On September 16, 1620, the Mayflower sailed from Plymouth,
England, bound for the Americas with 102 passengers.
The ship headed for Virginia, where the colonists—half
religious dissenters and half entrepreneurs—were
authorized to settle by the British crown.
However, stormy weather and navigational errors eventually
forced the Mayflower off course.
Before the end of the year, the “Pilgrims” will have founded
the first permanent European settlement in New England.
Thirty-five of the Pilgrims were members of the radical English
Separatist Church, who traveled to America to escape the
jurisdiction of the Church of England, which they found
corrupt.
