Mayflower
Mayflower
In the early 1600s, a new religious movement was gaining momentum in England. Challenging the traditions of the Anglican Church, or Church of England, members of the movement sought to simplify and purify the Protestant Christian churches. (See Protestantism .) Called
Puritans , they were harassed by English authorities because their movement threatened the power of the Anglican Church.
Seeking religious freedom, many Puritans left England to settle new religious communities in other countries, including America. The first 102 of these emigrants to America are called Pilgrims , from a Latin word that means “wanderer in foreign lands.” The Pilgrims left for America in 1620 aboard the Mayflower.
The Mayflower was a three-mast merchant ship with a normal speed of two and a half miles per hour. It was chartered along with the vessel Speedwell to carry the Pilgrims to America. The Speedwell proved unseaworthy and, after a few attempts to fix it, was abandoned in England.
On September 16, 1620, the Mayflower set sail with its passengers and crew. Landing in Massachusetts on November 21, it remained in the service of the Pilgrims and other settlers until housing could be built on the mainland. It sailed for its return to England on April 5, 1621. Although it is known to have reached England safely, its fate afterward is lost to history. The confusion arises in part because several other ships of the time also were called Mayflower.