Mayflower was an English square-rigged merchant sailing ship, active from before 1609 until 1622. Her tonnage was 180+, and she was long and in the beam, with several decks. She was notable in that she transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620.
After 10 weeks at sea, Mayflower, with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, reached what is today the United States, dropping anchor near the tip of Cape Cod, Massachusetts on 1620. The Pilgrims, often conflated with the Puritans (who sought to reform and purify the Church of England from within), sought separation from the church and prayed privately. They believed that the church's resistance to reform and its Roman Catholic past left it beyond redemption. Starting in 1608, a group of English families departed England for the Netherlands, where they could worship freely. By 1620, the community resolved to cross the Atlantic Ocean for America, which they considered a "new Promised Land" where they would establish Plymouth Colony.
The Pilgrims had originally hoped to reach America by early October using two ships, and had a second arranged for the voyage, Speedwell, which, however, proved unseaworthy and so was left behind in England. The ensuing delays and complications restricted the Pilgrims' journey to a single ship, Mayflower. Before disembarking from her, they wrote and signed the Mayflower Compact, an agreement that established a rudimentary government in which each member would contribute to the safety and welfare of the planned settlement.Bevan, Richard. "The Mayflower and the Birth of America", Sky History. AETN UK. Accessed on 23 November 2023. Arriving in November, they were unprepared to endure a harsh winter. Local indigenous peoples assisted the colonists in gathering food, but only half of the original Pilgrims survived the first winter at Plymouth following an outbreak of disease. The following year, the survivors celebrated the colony's first fall harvest along with 90 Wampanoag people, an occasion declared in centuries later as the first American Thanksgiving.Weinstein, Allen, and Rubel, David. The Story of America, Agincourt Press Production, (2002) pp. 60–61 As one of the earliest colonial vessels, Mayflower has become a cultural icon in the history of the United States.
No record of the ship herself exists after 1624, when she was appraised at Rotherhithe; she is believed to have been broken up and her timbers used for building construction.
Motivations for the voyage
A congregation of approximately 400 English Protestants living in exile in Leiden, Holland were dissatisfied with the failure of the Church of England to eliminate its excesses and abuses. Rather than work for change in England (as other Puritans did), they chose to live as separatists in religiously tolerant Holland in 1608. As separatists, they were considered illegal radicals by their home country.Philbrick, Nathaniel. Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War, Penguin Publishing (2006) ebook
The Leiden government's reputation for offering financial aid to reformed English, French and German churches caused the city to become a desirable destination for Protestant intellectuals.Fraser, Rebecca. The Mayflower, St. Martin's Press, N.Y. (2017) Many of the separatists were members of an illegal church in Nottinghamshire, England, secretly practicing their Puritan form of Protestantism. When they learned that the authorities were aware of their congregation, church members hurriedly fled in the night without most of their possessions and clandestinely traveled to Holland.
Life in Holland became increasingly difficult for the congregation. They were forced into menial and backbreaking jobs such as cleaning wool, which led to a variety of health afflictions. In addition, a number of the country's leading theologians began engaging in open debates that led to civil unrest, instilling the fear that Spain might again place Holland's population under siege as it had done years earlier. English king James I formed an alliance with Holland against Spain, with a condition outlawing independent English church congregations in Holland. These became the separatists' motivating factors to sail for the New World, beyond the reach of King James and his bishops.
Their desire to travel to America was considered audacious and risky, as previous attempts to settle in North America had failed. During the 1609–10 winter period known as the Starving Time in the Jamestown settlement of the Virginia Colony, 440 of the town's 500 settlers died of starvation. The Puritan separatists also learned of the constant threat of attacks by indigenous peoples. Despite all of the arguments against traveling to the new land, the separatists held a conviction that God had willed them to make the voyage. They wrote, "We verily believe and trust the Lord is with us and that he will graciously prosper our indeavours, according to the simplicity of our hearts therein."
Voyage
Leaving Holland
After deciding to leave Holland, the Pilgrims planned to cross the Atlantic using two purchased ships. The small ship Speedwell would first carry them from Leiden to England, and the larger Mayflower would transport most of the passengers and supplies across the ocean.
Some of the Separatists were unable to depart, as they did not have enough time to settle their affairs and were unable to afford the necessary travel supplies. The congregation decided that the younger and stronger members should embark on the first journey, with others possibly following in the future. Although the congregation had been led by John Robinson, who first proposed the idea of emigrating to America, he chose to remain in Leiden to care for those who could not make the voyage.
