Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor by William Halsall (1882)
Career
Name:	Mayflower
Owner:	Christopher Jones (¼ of the ship)
Operator:	Christopher Jones
Route:	numerous, but the most famous route is: Southampton to America
Acquired:	ca. 1607
Maiden voyage:	Before 1607
Out of service:	March 1622
Fate:	Sold and taken apart in May 1624
General characteristics
Class and type:	Dutch cargo fluyt
Tonnage:	180
Length:	ca. 100 ft.
Decks:	Around 4
Propulsion:	Wind
Capacity:	Unknown, but carried ca. 135 people during the historical voyage to Plymouth
Crew:	25–30

~ The Mayflower ~ Issue of 1920, 300th anniversary.

Mayflower arrived inside the tip of Cape Cod fishhook, 11 November/21 November 1620 (satellite photo, 1997)

The Mayflower was the ship that transported English and Dutch Separatists, a French Huguenot, William Vassall fleeing religious persecution, and other adventurers referred to by the Separatists as "the Strangers" to Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620.

The Mayflower departed Plymouth, England on September 6/16, 1620 with 102 passengers and about 30 crew members in a small 100 foot ship. The first month in the Atlantic, the seas were not severe, but by the second month the ship was being hit by strong North Atlantic winter gales, causing the ship to be badly shaken, with water leaks from structural damage. There were two deaths, but this was just a precursor of what happened after their Cape Cod arrival, when almost half the company would die in the first winter.^[1][2]

On November 9/19, 1620, after about 3 months at sea, including a month of delays in England, they spotted land, which was Cape Cod. And after several days of trying to get south to their planned destination of the Colony of Virginia, strong winter seas forced them to return to the harbor at Cape Cod hook, where they anchored on November 11/21. The Mayflower Compact was signed that day.^[2][3][4][5]

The Mayflower has a famous place in American history as a symbol of early European colonization of the future United States.^[6]

The main record for the voyage of the Mayflower and the disposition of the Plymouth Colony comes from the letters and journal of William Bradford, who was a guiding force and later the governor of the colony.

Ship[link]

The Mayflower was used mostly as a cargo ship in the trade of goods (often wine) between England and France, but also Norway, Germany and Spain.^[7][8] Like many ships of the time (such as the Santa Maria) the Mayflower was most likely a carrack with three masts, square-rigged on the foremast and mainmast but lateen-rigged on the mizzenmast. The ship's dimensions are unknown but estimates based on its load weight and the typical size of 180-ton merchant ships of its day suggest a length of 90–110 feet (27.4–33.5 m) and a width of about 25 feet (7.6 m).^[7]

Aboard the Mayflower, were many stores that supplied the pilgrims with the essentials needed for their journey and their new futures. Inside these stores it is assumed that they would have carried tools and weapons,; including heavy cannon, shot and powder. Some live animals, including dogs,sheep,goats and poultry. Horses and cattle would come later. The Mayflower would also carry two boats, a long boat and the “shallop”, a sort of twenty-one foot dinghy. She also carried twelve artillery pieces (eight minions and four sakers), as the Pilgrims feared they may need to defend themselves against the Spaniards, Frenchmen or the Dutch, as well as the Native Americans.^[9]

At least between 1609 and 1622 it was based in Rotherhithe, London, England^[10] and mastered by Christopher Jones, who commanded the ship on its famous transatlantic voyage. The Mayflower had a crew of twenty-five to thirty,^[8] along with other hired personnel. The names of five are known, John Alden among them.^[8] William Bradford, in the only known account of the Pilgrim voyage, wrote that Alden "was hired for a cooper [barrel-maker], at South-Hampton, where the ship victuled; and being a hopefull yong man, was much desired, but left to his owne liking to go or stay when he came here; but he stayed, and maryed here."^[11]

After leaving the passengers at Plymouth, Jones sailed the Mayflower back to England, arriving in May 1621. Within two years after his death in March 1622, the ship had fallen into ruins, and was likely broken up and sold for scrap lumber.^[12]

Pilgrims' voyage[link]

The Mayflower Memorial in Southampton.

