The Mayflower Story

The Mayflower Story (HM172Z)

Location: Chatham, MA 02633 Barnstable County
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Country: United States of America
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N 41° 40.267', W 69° 56.951'

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First, the Separatists returned to London to get organized. A prominent merchant agreed to advance the money for their journey. The Virginia Company gave them permission to establish a settlement, or "plantation," on the East Coast between 38 and 41 degrees north latitude (roughly between the Chesapeake Bay and the mouth of the Hudson River). And the King of England gave them permission to leave the Church of England, "provided they carried themselves peaceably."

In August 1620, a group of about 40 Saints joined a much larger group of (comparatively) secular colonists-"Strangers," to the Saints-and set sail from England on two merchant ships: the Mayflower and the Speedwell. The Speedwell began to leak almost immediately, however, and the ships headed back to port. The travelers squeezed themselves and their belongings onto the Mayflower and set sail once again.Because of the delay caused by the leaky Speedwell, the Mayflower had to cross the Atlantic at the height of storm season. As a result, the journey was horribly unpleasant. Many of the passengers were so seasick they could scarcely get up, and the waves were so rough that one "Stranger" was swept overboard and drowned. (It was "the just hand of God upon him," Bradford wrote later, for the young sailor had been "a proud and very profane yonge man.")

Because the Pilgrims decided to settle outside the limits of their charter, they believed a written document was needed for self government of the new colony. Thus, the Mayflower Compact was written. After staying in Provincetown Harbor for five weeks, the Pilgrims sailed across Cape Cod Bay and made a permanent settlement in Plymouth in December, 1620.Chatham profoundly shaped Pilgrim history because of its dangerous waters offshore. Had the Mayflower been able to continue to the Hudson River area, there would be no Cape Cod, Plymouth or New England Pilgrim story. Nor would there have been a Mayflower Compact, the first self governing document written in the New World.

The story the Mayflower voyage and Cape Cod Pilgrim history is told at the Pilgrim Monument and Museum in Provincetown.

Details
HM NumberHM172Z
Tags
Year Placed2012
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Wednesday, October 15th, 2014 at 2:33pm PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)19T E 420986 N 4613696
Decimal Degrees41.67111667, -69.94918333
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 41° 40.267', W 69° 56.951'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds41° 40' 16.02" N, 69° 56' 57.06" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)508, 774
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 2-48 Main St, Chatham MA 02633, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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