the land, they set up camp not too far from PLYMOUTH ROCK. They feared venturing further south because winter was fast approaching. 

The Pilgrims had an important question to answer before they set ashore. Since they were not landing within the jurisdiction of the Virginia Company, they had no CHARTER to govern them. Who would rule their society?

In the landmark MAYFLOWER COMPACT OF 1620, the Pilgrims decided that they would rule themselves, based on majority rule of the townsmen. This independent attitude set up a tradition of self-rule that would later lead to TOWN MEETINGS and elected legislatures in New England.

Like the Virginia House of Burgesses established the previous year, Plymouth colony began to lay the foundation for democracy in the American colonies.”

Perhaps this Mayflower Compact was written to quell the uprising among the upset “Strangers”. It set up a the outline for just society by 17th century standards. Maybe this was enough to mollify the “Strangers” who were still hoping for Virginia. I’ve tried looking for the status of the passengers on the Mayflower to see if any were involuntary indentured servants. I’ve learned that there were 20 indentured servants. But I don’t know if they were voluntary or involuntary. I’d expect that involuntary servants would be less likely to want to go to Virginia. We know what that was like from Frethorne.

Anyway, the move to stay in Plymouth proved devastating because 45 of the 102 died before the end of the winter. Keep in mind that they were starving to death as you read further. Again, I am not trying to make these people out to be villains. Understand that they were starving. The following is from a diary written on November 30th, three weeks after landing. William Bradford wrote

They also found two of the Indian’s houses covered with mats, and some of their implements in them; but the people had run away and could not be seen. Without permission they took more corn, and beans of various colours. These they brought away, intending to give them full satisfaction (payment) when they should meet with any of them, – as about six months afterwards they did.

And it is to be noted as a special providence of God, and a great mercy to this poor people, that they thus got seed to plant corn the next year, or they might have starved; for they had none, nor any likelihood of getting any, till too late for the planting season.

Notice who gets the credit?  God! Not the Native Americans. Later, the Pilgrims grew even more desperate, and even though they admit quite openly to grave robbing, they can’t quite bring themselves to say it.

 

When we had marched five or six myles into the Woods, and could find no signes of any people, we returned againe another way, and as we came into the plaine ground, wee found a place like a graue, but it was much bigger and longer than any we had yet seene. It was also covered with boords, so as we mused what it should be, and resolved to digge it up, where we found, first a Matt, and under that a fayre Bow, and there another Matt, and under that a boord about three quarters long, finely carued and paynted, with three tynes, or broches on the top, like a Crowne; also betweene the Matts we found Boules, Trayes, Dishes, and such like Trinkets; at length we came to a faire new Matt, and vnder that two Bundles, the one bigger, the other lesse, we opened the greater and found in it a great quantitie of fine and perfect red Powder, and in it the bones and skull of a man. The skull had fine yellow haire still on it, and some of the flesh vnconsumed; there was bound vp with it a knife, a pack-needle, and two or three old iron things. . . . We opened the lesse bundle likewise, and found of the same Powder in it, and the bones and head of a little childe; about the leggs, and other parts of it was bound strings, and bracelets of fine white Beads; there was also by it a little Bow, about three quarters long, and some other odd knacks; we brought sundry of the pretiest things away with us, and covered the Corps

Finally, watch this.

Fi