Initially, the plan was for the voyage to be made in two vessels, the other being the smaller Speedwell, which had transported some of the Pilgrims embarking on the voyage from Delfshaven in the Netherlands to Southampton, England.

The first voyage of the ships departed Southampton,^[13] on August 5/15, 1620, but the Speedwell developed a leak, and had to be refitted at Dartmouth on August 17/27.

On the second attempt, the ships reached the Atlantic Ocean but again were forced to return to Plymouth because of the Speedwell's leak. It would later be revealed that there was in fact nothing wrong with the Speedwell. The Pilgrims believed that the crew had, through aspects of refitting the ship, and their behavior in operating it, sabotaged the voyage in order to escape the year-long commitment of their contract.^[14]

After reorganization, the final sixty-six day voyage was made by the Mayflower alone, leaving from a site near to the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England on September 6/16.^[13] With 102 passengers plus crew, each family was allotted a very confined amount of space for personal belongings. The Mayflower stopped off at Newlyn in Cornwall to take on water.^[15]

The intended destination was an area near the Hudson River, in "Colony of Virginia." However the ship was forced far off course by inclement weather and drifted well north of the intended Virginia settlement. As a result of the delay, the settlers did not arrive in Cape Cod until after the onset of a harsh New England winter. The settlers ultimately failed to reach Virginia, where they had already obtained permission from the London Company to settle, because of difficulties navigating the treacherous waters off the southeast corner of Cape Cod.^[16]

After setting sail on September 6, the Pilgrims experienced good weather and good sailing conditions for the first few days. However, one day the Mayflower became caught in forceful winds that severely shook the ship. This caused some damage as the ship became leaky above the waterline, and one of the main beams supporting the deck appeared to be bowing. Luckily the crew had brought a big screw with them from Holland, and they were able to support the deck with it while they reinforced it with a new post. Thankfully, this quick fix allowed the pilgrims to continue on with their journey.^[9]

There were times when the sailing became too rocky, that the Mayflower’s master, Christopher Jones, wanted to turn around and go back to England. However, he knew that the passengers had come all this way, and to turn back now would only make conditions worse.^[17]

To establish legal order and to quell increasing strife within the ranks, the settlers wrote and signed the Mayflower Compact after the ship dropped anchor at the tip of Cape Cod on November 11/21, in what is now Provincetown Harbor.^[10]

The settlers, upon initially setting anchor, explored the snow-covered area and discovered an empty Native American village. The curious settlers dug up some artificially made mounds, some of which stored corn, while others were burial sites. Nathaniel Philbrick claims that the settlers stole the corn and looted and desecrated the graves,^[18] sparking friction with the locals.^[19] Philbrick goes on to say that as they moved down the coast to what is now Eastham, they explored the area of Cape Cod for several weeks, looting and stealing native stores as they went.^[20] He then writes about how they decided to relocate to Plymouth after a difficult encounter with the local native Americans, the Nausets, at First Encounter Beach, in December 1620.

However, Bradford's History of Plymouth Plantation records that they took "some" of the corn to show the others back at the boat, leaving the rest. Then, later they took what they needed from another store of grain, paying the locals back in six months, which they gladly received.

