The Voyage of the Mayflower

The Pilgrims of Leiden, Holland were separatist (those who separated from The Church of England) who came to America in search of "a better life."

The Pilgrims separated from The Church of England because the church was too strict. They were told that they had to go to the church the government picked. This form of dictatorship was called "State Church." If one went against the states church they would have been arrested and thrown in jail. They were then tortured in an effort to make them changed their beliefs. If this was unsuccessful, they were put to death in very painful ways such as being hung, burned, or death by intense weight. Those who separated and were later called "Pilgrims," felt that the Anglican Church they were attending needed to be altered slightly or changed completely. They felt that members should be allowed to in a way that was fairly simple and without the rituals and symbols. They felt that the church in the New Testament was the perfect example of the church they would need for their peaceful worships. (Duane A. Cline)

On 1608, the Pilgrims began their Voyage to America and to their new home. They came to America on The Mayflower and The Speedwell. The Speedwell was a small ship from the Netherlands, which carried the Pilgrims to Southampton, England where they then met the very larger Mayflower. The Mayflower weighted 180 tuns. Tuns were not the tons of America, which is equivalent to the value of 2,000 lbs, but were the name for their barrels, which was equivalent to the value of about 26 gallons. So 180 tuns meant that it could hold 180 barrels fully loaded. The Mayflower as stated was well equipped for the task at hand. But, The Speedwell, on the other hand, was not so welled equipped. As the Voyage began all was well, but on August 15, 1620 a storm hit the two boats and the voyage was put to a slight halt because of the leaky conditions of The Speedwell. After changes to the Speedwell, they set sail again but, was again delayed due to the leaky conditions of The Speedwell on September 2nd, 1620. So they decided to ditch the speedwell and set sail with all 104 people on The Mayflower. The people on board were as follows: Fourty people from Southampton, England and there were seventeen men, nine women, and fourteen children. Also, there were foufty-one people from Leiden, Holland and there were seventeen men, ten women, and fourteen children. Also, there were eighteen servants and five hired workers or you could call them servants who made 104 people and there were two dogs and not that many other livestock because it is said that they didn't really have that much livestock. But, like I said they have 104 people aboard but, most websites and books etc. say that there is only 102 people aboard because two people were not considered to be aboard because they was not part of the company.

On this Voyage, the Pilgrims had to bring all necessities but, at the same time pack light due to a clutter of people in this small boat. Since they had limited space they brought limited amount of foods, tools and weapons, and clothes. The food they brought for themselves was seventy-two gallons of wheat, half a barrel of peas, and half barrels of oats. They