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HIS: This Day in History: 1620 – The Pilgrims sail from Plymouth, England on the Mayflower to settle in North America.

 HIS: This Day in History: 1620 – The Pilgrims sail from Plymouth, England on the Mayflower to settle in North America.

Mayflower was an English ship that transported the first English Puritans, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After a grueling 10 weeks at sea, the Mayflower, with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, reached America, dropping anchor near the tip of Cape Cod on November 11, 1620.

The Puritans believed that the Church of England was beyond redemption due its Roman Catholic past, which forced them to pray in private. In 1608, they left England for Holland, where they could worship freely. After remaining there until 1620, a number of the Puritans purchased boats to cross the Atlantic for America, which they considered a "new Promised Land," and where they established Plymouth Colony.

The Pilgrims had originally hoped to reach America in early October using two ships, but delays and complications meant they could use only one, the Mayflower. Arriving in November, they had to survive unprepared through a harsh winter. As a result, only half of the original Pilgrims survived the first winter at Plymouth. Without the help of local Indigenous peoples to teach them food gathering and other survival skills, all of the colonists may have perished. The following winter, they celebrated the colony's first fall harvest along with the Indigenous people, which became the first Thanksgiving.

The Pilgrims created and signed the Mayflower Compact while on the ship. The Compact was an agreement made among the passengers before going ashore to establish a rudimentary form of democracy, in which each member would contribute to the safety and welfare of the planned settlement. As one of the earliest pilgrim vessels, the ship has become a cultural icon in the history of the United States. Celebrations for the 400th Anniversary of the landing have been planned during 2020 in the U.S., England and the Netherlands; however, the coronavirus pandemic has put some of those plans on hold.

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