Giving thanks

On 1619, in the summer, two ships carrying over a hundred people set sail from a dock in the Netherlands. They were looking for a new life, new happiness, new freedom. They succeeded, and the name of one of their ships is a name everybody in the United States today knows.

These people did not come originally from the Netherlands, but from England. The religion that they practiced was against the law there, so despite attempts from the English to contain them there, the group ended up fleeing across the English Channel. Now a new problem arose. This group wanted to live in a place where they did not have to teach their children, and themselves, a foreign language.

So, one morning, a hundred pilgrims set out for America in their two ships, the Speedwell, and the Mayflower.  After stopping at Southampton, the Speedwell started to leak. It was put into the port of Dartmouth for repairs. After the Speedwell almost sank completely of its leaks, 200 kilometers after Lands End, it was put into port at Plymouth and deemed unseaworthy. Some passengers quit the trip altogether, while others joined the Mayflower, already a heavily burdened ship.

The real trouble of the voyage was on the second month. The winter gales threatened to tear the ship apart. There were two deaths among the crew, one an accident involving the sail, and one a man overboard. And disease spread among the passengers in the crowded conditions. Luckily, this did not result in any deaths.

The pilgrims first landed a place they called Provincetown harbor. After stealing from the Native Americans, the natives fought back, and the pilgrims decided to leave. They landed on Plymouth Rock, and called the new colony Plymouth. After finding an abandoned Native American camp, the colony was built.

It was December 23 when the building started. The men worked during the day and returned to the Mayflower at night to sleep. Bad conditions meant that the first "house", a small hut, took two weeks to complete. The workers suffered of disease. By the end of the first winter, 45 out of the 102 had perished, and only seven residences were built.

After peaceful encounters with the natives, the Mayflower left Plymouth at April. People kept on dying. By the end of November, there were only 53 pilgrims left. Before the dark months of the winter, the pilgrims decided to have a feast. They ate what was available, some wild cranberries, a turkey somebody had killed, and bread to stuff the turkey. This was known as the first Thanksgiving, now a public holiday in America.

From then on, the town of Plymouth grew, and became many towns, and the colony slowly covered all of Cape Cod. Until 1691, when it became part of one of the Thirteen Colonies. You can trace my family back to that voyage, a voyage that became one of the most known of any voyage...