In explaining to his congregation why they should emigrate, Robinson used the analogy of the ancient Israelites leaving Babylon to escape bondage by returning to Jerusalem, where they would build their temple.Marshall, Peter. The Light and the Glory, Baker Publishing Group (1977) p. 20 "The Pilgrims and Puritans actually referred to themselves as God's New Israel", writes Peter Marshall. It was therefore considered the destiny of the Pilgrims and Puritans to similarly build a "spiritual Jerusalem" in America.
When it was time to leave, the ship's senior leader, Edward Winslow, described the scene of families being separated at the departure: "A flood of tears was poured out. Those not sailing accompanied us to the ship, but were not able to speak to one another for the abundance of sorrow before parting."Hilton, Christopher. Mayflower: The Voyage that Changed the World, History Press ebook (2005) William Bradford, another leader who would be the second governor of the Plymouth Colony, similarly described the departure:
The trip to the south coast of England took three days, where the ship took anchor at Southampton on , 1620. At Southampton, the Pilgrims first saw Mayflower, which was being loaded with provisions.
Speedwell and Mayflower
Carrying about 65 passengers, Mayflower left London in mid-July 1620.Charles Edward Banks p.17 The ship proceeded down the Thames to the south coast of England, where it anchored at Southampton, Hampshire. While there, she awaited the planned rendezvous on 22 July with the Speedwell, arriving from Holland with members of the Leiden congregation.Jackson, Kevin. Mayflower: The Voyage from Hell, Amazon ebook, 2013 Although both ships planned to depart for America by the end of July, a leak was discovered on Speedwell that required repair.Whittock, Martyn. Mayflower Lives: Pilgrims in a New World and the Early American Experience, Pegasus Books (2019) ebook
The ships set sail for America around 5 August, but Speedwell sprang another leak shortly after, necessitating the ships' return to Dartmouth for repairs. They made a new start after the repairs, but more than 200 miles (320 km) beyond Land's End at the southwestern tip of England, Speedwell sprang a third leak. As it was now early September, with vital funds having been wasted that were crucial to the success of the Pilgrims' settlement in America, Speedwell's journey was scrapped. Both ships returned to Plymouth, England, where 20 Speedwell passengers joined the overcrowded Mayflower, while the others returned to Holland.Bishop, E. W., Rev. "The Pilgrim Forefathers", Lansing State Journal (Michigan), October 2, 1920 p. 4
The Mayflower crew waited for seven more days until the intensity of the wind increased. William Bradford was especially worried, writing, "We lie here waiting for as fair a wind as can blow... Our victuals will be half eaten up, I think, before we go from the coast of England; and, if our voyage last long, we shall not have a month's victuals when we come in the country."Arber, Edward. The Story of the Pilgrim Fathers, 1606–1623, Ward and Downey, Limited (1897) According to Bradford, Speedwell was refitted and seaworthy, having "made many voyages... to the great profit of her owners." He suggested that Speedwells master may have used "cunning and deceit" to abort the voyage by causing the leaks, fearing starvation and death in America.Philbrick, Nathaniel. Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community and War, (Penguin Books 2006)
Mayflower sets sail
In early September, western gales turned the North Atlantic into a dangerous place to sail. Mayflowers provisions were already quite low when departing Southampton, and they became lower still by delays of more than a month. The passengers had been on board the ship this entire time, weary and ill-prepared for a very taxing, lengthy Atlantic journey in the cramped spaces of a small ship.
When Mayflower sailed from Plymouth alone on 1620, with what Bradford called "a prosperous wind", she carried 102 passengers and a crew of 25 to 30 officers and men, bringing the total aboard to approximately 130.Charles Edward Banks, The English Ancestry and Homes of the Pilgrim Fathers Who Came to Plymouth on the "Mayflower" in 1620, the "Fortune" in 1621, and the "Anne" and "Little James" in 1623, orig. pub 1929, reprint 2006 by Genealogical Publishing Co., p. 17–19 At about 180 tons, she was considered a smaller cargo ship, having traveled mainly between England and Bordeaux with clothing and wine, not an ocean ship. Mayflower's physical condition was suboptimal, as she was sold for scrap four years after her Atlantic voyage. She was a high-built craft forward and aft, measuring approximately in length and about at her widest point.Bunker, Nick. Making Haste from Babylon: Mayflower Pilgrims and their New World a History, Knopf, New York (2011)
Voyage across the Atlantic
The living quarters for the 102 passengers were cramped, with the living area about or and the ceiling about high. The cabins were thin-walled and extremely cramped. The maximum possible space for each person would have been slightly less than the size of a modern-day single bed.Caffrey, Kate. The Mayflower. New York: Stein and Day, 1974 With couples and children packed closely together for a trip lasting two months, a great deal of trust and confidence was required among everyone aboard.