OnThisDay in history, 1620, the Pilgrims departed from England on the Mayflower

 

Lest we forget

#OnThisDay in #history, 1620, the #Pilgrims departed from England on the #Mayflower to begin their journey to the New World. The Pilgrims, at least half of whom were religious Separatists, first went to the #Netherlands in search of religious #OnThisDay in #history, 1620, the #Pilgrims departed from England on the #Mayflower#freedom. They soon, however, realized that they would not attain economic and religious prosperity so long as they remained in Europe.

The Separatists’ rejection of the Church of England put them in danger of persecution, leading to their 1608 escape to #Amsterdam and then Leiden. Upon their arrival, #Holland guaranteed them the #religiousfreedom that they sought. But because #Dutch provinces were a fusion of cultures and beliefs, the State's religion had minimal power, and its society was relatively secular. Separatist leaders thus worried that their children would fall victim to the “manifold temptations” of Leiden’s permissiveness and be “drawn away” from the church “by evil examples into extravagant and dangerous courses.”

The migrant Separatists were also primarily farmers who had difficulty adapting to Leiden’s textile industry and low paying jobs. After attempting to assimilate for a decade, the Pilgrims determined that the growth of their religious community was being hindered by poor living conditions, which were worsened by the collapse of the wool market and soured relations between the Dutch and Spanish, whose 12-year truce began to expire. Some Separatists, said Pilgrim leader William Bradford, “chose the prisons in England rather than this #liberty in Holland with these afflictions.”

Thus, in looking toward #America, Separatists were hopeful that their mission would be more effective on #indigenous populations, and that their presence among other English settlements would strengthen their religious identity and economic prosperity. It was with this “great hope and inward zeal” that the Pilgrims began their voyage to a new world of possibilities.