Religious Freedom--Plymouth Colony
Separatists' Pilgrimage to the New World
How far will people go in the pursuit of freedom? About 100 people, plus two dogs began the treacherous journey across the Atlantic to the New World. They were craftsmen and farmers hoping to give birth to a spiritual community, pure from any vestage of Roman Catholicism--pure from the controlled, Anglican Church, soley devoted to the worship of God.
Their journey began spiritually with the new Church of England.
The Church of England, Circa 1600.
Henry VIII of England broke ties with Papal Rome and made himself the head of the English Church. He empowered himself with this manuever to divorce Catherine of Aragon, who failed to produce for him a living male heir, thereby expediting his marriage to his mistress, Anne Boleyn, who was pregnant with his child.
Religious Freedom Flight to Holland
Despite Henry's break with the Roman Catholic Church, there remained vestiges of the practice of Catholicism. The Puritans sought to further purge the Church of England from spiritual links to Roman Catholicism. From this Puritan strain grew the Separatists who desired to create their own spiritual community completely free from any and all ties/semblances to Roman Catholicism and Anglican control.
Separatists believed exclusively in the strict interpretation of biblical principles. This made them outcasts within the realm of the newly established, Anglican Church.
Fear of persecution and the acceptance of some degree of religious freedom, motivated the Separatists to flee to Holland. They enjoyed some freedom, until Holland began to question their form of worship, and hampered their attempts to join the established guilds for labor. Finally, the Separatists frowned upon their children absorbing the Holland culture.
The Mayflower's Atlantic Journey
Two ships were originally designated for the journey to the New World--the Speedwell and the Mayflower. Severe leakage prevented the Speedwell from leaving England. Passengers from both ships shuffled, some dropped out. Officially, the Mayflower left Plymouth, England on September 20, 1620, after considerable delay.
Quarters were tight, cramped and wet from ocean spray which dripped its way to the living areas. Almost immediately most of the travelers wretched from sea-sickness. To add to their discomfort, some of the ship's crew delighted in tormenting them with verbal assaults.
Dwindling supplies, sickness and death of passengers and crew motivated Captain Jones to find land quickly. Turbulent weather and the poor calibrations from rudimentary instruments factored into the position of the ship to be further north than the original Hudson River mouth destination. Jones strove to land on the shores of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
After two months at sea, the Mayflower finally sighted the New World on the morning of November 20, 1620.
Source
Nathaniel Philbrick, Mayflower, Penquin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York, 10014, 2006.
