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The Pilgrims have landed...
On their arrival to the New World, The Pilgrims decided they needed
to organise themselves, and formed a temporary government known
as a Civil Body Politic.
They were the first permanent European settlers in America. They
had to work hard to build homes and grow crops. The harsh climate
and shortage of food caused half the settlers to die during the
first winter.
But
things would have been even worse, without the help they received
from the Native American Wampanoag tribe.
The tribe helped the settlers to grow enough crops to survive the
winter - and the immigrants celebrated with a feast.
That celebration is marked each year in the US, with the Thanksgiving
holiday.
The Pilgrims also signed a peace treaty with the Wampanoag tribe
- an agreement that was never broken. However, many Native Americans
died as a result of diseases carried by the settlers.
A defensive barrier of logs was built around the new village, with
gates in the corners. It was constructed after the Pilgrims heard
of the massacre of another group of colonists in Virginia.
The Plymouth colonists really had their work cut out, as they settled
into their new life. They had to build their own homes, grow crops,
and learn about the native plants and animals in Massachusetts.
Today, the village the Pilgrims built back then is recreated just
outside Plymouth, Mass - at a place called Plimoth Plantation. It's
built on a hill overlooking the sea, with settlers' homes constructed
as they would have looked in the 1620s.
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Museum
staff play the parts of the Pilgrims - here, it's blacksmith
William Palmer
Listen
to his story |
There
are thatched homes and replica furnishings, and inside you may find
women working over a hot fire preparing food for the family, in
re-enactments of those early days.
Outside are gardens growing plants for medicine and food.
There's a shared hayhouse, cow houses, an outdoor oven and a meeting
house up on the hillside, which was used for religious services.
There's also a courthouse.
And at the museum, staff take on the identities of the original
inhabitants.
Their heritage lives on...
To this day, the Pilgrim Fathers have an enormous impact on Plymouth,
Massachusetts. Their homes are still standing in the old part of
the town, and tourist attractions have been built to reflect the
history.
The
town's population is roughly 55,000, having doubled in size in the
last few decades. Many of the older residents remember it as a place
with only a few thousand inhabitants, where everyone knew one other.
The local economy has changed vastly since the early days of farming
and fishing. In Plymouth today, you're more likely to be employed
by the Pilgrim nuclear power plant, the local hospital or in education.
Increasingly, people are commuting to Boston for work. Local transport
links to the city are improving; a new station was built in the
next town in 2001, and new roads are being built to Boston.
With the increase in commuters and the development of new shopping
malls out of town, the focus of Plymouth is changing - something
which isn't popular with everyone.
Despite the changes, it's still a beautiful town, with many of the
first settlers' homes in the original centre.
There's great kudos in being descended from Native Americans or
the Mayflower passengers. Those who can prove with documentation
that they are a blood relation of 25 of the original passengers
can join the Mayflower Society
It was set up in 1897, by descendants of the Pilgrims who thought
there should be a national society to honour their memory.
But
what of the Mayflower?
During that first winter, the Mayflower stayed in Plymouth, USA,
and returned to England the following spring, in 1621. Then, in
1957 a replica of the Mayflower was built in Brixham, England.
The boat - called Mayflower II - was a gift to Plymouth, Massachusetts
and sailed across the Atlantic. She's now docked near Plymouth Rock
and open to visitors.
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