Plymouth & The Pilgrims or Separatists

FACTS AT A GLANCE

• Founded by: the Separatists - also known as the Pilgrims

• Reasons for Founding: Religious freedom

• Successes: Created the Mayflower Compact. This was a set of laws for governing their future colony

THE SEPARATISTS AND THEIR DESIRE FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

The official church in England was the Church of England. The Separatists did not agree with the teachings of the Church of England and wanted to separate themselves from the church. This is why they were called Separatists. Separatists were fined or put in jail for their religious beliefs.

COMING TO AMERICA

The Separatists received permission from the King of England to create a colony in the area known as Virginia - this would have been in the same general area as Jamestown. Over 100 Pilgrims came to America aboard the Mayflower. On their way here, the Mayflower encountered storms and was blown off-course. The Pilgrims ended up far to the north in what is today Massachusetts, arriving in November of 1620. They called their colony Plymouth.

A DIFFICULT BEGINNING AND HELP FROM NATIVE AMERICANS

The Pilgrims arrived too late to plant crops and they didn't have enough time to build good enough buildings before winter arrived. Almost half of the Pilgrims died during that first winter. When spring arrived, so did help from the local Native Americans. Samoset, Massasoit, and Squanto, three Wampanoag Indians, gave the Pilgrims seeds and taught them how to grow the crops and obtain other food. They had a good harvest that fall and they set aside a day for thanksgiving. We celebrate this with our observance of the Thanksgiving holiday.