Also there was found more of their corn and of their beans of various colors; the corn and beans they brought away, purposing to give them full satisfaction when they should meet with any of them as, about some six months afterward they did, to their good content.^[21]

During the winter the passengers remained on board the Mayflower, suffering an outbreak of a contagious disease described as a mixture of scurvy, pneumonia and tuberculosis.^[10] When it ended, there were only 53 passengers, just more than half, still alive. Likewise, half of the crew died as well.^[10] In spring, they built huts ashore, and on March 21/31, 1621, the surviving passengers left the Mayflower.^[10]

On April 5/15, 1621, the Mayflower set sail from Plymouth to return to England,^[10] where she arrived on May 6/16, 1621.^[22]

Passengers[link]

The Mayflower left England with 102 passengers plus crew. Some families traveled together and others left family members behind. Two of the Mayflower’s passengers were pregnant women; Susanna White, and Mary Allerton. Elizabeth Hopkins gave birth en route, her baby was appropriately named Oceanus.^[17] A second baby was born during the winter of 1620-1621, when the company wintered aboard ship in Provincetown Harbor. One child died during the voyage, and there was one stillbirth during the construction of the colony. Many of the passengers were Pilgrims fleeing persistent religious persecution, but some were hired hands, servants or farmers recruited by London merchants, all originally destined for Virginia.

Four of this latter group of passengers were small children given into the care of Mayflower pilgrims. The Virginia Company began the transportation of children in 1618.^[23] Until relatively recently the children were thought to be orphans, foundlings or involuntary child labor. At that time, children were routinely rounded up from the streets of London or taken from poor families receiving church relief to be used as laborers in the colonies. Any legal objections to the involuntary transportation of the children were over-ridden by the Privy Council. The delay in the leaving led to the scarcity of fresh food and scurvy among the passenger. Upon arrival late in the year, the harsh climate and scarcity of fresh food caused many more deaths.^[24][25] In 1969 it was conclusively shown^[26] that the four More children were sent to America because they were deemed illegitimate, and a source of great controversy in England. Three of the four children died in the first winter in the New World, but the survivor, Richard More, lived to be approximately 81, dying in Salem, probably in 1695 or 1696.^[27]

The passengers mostly slept and lived in the low-ceilinged great cabins. This series of cabins were thin walled and extremely cramped.^[17] It was 25 feet by 15 at its largest, and on the main deck, which was 75 by 20 at the most. Below decks any person over five feet tall would be unable to stand up straight. The maximum possible space for each person would have been slightly less than the size of a standard single bed.^[28]

The Mayflower passengers were the earliest permanent European settlers in New England. During their time they were referred to as the "First Comers", "The Ancient Brethren" or "The Ancient Men". They lived in the perilous times of what was called "The Ancient Beginnings" of the New World adventure.^[29]

Passengers would pass the time by reading by candlelight or playing cards and games like Nine Men’s Morris.^[9]

Meals on board were cooked by the firebox, which was an iron tray with sand in it on which a fire was built. This was risky because it was kept in the waist of the ship. Passengers made their own meals from rations that were issued daily and food was cooked for a group at a time.^[28]

Living in these extremely close and crowded quarters, several passengers experienced scurvy. This disease came from a lack of the essential nutrient vitamin C (ascorbic acid). There was no way to store fruits or vegetables without them becoming rotten, so many passengers did not receive enough nutrients in their diets. Passengers with scurvy experienced symptoms such as rotten teeth which would fall out, bleeding gums, and stinking breath.^[17]

Passengers consumed large amounts of alcohol, specifically beer. Beer was thought to be safer than water because the Pilgrims were accustomed to unsafe drinking water. Beer was thought to be part of a healthy, well-balanced diet.^[17]

William Mullins took 126 pairs of shoes and 13 pairs of boots. These clothes included: oiled leather and canvas suits, stuff gowns and leather and stuff breeches, shirts, jerkins, doublets, neckcloths, hats and caps, hose, stockings, belts, piece goods, and haberdasherie.^[9]

No cattle or beasts of draft or burden were brought on the journey but there were pigs, goats, and poultry. Some passengers brought family pets such as cats and birds. Peter Browne took his large bitch mastiff and John Goodman brought his spaniel along. The crew of the Mayflower totaled between twenty and thirty men. There was the pilot, John Clarke, a carpenter, a bosun, a gunner, a cook, and four quartermasters, Robert Coppin, the second mate, Andrew Williamson, the ship’s merchant (today he would be known as the purser).^[9]

The seamen on the Mayflower had four devices to help them during their journey. They charted their course with a compass. They measured their speed with the log and line system. The log and line system was roughly a board attached to a line, which was tossed over the stern. The line was marked with a knot at regular intervals related to the length of a nautical mile. Time was measured with hour glasses; for example, "when the hour glass had emptied at the top vessel, a sailor would strike a bell, and another sailor would count how many knots of line had run out".^[9] The speed of the ship in nautical miles per hour (still called "knots") would then be known.

