Cleaveland: Remember, we all came from elsewhere

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Seeing no prospect that they could practice their religion in peace, the small group concluded there was no alternative but to leave the land of their birth. They pooled their limited resources to buy space on a boat that would take them on a perilous voyage to a new land. The chance for a fresh start to their lives justified the risk.

The year was 1620. The group, known as Separatists, planned to sail from England to the New World. The term "Pilgrims" would not be used for decades.

photo Clif Cleaveland

Separatists rejected the mandated Church of England and its practices. Some of their small number had left England earlier to settle in Holland, where they soon despaired that they would be perpetual outsiders. They elected to join other Separatists from England in a journey to a new home.

Pooling their resources, recruiting investors and obtaining royal permission to settle at the mouth of the Hudson River, the Separatists retained two boats, the Mayflower and the Speedwell, to take them across the Atlantic Ocean. Two attempts at sailing in early August ended when the Speedwell sprang leaks and the ships had to turn back. Finally, 102 passengers, including 45 children and a crew of 30, sailed aboard the Mayflower on Sept. 6. Sixty-five of the passengers were Separatists; the rest were hired laborers, farmers and indentured servants, four of whom were children.

The three-masted Mayflower was 110 feet long. Passengers spent much of the journey on the middle gun deck, a cramped space with little privacy and a five-foot ceiling. They could access the upper deck only in fair weather. They had no latrine, depending on a bucket for their waste. Food, supplies, poultry, goats and sheep occupied the deck below. During storms, the gunports that provided ventilation for the living quarters had to be shut. A child, Oceanus Hopkins, was born during the journey; an indentured boy died.

After a rough crossing, land was sighted on Nov. 9. It was Cape Cod. Storms prevented sailing southward to the planned landing in present-day New York. After exploring the landscape, a site - presumably cleared for an earlier Indian settlement - was picked for landing. It would be known as Plymouth. Passengers remained onboard the Mayflower for weeks until rough cabins could be constructed. A second child, Peregrine White, was born ashore in late November.

Fifty-three passengers survived the harsh winter. Lack of fresh fruits and vegetables likely contributed to scurvy. Pneumonia and malnutrition killed others.

When the Mayflower sailed for England on April 5, 1621, not a single settler chose to return.

If not for provisions bought from passing ships, the colonists would have starved. Gradually, they gained a more secure foothold as friendly Indians taught them how to grow corn. Miles Standish, a military adviser hired for the expedition, showed the men how to hunt, fish and gather clams and lobsters. In October 1621, the survivors invited friendly Indians to share a feast at which a peace treaty was concluded. The feast was celebrated annually as Thanksgiving.

Over the next few years, the settlers traded corn for beaver pelts, which earned sufficient income to pay off loans that had financed the voyage. They obtained a patent from the North Virginia Co. to assume ownership of the land they had settled. By 1625, the settlers felt secure. Plymouth Colony Gov. William Bradford wrote to friend that the settlers "never felt the sweetness of the country till this year."

When politicians consider lambasting immigrants, they should pause for a moment to reflect on our nation's history. Except for Native Americans, all of us came from somewhere else.

Contact Clif Cleaveland at ccleaveland@timesfreepress.com.

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