Mayflower compact
Indice
After Henry VIII’s break with Catholicism, the Anglican Church was consolidated. But some critics, clinging to a pure reading of Scripture, thought that the reforms undertaken were insufficient. Determined to go their own way, those who would become known as Puritans grouped themselves into congregations. They were soon subjected to threats and mistreatment.
It was then that they saw in Virginia, the lands that the Crown was beginning to conquer on the other side of the ocean, the ideal place: there they could reproduce their lives and customs, away from the control of the State and the Church. First, however, they needed financing.
Still, historian Philip Jenkins believes that “the emphasis on the Pilgrims and that northern point can only be explained in terms of early nineteenth-century rhetorical struggles over the character of American society, and by New England’s need to present itself as the real America, as opposed to the slaveholding, aristocratic, secessionist South.”
Mayflower boat
So they embarked 102 passengers and 30 crew, plus everything necessary to build houses, food, and live animals. They set sail on September 6 and after 66 stormy days arrived at Cape Code, on November 12, 1620, some 230 miles north of the mouth of the Hudson River, where they intended to go and the site of the end of the Virginia Colony. They finally went further to the mainland and founded Plymouth (Plimoth as they called it) in what would become Massachusetts. Winter was already setting in and they quickly began to build shelters on land.
The mayflower
Due to a series of problems with the ship, they were forced to return twice for repairs shortly after setting sail. On a third attempt, they finally left Plymouth on September 6 and arrived on November 11.
The initial route was to be made in two ships: the Mayflower together with the Speedwell. The first voyage departed from Southampton, England, on August 5, 1620, but the Speedwell suffered a leak and had to be repaired in Dartmouth. On a second attempt, the ship reached open sea in the Atlantic Ocean, but once again was forced to return. After some reorganization, the final voyage was made alone on the Mayflower.
Before disembarking, the Pilgrims wrote and signed the Mayflower Compact. They had made a mistake in reaching the territory of Virginia (a name that referred to Elizabeth I), where they had a land grant, granted by someone without any legitimacy who awarded himself such improper jurisdiction. On April 5, 1621, the Mayflower sailed from the colony of Plymouth (Massachusetts), returning to the United Kingdom on May 6, 1621.
Who were the pilgrims
A few days ago we were able to talk at length about the Mayflower Autonomous Ship project and its feat of crossing the Atlantic in an autonomous and 100% ecological way. Now the mission has suffered a slight setback and the ship has had to return to port for an overhaul that should not take too long.
It is clear that we are on the right track as far as technological advances are concerned. The area of innovation in the development of new forms of mobility is bearing fruit, as evidenced by the many presentations of prototypes, studies or projects that are launched every day.
The original idea of this innovative electric liner was to sail 5,000 kilometers from the port of Plymouth, in the United Kingdom, to the port of Plymouth, located in Massachusetts, United States, in just 20 days. This crossing would be carried out in a completely autonomous and efficient way, gathering the necessary power for its displacement through solar and wind energy, which would guarantee a 100% clean and sustainable journey.