The Opinionator

Mayflower

She was about 100 ft long and 25 ft. wide and required a crew of 25. She left Southampton, England on September 6, 1620 and made the voyage to Cape Cod, via Newfoundland, in 66 days. They had left for the New World about a month earlier with a companion ship called the Speedwell, but this ship acquired a leak so the voyage was scuttled and the expedition was forced to return.

The Mayflower carried 102 passengers, most of them members of the Separatist religion and the plan was to arrive in the area near the Hudson River and Long Island.  Weather and winter changed plans however and they ended up landing in today's Provincetown Harbor. About a month later they dropped anchor in Plymouth.

Of the 102 passengers, there were ten children and two dogs. Another child, Oceanus Hopkins, was born during the voyage and a baby named Peregrine White was born on the ship after it arrived in Plymouth Harbor.

During the first winter in the New World, the Mayflower colonists suffered greatly from diseases like scurvy. Only 53 people were alive to celebrate the first Thanksgiving, only four adult women out of the original 18 were left alive.  This festivity was a three day celebration put in place by Governor Bradford. Many Wampanoag Indians were in attendance because they had helped the Pilgrims survive that first winter with the help of harvested corn fertilized by the plentiful alewives in the area.

Tens of millions of people (one in seven)  are direct descendents of Mayflower passengers, but very few of these descendents know it. Eight US presidents are among the group plus a variety of celebrities and famous people such as Bing Crosby, Marilyn Monroe, Alec Baldwin, Cokie Roberts, Richard Gere and Dan Quayle.  The Mayflower Society, founded in 1897, exists to honor the memory of the Pilgrims and to bring descendents together.  There is a chapter in each of the 50 states and in some foreign countries. They can be reached on-line at http://www.mayflower.org/ .

Check out the History Channel  on November 19 at 8 p.m. for a special called "Desperate Crossing: The Untold Story of the Mayflower."   The following blurb is taken from the history channel's web site:

"Most of the people whom we now know as "the Pilgrims" made their way from England to the city of Leiden, Holland, a place of religious tolerance. They found religious freedom, but faced extreme financial hardship. A bold decision is made to move to America. In the late summer of 1620 The Mayflower sets sails carrying 102 English settlers and 30 sailors. Over the next four months, about half of the settlers and sailors die of scurvy and weather-related illness. An English speaking Indian, Samoset, visits the settlers and his visit leads to the signing of a peace treaty. By the Fall of 1621, the English decide to celebrate their harvest with a feast which is attended by at least 90 Wampanoags. That peace will last 40 years. This show features elaborate dramatic reenactments from original source material written by eyewitnesses and participants in the actual events of the early 1600s. "