The Mayflower's voyage from England to America took 66 days. It left England on September 6, 1620 and landed in America on November 11, 1620. So, what better way to teach our kids about the trip, than to give them 66 facts about the voyage?
These facts can be used in many different ways. I've written each one on a strip of construction paper, and stapled them together to form a chain. One link for each day of the voyage. I'll let my kids help me hang the chain on September 6th. Then, each day after, we'll take one chain off and read the fact. We should get to read the last fact on November 11th--the day they landed in America.
Hopefully this activity will let the kids see just how long of a trip the Pilgrims had, while also teaching them some lesser known facts about the trip and the Pilgrims.
But, you can use these facts any way you want to. Print them out and cut them apart, then put the strips in a bowl to be drawn out at random each day. Have the kids pick a number each day, and read that fact. Or, just read them all at once if it strikes your fancy. Use these facts as starting points for journal entries, research papers, presentations, or whatever you like. The options are limitless, so this list can be used to fit any teaching style and to reach students of any age and grade level.
I got the facts from a variety of sources. Here are a few of them:
Alright, now let's get down to what you're visiting this page for. Here is a list of 66 facts about the 66 day journey the Pilgrims took on the Mayflower:
About half of the Pilgrims wanted to move away from England because they disagreed with the teachings of the church of England, and wanted to be able to worship as they thought was right
Some of the Pilgrims were not Separatists, but were sympathetic to the Separatist cause
Some of the Pilgrims weren’t motivated by religion at all---they were hired hands, whose skills would be needed for the voyage or for the first few months ashore
When they left England, the Pilgrims obtained permission from the King of England to settle in America near the mouth of the Hudson River
The Pilgrims set sail on two ships: the Speedwell and the Mayflower
The original departure date was August 15th, 1620
The Speedwell developed leaks, so the two ships turned back
Everyone on the Speedwell crowded onto the Mayflower to start the voyage again
The Pilgrims left Plymouth, England on the Mayflower on September 6, 1620
The Mayflower (or hawthorn flower) was a popular flower in England, and that’s probably where the name of the ship came from
The Mayflower was made by hand; tree trunks were cut into lumber and tar was used to waterproof the ship
The ship’s sails were made of a heavy woven cloth, which was made by hand and would have been very expensive
The Mayflower had cannons on it (4 medium and 8 small)
The Mayflower crossed the Atlantic Ocean to get from England to America
102 passengers and 26 crew members sailed on the Mayflower
The Master in charge of sailing the ship was Christopher Jones
The ship’s pilot was a man named John Clark
The passengers included 51 men, 21 boys, 20 women, and 10 girls
1 person died during the voyage: William Butten
1 baby was born on the voyage: Oceanus Hopkins
Some of the children on the Mayflower were orphans and were traveling with other families
The Mayflower was a cargo ship--not a passenger ship
The crew lived on the upper decks
The passengers had to live in a big space called the ‘tween deck (a place between the upper deck and the cargo hold)
They didn’t have private rooms on the ship
The passengers used curtains to create privacy
There were no windows on the deck the passengers stayed on, because the windows might let in water
Some water got in anyway, so the ‘tween decks was dark, cold, and wet
Living quarters were tight: 5.5 ft high, 80 ft long, and 25 ft wide
Some of the passengers slept on wooden pallets attached to the wall
Some slept on hammocks made of cloth
Other passengers slept on the floor
Some slept in a shallop (a small boat used to take people to land)
2 dogs traveled on the Mayflower: a spaniel and a mastiff
There may have also been cats on board to catch mice and rats
Mice and rats were often found on ships because they liked to eat the grains the ships carried
The Pilgrims took with them everything they thought they needed to start a new life, but that probably wasn’t much
The Pilgrims rarely emerged from below deck to go to the top, because they thought too much fresh air was bad for them
The water was believed to be contaminated, so everyone drank ale (beer) on the voyage--even the kids
Early on in the voyage, when seas were calm and they had fresh food, the Pilgrims probably ate stews with meat and vegetables
When it stormed, they couldn’t cook food, because they couldn’t light fires
Often, they ate things like hard tack, cheese, dried meats and fish, salt pork, oatmeal and other grains, dried fruits, and pickled foods
When the passengers had to use the bathroom, they used chamber pots
They couldn’t take baths during the trip
Many people became sick on the voyage
The living quarters on the Mayflower probably smelled pretty bad
It was often hard to tell what time of day it was below deck, so people probably slept whenever they could
The boat ride was probably noisy with creaking sounds, metal fittings clanging together, and crew members shouting to one another
For light, they used lanterns fueled by oil and candles
The ship traveled 2 mph or less on average
They used the stars to navigate
The Mayflower sailed in fall and early winter, so the water was cold but probably didn’t have icebergs
The Mayflower was damaged by a bad storm halfway to America; the storm cracked a wooden beam, which was fixed with a “great iron screw”
In another storm, a young passenger (John Howland) was swept off the deck of the ship and into the ocean; he was saved because he grabbed onto a ship’s rope and was pulled back in
It took 66 days to complete the trip from England to America
The Pilgrims were trying to land at the mouth of the Hudson River, but rough seas and storms pushed them north
The Pilgrims landed at Cape Cod, Massachusetts on November 11, 1620
The Mayflower couldn’t sail right up to the beach, because the water was too shallow there (so they used small boats to get to land)
Since they didn’t land where they intended, they had to get new permission from the King of England to settle where they were
While they waited for permission from the King, the Pilgrims signed an agreement called the Mayflower Compact, which was a set of rules for self-governance
Food supplies were low when they landed in America
They spent their first winter aboard ship, because they didn’t have time to build houses
Some people died of Malnutrition during the winter, while they continued to live on the ship
The Mayflower stayed in the harbor for 5 months, while the Pilgrims built their new homes
After the Mayflower’s voyage to America, it returned to England and never sailed to North America again
The Mayflower passengers never returned to England; America was their new home
Are there some interesting facts I missed? Let me know in the comments below!
R Lea
No comments:
Post a Comment