by Effie Moore Salem

Created on: July 31, 2007   Last Updated: September 13, 2008

The Pilgrims were a religious group escaping persecution from the Anglican Church of England. They came over on the Mayflower in 1620. Previously they had fled to the Netherlands and after about twelve years went back to England and sought passage to the New World. Some of the recognizable names from history classes are Captain Miles Standish, William Brewster, John Goodman, and their governor, William Bradford.

In Plymouth, the first year was hard. There were many deaths but because the Wampamoat Indians helped them, they survived the brutal winters and by next spring were able to clear ground for gardens. Their corn crop was an especially good one since Squanto, their Indian friend taught them to use fish as fertilizer.

This first Thanksgiving was really a celebration, although for them not necessarily a religious one, but more like a harvest festival. According to Pilgrim Hall, a museum in area dedicated to the Pilgrims, Massasoit, the Indian Chief and ninety of his tribe attended this important dinner.

Peace between the settlers and the Indians ended when the leaders, William Bradford, the governor of Plymouth for the first thirty years, and the Indian leader died. The newcomers were getting more and more land hungry and kept pushing the Indians back and taking their land and, in general disrespecting their right to live their life their way.

Then one day a bloody war broke out. King Philip, (an Indian chief and not an English King) put together an army with others tribes who likewise was tired of their trespassing, and in 1675 and 1676 several settlements were destroyed and many Indian villages and crops were burned out. The death of King Philip ended the war, leaving hardships for both sides and 600 settlers and 3,000 Indians dead.

The pilgrims were first known as Separatist since they had separated from the Church of England. They were in the Netherlands for eleven years and were quite unhappy. They wanted a life where their language and their type of religion was accepted and was controlled by them. Together, they decided to go to the new colony of Virginia in the New World. They scraped up enough money and bought their own ship, the Speedwell and rented another, The Mayflower and decided to brave it across the Atlantic to America. The Speedwell proved unworthy but the Mayflower made it across and has gone done in History as the little vessel that brought the first pilgrims to America. William Bradford and Edward Winslow were their leaders.

In all they numbered one hundred and two people. One person died on the journey and one was born. They were aiming for Virginia but had to stop in New England. Their first problem was being on illegal territory. Before they landed the Mayflower Pact was signed. They landed on Plymouth Harbor and survived to the best of their ability. The few that survived lived to tell of their adventures and they thanked their God for b ringing them safely across treacherous waters. William Bradford lived and wrote about the colony for thirty one years. By the time of his death the Indians were being robbed of their land and the atmosphere was less friendly than it had been with this first bunch of Pilgrims. Their success was direclty related to the help of the Native Americans.

Source: http//xroads.edu/
http://american.about.com/od/eraofa mericanhistory/
Merrian-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Mass. 2000. Pp.681
http://www.pilgrimhall.org/

Learn more about this author, Effie Moore Salem.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.