Who Were the Pilgrims?
2007-11-14

By D. E. Herrod, B.Ed.E, M.Div

Thanksgiving is fast approaching. I have been thinking about the origins of Thanksgiving and what the holiday really means. So today begins the first in an installment in a series about Thanksgiving. Like me you probably learned about the first Thanksgiving and how the Pilgrims and the Indians shared a meal. You probably even made a few of those funny black hats. But who where the Pilgrims anyway? It isn’t like they just hopped a plane and ended up in this country. How did they get here and why did they come?

Let’s begin by looking at the meaning of Pilgrims. Merriam-Webster Online dictionary defines pilgrim as “one who journeys in foreign lands or when capitalized one of the English colonists settling at Plymouth in 1620.”(1)

Well, we know that the Pilgrims sailed from Europe to the New World and landed in Plymouth. This was not a pleasure cruise ship with nice staterooms and a crew to wait on them. They traveled in the hold of a ship with little if any physical comforts. It was by no means a pleasure trip. This little band of colonist had left family, friends and homeland to settle in a new and unknown country. In that time period most people never went more than a few miles from their birthplace. Getting on a boat to travel to the “New World” meant never seeing one’s family and homeland again. In 1620 there were no non-stop trans-Atlantic flights several times a day.

But who were these people and why did they travel to a new land? Many of the Pilgrims were a religious group known as Separatists. Separatists had chosen to disassociate themselves from the Church of England and in doing so faced hardships. The group originated in Scrooby, England. In their quest for freedom to worship as pleased the group moved to Holland before immigrating to the “New World.”(2) Transplanting the congregation to Plymouth was a long process lasting over ten years. Not all of the Pilgrims immigrated for religious reasons. Some were contracted by a group of English merchants to provide needed skills. Prior to the early 1800s the term Pilgrim was used only to apply to religious travelers. (3)

The Mayflower Compact was a covenant that laid the foundation for the building of Plymouth. The group had been granted a settlement in North Virginia but ended up in New England. The leaders believed it was necessary to lay foundation for the colony’s government before landing. On 21 November 1620 the Mayflower Compact was signed by 41 men. (4)

The Pilgrims first landed 21 November 1620 on Cape Cod but decided to move on due to lack of fresh water and poor soil. At the advice of the ships captain the group sailed on to a place known as Plymouth. However no sources from the 17th century mention landing on the famous Plymouth Rock. The little band of colonist finally landed a month later in Plymouth. Arriving at Plymouth in the middle of winter the group would endure a hard winter. Approximately half of the group would not last until spring. (5)

The Pilgrims first made contact with Native Americans in the spring of 1621. An English speaking Native American, Samoset, was to contact the colonist. Samoset brought the locals to meet the new comers. Under the leadership Massasoit the Pokanoket community contacted the Pilgrims. The Pilgrims made a treaty with Massasoit forming an alliance between the Wampanoag and the colonists.(6)

The first Thanksgiving was actually a harvest Celebration held in October of 1621. The first Thanksgiving was attended by the remaining 50 settlers and about 90 Wampanoag men.(7)


Notes:

1. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary [Available on-line http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/Pilgrims, last accessed 13 November 2007]


2. Plimoth Plantation, Who Were the Pilgrims? [Available on-line http://www.plimoth.org/kids/homeworkHelp/pilgrims.php, Last accessed 14 November 2007]


3. Ron Collins, A Brief History of the Pilgrims? [Available on-line http://www.mayflowerfamilies.com/colonial_life/pilgrims.htm , Last accessed 14 November 2007]


4. Pilgrim Hall Museum, The Mayflower Compact, 1620 [Available on-line http://www.pilgrimhall.org/compcon.htm, Last accessed 14 November 2007.]
   
5. Pilgrim Hall Museum, The Pilgrims Landing in America [Available on-line http://www.pilgrimhall.org/arrival.htm, Last Accessed 14 November 2007]


6. Pilgrim Hall Museum, Politics and Coexistence, [ Available on-line http://www.pilgrimhall.org/politics.htm; Last Accessed 14 November 2007]


7. Pilgrim Hall Museum, The First Thanksgiving, [ Available on-line http://www.pilgrimhall.org/f_thanks.htm; Last Accessed 14 November 2007]