THE MAYFLOWER
VOYAGE TO AMERICA
k, th Roc Plymouchusetts a Mass
th, Plymoud Englan
400 years ago, a group of English pilgrims set off on board the Mayflower to find a new life in America. We retrace their treacherous voyage across the Atlantic and discover why it’s remembered as such an iconic journey
A group of English people, who disagreed with how King James I was running the Church of England, set up secret churches. To avoid imprisonment, they moved to the Netherlands, where they could practise religion how they wanted. Later known as the Pilgrim Fathers, they fled across the North Sea to the town of Leyden.
1608
12 years in exile The pilgrims lived in the Netherlands for 12 years but they worried that their children were growing used to the Dutch way of life and losing their English traditions. They decided to establish a new life on the east coast of America, where there were already European settlers.
After gaining permission to start a new settlement, they bought a sailing ship, Speedwell, and sailed from Delfshaven to Southampton Water, where they met up with a chartered cargo ship: the Mayflower. This ship was loaded with supplies and more people, recruited to help establish a successful society. The two ships left for Virginia in August.
1620
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SEA-CADETS.ORG / SPRING 2020
