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Mayflower
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The
Mayflower was an English cargo ship best
known for being the ship that carried the
English Puritans, better known as the
Pilgrims, to the New World from Plymouth,
England, in 1620. The Pilgrims and
Separatists made up around one third of the
passengers with the remainder made up of
hired hands, farmers and servants. The
Mayflower was also the location for the
signing of the Plymouth Colony’s historic
first governing document the ‘Mayflower
Compact’.
Where
was Mayflower Built?
There are no records to confirm where, or
when, Mayflower was built, however some
1609-11 Port Books state that Mayflower was
‘of Harwich’ which suggests that Harwich,
Essex, is where she was built and launched.
It should also be noted that some later
documents record Mayflower as ‘of London’,
although she did use Rotherhithe in London
as her base.
What
Type of Ship was Mayflower?
Mayflower was a cargo ship built in the
style of a Dutch cargo fluyt. She was square
rigged with three masts; the mizzen or rear
mast, the main mast and the fore or front
mast. She would have had a beakhead bow, a
forecastle, an aft-castle and three to four
decks.
How
Big was Mayflower?
The exact specifications of Mayflower will
never be known as she was built before the
time of standardized measurements. However,
she was believed to have been approximately
110 feet in length with an estimated beam of
25 feet and a draft of roughly 12 feet.
Mayflower was also believed to have had the
capacity to carry 180 tons of cargo.
What
Armament Did Mayflower Generally Carry?
It is estimated that Mayflower would
have carried around twenty cannons of
differing sizes. Among these would most
likely have been minions, which would have
fired cannonballs of between 3.5 and 5.0
pounds. Cannons were necessary on ships at
this time to protect them from pirates and
privateers.
Mayflower Early Voyages
The first recorded voyage of Mayflower
was from London to Trondheim in Norway, and
back, around August 1609. On her return
journey the the Captain had thrown some of the
goods overboard to lighten the ship in a
storm. This led to legal action being taken
by Andrew Pawlings who had chartered the
ship. Mayflower was recorded as being on the
River Thames several other times, and on at
least one occasion was carrying wine which
had most likely come from France.
Who Chartered Mayflower for the
Pilgrim Voyage?
Separatist Thomas Weston
chartered Mayflower in the early
summer of 1620 from Christopher
Jones (Captain and quarter owner)
and Robert Child (Quarter owner).
Weston was instrumental in starting
and financing the Plymouth Colony.
Mayflower Begins her Journey
The Mayflower began her journey in
Rotherhithe, on the River Thames,
where 65 passengers had boarded. She
sailed along the Thames to the
English Channel where she followed
England’s south coast and anchored
in Southampton Water to rendezvous
with the Speedwell on July 22, 1620.
Mayflower and Speedwell
Speedwell was sailing from
Holland, with Separatists, and was
to meet with Mayflower before
they crossed the Atlantic Ocean together
to set up their colony in Virginia.
Unfortunately Speedwell suffered
with leaks and had to be repaired
before they left, delaying their
start by two weeks. Mayflower and
Speedwell finally set off on August
5, however further leaks in
Speedwell left them having to put
into Dartmouth for more repairs.
After resuming their journey and
sailing 200 to 300 miles beyond
Lands End, Speedwell developed
another leak and the ships had to
sail back to England, putting in
to Plymouth.
Mayflower Heads for the New World
Unfit for the voyage, Speedwell
was left at Plymouth and her
passengers boarded Mayflower, who finally set off on her
voyage to the New World on September
16, with 102 passengers and around
30 crew. At this time Mayflower’s
provisions were low because of the
earlier delays, and the passengers
were becoming fatigued having been
on board from the start.
Mayflower’s Difficult Voyage
The delayed start made the
voyage a difficult one with strong
gales blowing from the west and
shortages of food and other
supplies. A key structural timber
was damaged by the constant crashing
of the large waves, which led to the
passengers aiding the crew in
securing the fractured beam with a
jackscrew.
Mayflower Arrives in the New
World
Present day Cape Cod was sighted
on November 9, 1620, leading
Mayflower to head south to reach
their intended destination of the
Colony of Virginia. After two days
of battling against the winter seas,
they returned to Cape Cod Hook and
anchored there on November 11.
The Mayflower Compact is Signed
The male passengers on the
Mayflower drew up the Mayflower
Compact in order to establish a
government. The Compact was signed
by 41 men aboard the Mayflower on
November 11, 1620. The first
signatory was John Carver who would
become the Plymouth Colony’s first
Governor.
Winter Aboard Mayflower
When the Pilgrims went ashore
they were met with winter conditions
far worse than they had expected. As
a result, they spent the first winter
living aboard Mayflower. They paid a
heavy price for living on board over
the winter as a contagious disease
killed all but 53 of the passengers.
The Pilgrims finally disembarked on
March 21, 1621.
Mayflower Guns Defend the
Settlement
With a fear of attack from the
natives, it was decided to defend
the new settlement by installing
around six of Mayflower’s cannons on
the hill overlooking the site. With
the guns able to fire 3.5 inch
cannonballs almost a mile, the
settlement was well defended.
Mayflower’s Return is Delayed
Christopher Jones had intended
to return Mayflower to England as
soon as a suitable settlement site
had been found, however his crew
fell to the same disease as the
Pilgrims and he was forced to remain
in Plymouth Harbor until they
recovered. Mayflower lost half of
her crew, including the cook, three
quartermasters, the boatswain and
the gunner before the others
recovered enough to set sail for
England on April 5, 1621.
Fate of Mayflower
Mayflower arrived back at
Rotherhithe on May 6, 1621. Jones
continued to sail her as a merchant
ship until he died after returning
home from France on March 5, 1622.
Mayflower remained at her birth for
the next couple of years and, after
being valued for probate at around
£128, was most likely dismantled and
sold as scrap.
Mayflower Replica
A replica of Mayflower, Mayflower
II, was built at the Upham Shipyard
in Brixham, Devon, England, and
launched on September 22, 1956. She
was sailed from Plymouth, Devon, on
April 20, 1957, arriving in New York
on July 1. She is normally moored in
Plymouth Massachusetts as a museum
ship.
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