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Brief history of the Mayflower

3rd September 2021

Categories: Visitor News

As many of you will know, last year was the 400^th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower, however, due to Covid restrictions, many of the events that were planned to commemorate the anniversary had to be postponed, moved online or cancelled all together. As the Mayflower initially set off from Plymouth on 16^th September 1620, we thought we’d celebrate the 401^st anniversary of the voyage by giving you a brief history of the voyage.

The Mayflower was an English ship that set sail for the New World, aka America, transporting a group of families that came to be known as the Pilgrims who first settled in North America, founding many of the modern communities. The voyage took 10 weeks and finally dropped anchor at what is now Cape Cod in Massachusetts in November 1620.

The passengers and crew

After departing from Plymouth, there there were around 130 people on board, 102 of them being passengers and the rest, crew. More than a third of the passengers were Separatists, a movement of people who wanted to break away from the Church of England and create a society based on their own religious ideals, though many were families, hired hands, servants and farmers that had been recruited by merchants in London to colonise the new world.

Though to us the ship appears to be large it was actually considered to be a small cargo ship rather than an ocean ship. It only measured around 110 ft overall. It had three masts and a number of cabins which were inhabited by the passengers and the crew. Those that didn’t have a cabin would sleep on the main deck, which was around 75x20 feet. Unlike the cruise ships of today, the cabins were incredibly cramped and it is said that anyone measuring over 5 ft couldn’t stand up without hitting their head on the ceiling. Also unlike the ships of today, passengers were unable to drink water during the voyage because water often came from polluted sources and caused outbreaks of illness, instead they would consume beer and wine. There was also no real entertainment on board, so they would have to amuse themselves, records show that this was mostly done by playing cards or reading, as there were pigs, goats and poultry on board, we suspect that crew members would have had to look after them, which would have provided a few hours of entertainment at least!

The ship actually docked with more passengers than it set out with, a baby was born during the second half of the voyage who was christened Oceanus Hopkins.

The Journey

The Mayflower initially set out in July from Rotherhithe along the Thames with 65 passengers before anchoring at Southampton, where it sat for a week to meet up with the Speedwell, a ship containing Dutch Separatists. In August the pair departed, but were forced to dock in Dartmouth for repairs to the Speedwell, which continued to have issues resulting in the ships stopping at Plymouth where it was abandoned and the Mayflower finally set sail 16^th September.

According to records made at the time, the first half of the voyage was calm and pleasant with gentle waves and good weather, though further along, there were continuous storms and huge waves constantly crashed against the deck. During this time, two passengers died, one of which was Samuel Fuller, who worked alongside the ship’s doctor. Another, John Howland, was washed overboard, but was rescued. Reports from passengers say that they were forced to crouch below deck in the dark to avoid being thrown overboard, not that this saved them from the water, which was everywhere. In fact, the weather was so bad, the ship was almost disabled and the crew feared having to return to England, however, they had tools on board to help them construct homes on arrival and were able to salvage the ship to continue their journey.

The arrival

After a perilous journey, we imagine those early settlers felt relieved when they finally saw land in November of 1620. The ship eventually set anchor at the harbour at Cape Cod, which is known today as Provincetown Harbour. On arrival, the passengers created and signed the Mayflower Compact, which included a series of rules and resolutions to establish a legal order and minimise any issues. Once the male passengers had all signed the document and agreed to it, they came ashore, naming Myles Standish to make sure that the Compact was adhered to. As well as making agreements with each other, the pilgrims also had to ask the King if they could stay – the original agreement was that they would start settlements near present day New York, however they docked in what is now New England and so had to ask permission to stay there. In modern day America, Thanksgiving is celebrated to commemorate the pilgrim’s first harvest.

Following their arrival, the pilgrims aboard the Mayflower referred to themselves as the Plymouth Colony. The colony faced several issues during their first winter in the New World, the climate in New England being very different and the colonists not realising just how much colder it would be, so didn’t have adequate clothing for the temperature or tools for the frozen ground. Many of them had to remain on board until the spring when they were finally able to build huts onshore and start planting. Sadly, due to an outbreak of illness and the weather, just over half of the passengers and crew died in that first winter.

Much of the information that we have about the voyage and those early years come from the letters and writings of William Bradford who went on to become the governor of the colony. His writings were so detailed that it formed the basis of everything that we know about the Mayflower. He was a popular governor and was re-elected to the role 31 times! Not only was he a popular leader for the colony and one of the most important sources of information from this time period, but he also has a number of famous descendants, including the actor Clint Eastwood and Hugh Hefner! His writings formed the basis of Bradford’s History of Plymouth Plantation 1606-1646 which is available from all good book stores.

The return

Once everyone was settled, the ship returned to England, headed by captain and part owner, Christopher Jones. Jones had initially planned to return to England as soon as the pilgrims had found somewhere suitable to live, however the outbreak that affected the passengers also ravaged most of the crew, so he had to remain until everyone was git for travel. Jones ended up losing more than a dozen sailors, the ship’s cook, three quartermasters, the gunner and his boatswain, luckily for the survivors, the journey back to England was assisted with strong westerly wind and they arrived in half the time it had taken for them to get to America.

On Jones’ death, the ship was left to lie in the mud flats of the River Thames and fell into disrepair before being salvaged for parts.

In Plymouth

401 years later and you can find evidence of the huge impact that the Mayflower voyage made all over Plymouth. The Mayflower steps in the Barbican area of Plymouth is the site from which the ship is believed to have actually set sail. Though the actual steps have been replaced, there is a granite block bearing the ship’s name to mark the site and it is marked by both British and American flags, so you can’t mix it.

The Mayflower also gave its name to the Mayflower Marina, where you can spend the day watching the yachts and ships come in and out of the city.

Alternatively, you can discover more about life in Plymouth at the time of the departure by walking the Mayflower Trail which is running until the end of December this year. There are activity sheets and apps so you can find your way around.

Find out more about Plymouth here.