New2view's Blog   Life on The Blue Marble

Not sure who wrote this surprising and interesting post but I do not take credit for it…in fact it appears to have originated with this UK site: https://www.mayflower400uk.org/

On August 5, 1620, the Mayflower departed Plymouth, England, on a journey across the Atlantic. Their destination was the Virginia Colony.

In other words, from the start, their intent was to head further south.

Keep in mind three important facts:

Their original destination was not what is now the Boston area, the place where they finally settled.
Boston is south of Plymouth, England (51° N vs. 42° N).
The intended destination was even further south (51° N vs. 40° N).

The journey was beset by many delays. They originally intended to set off in July. Since most of the people making the voyage were then living in Leiden, in the Netherlands. The plan was for a sister ship, the Speedwell, to depart England for the Netherlands, pick up the passengers, return to Southampton, join the Mayflower, and then the two ships would begin their journey.

On August 5, the two ships set sail for the New World. The Speedwell began leaking, so they docked in Dartmouth for repairs. They set out again on August 21, and after a few days at sea, the Speedwell began leaking again. The leaders of the voyage determined that the Speedwell would return to England, while the Mayflower would continue across the Atlantic. So, after transferring supplies, the Mayflower finally set out on September 6 — over a month behind schedule.

The transatlantic crossing proved treacherous. While the voyage initially proceeded smoothly, the ship was beset by storms and foul weather during the second half of the trip. They finally spotted land (modern-day Cape Cod) on November 9 — 66 days after they had departed.

Their original plan was to journey about 250 miles further south to establish their colony, but they faced a grave problem: They had run out of beer. Drinking water, in those days, would spoil and become notoriously disease-ridden. Travelers, like those journeying on the Mayflower, relied on beer as a drinking source that wouldn’t spoil. But they had run out.

After exploring the coastline of Cape Cod and the mainland, they finally chose Plymouth, just west of Cape Cod, as the place they would establish their colony, and on December 25 1620 — Christmas Day — they established Plymouth Plantation.

As I noted, their original destination was the Virginia Colony. They intended to settle on a large island, a place teeming with wildlife and natural resources, fronted by a huge and navigable natural harbor, and bordered by a wide river that flowed from far into the interior. At that point in history, the northern boundary of the Virginia Colony was about 225 miles farther north than the current border of Virginia. The island where the voyagers intended to establish their colony is today called Manhattan.

So, the Pilgrims settled in Boston, rather than New York City, because they ran out of beer…you’ve got to admit, its a sobering story!