[edit] Second Mayflower

A second ship called the Mayflower made a voyage from London to Plymouth Colony in 1629 carrying 35 passengers, many from the Pilgrim congregation in Leiden that organized the first voyage. This was not the same ship that made the original voyage with the first settlers. This voyage began in May and reached Plymouth in August. This ship also made the crossing from England to America in 1630, 1633, 1634, and 1639. It attempted the trip again in 1641, departing London in October of that year under master John Cole, with 140 passengers bound for Virginia. It never arrived. On October 18, 1642 a deposition was made in England regarding the loss.^[30]

Mayflower II[link]

Mayflower II masts in the fog

After World War II, an effort began to reenact the voyage of the Mayflower. With cooperation between Project Mayflower and Plimoth Plantation, a speculative replica of the ship was designed by naval architect William A. Baker and launched September 22, 1956 from Devon, England, setting sail in the spring of 1957. Captained by Alan Villiers, the voyage ended in Plymouth Harbor, USA after 55 days, on June 13, 1957, to great acclaim.

The ship is moored to this day at State Pier in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and is open to visitors.^[31]

See also[link]

Biography portal

• Billericay, where the Pilgrim Fathers met prior to the voyage
• A Journey to the New World: The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple, Mayflower, 1620, a historical fiction novel for young adults
• Leigh-on-Sea, where the Mayflower was outfitted
• Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery were the ships that settled Jamestown, Virginia.
• Taylor-Bray Farm, a farm in southeastern Massachusetts owned by descendants of Mayflower passengers
• Thanksgiving (United States)
• The Ark and The Dove, ships that settled Maryland in 1634
• Pilgrim (Plymouth Colony)
• Puritan migration to New England (1620–1640)

Notes[link]

References[link]

Constructs such as ibid., loc. cit. and idem are discouraged by Wikipedia's style guide for footnotes, as they are easily broken. Please improve this article by replacing them with named references (quick guide), or an abbreviated title. (May 2012)

• Bradford, William; William T. Davis (ed) (1908). Bradford's History of Plymouth Plantation, 1606-1646. Scribners. http://books.google.com/books?id=Sd9BAAAAIAAJ.  (the only written account of the voyage)
• Marsden, R. G. "The 'Mayflower,'" English Historical Review 19 (October 1904): 669-80.
• Philbrick, Nathaniel (2006). Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War. Viking. ISBN 0-670-03760-5. 
• Usher, Roland G (1984). The Pilgrims and their History. Williamstown, Massachusetts: Corner House Publishers. ISBN 0-87928-082-4.  (originally published in 1918)

Filmography[link]

• Plymouth Adventure (directed by Clarence Brown, 1952)
• Mayflower: The Pilgrims' Adventure (1979)

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mayflower

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Mayflower.

• Mayflower history Mayflower History
• Pilgrim Hall Museum of Plymouth, Massachusetts
• General Society of Mayflower Descendants
• The Mayflower And Her Log; Azel Ames, Project Gutenberg edition.
• The Mayflower And Her Log; Azel Ames, Internet Archive edition.
• Exact arrival site of the Mayflower on Satellite Map and NOAA Chart on BlooSee
• The Mayflower II
• Contemporary photos of Plymouth's Barbican and the Mayflower Steps
• Pilgrims Point, Plymouth (UK) A photo of the modern-day Mayflower Steps Arch and Pilgrims Point