00:00The year is 1620, and you are watching this report.
00:04In New England, the Mayflower has just arrived carrying 51 passengers who would become known as the Pilgrims.
00:11This was the first English settlement in New England, and its success would eventually lead to the creation of the United States of America.
00:19But who were these people?
00:21What did they want with their settlement?
00:24And how did it impact the future of North America?
00:26Let's start with the obvious.
00:28Why did they name it Plymouth after a place in England?
00:32Well, they did so to honor King James I of England, whose name was also James I of Scotland and also James VI of England.
00:41But don't ask me why there's no King James V. He never had any kids.
00:47So, when Elizabeth I died without an heir, the throne went to King James VI, making him the first monarch of both the Scottish and English kingdoms.
00:56He took the additional title of King James I for the colony because he was the first king of a newly established territory.
01:03See what they did there?
01:05What?
01:05It was much easier for them to name places after kings than use GPS coordinates.
01:10Plus, if they named it something like East Anglia or West Anglia, nobody would have been able to tell where the heck that was.
01:18Naming things after kings solved both problems.
01:22Okay, so now that we know why they named it Plymouth, let's talk about why they came to New England in the first place.
01:29As far as motivations go, this one was pretty simple.
01:33They wanted to escape religious persecution.
01:36In the 1620s, England was still very much a Christian nation, meaning that if you weren't a Protestant, you were either dead or on your way out.
01:45The dominant form of Protestantism during this time was Anglicanism, which had been established as the official religion of England back in 1534.
01:54But there were other flavors of Protestantism, such as Presbyterianism, which was popular in Scotland.
02:01And then there were people who considered themselves separatists, believing that the Church of England was beyond saving and that the only true church was the one that you built yourself.
02:12These people were called Puritans, and they faced intense discrimination under King James Lefthurs, who wanted everybody to be on board with Anglicanism.
02:21That's why a group of them decided to sneak onto a ship bound for Virginia in 1620, even though the Virginia Company didn't want them there.
02:30Now, here's where things get confusing.
02:33There were two groups involved in the founding of Plymouth, the Pilgrims and the Puritans.
02:39And, to be honest, those terms are often used interchangeably.
02:43But while the Pilgrims were considered separatists, the Puritans were not.
02:47They just wanted to reform the Church of England from within, whereas the Pilgrims wanted nothing to do with it.
02:54They saw the Church of England as hopelessly corrupt and sought to establish a new church based on biblical principles.
03:01Not all Pilgrims were Puritans, but all Puritans were Protestants.
03:06To better understand the difference, think of it this way.
03:10If the Church of England was a pizza, the Puritans were happy to eat it with anchovies, whereas the Pilgrims didn't want any part of it.
03:18Got it?
03:19Good.
03:20But why specifically New England?
03:23Well, at the time, the southern colonies were being settled by people who were largely loyal to the Church of England, so it wasn't really an option.
03:31Also, the southern colonies were hot and swampy, which was not ideal for people who wanted to build a church.
03:38On the other hand, New England was cold and rocky, which was great for building churches since nobody wanted to live there.
03:45It was perfect.
03:47They could build their godly community free from the influence of the Church of England, and perhaps more importantly, free from the influence of people who might want to kill them.
03:56After arriving in Plymouth, the Pilgrims set about the task of creating the kind of society they envisioned.
04:03The Mayflower Compact was signed establishing a system of self-government.
04:08And, after a difficult winter, they formed an alliance with the Wampanoag tribe, who taught them how to survive in the wilderness.
04:16By 1629, there were 500 settlers in Plymouth, and it was considered a success.
04:21So, King Charles I, who had taken over for his dad, granted them a royal charter establishing the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
04:30And, so the Pilgrims got their own slice of heaven.
04:33Now, despite their desire to get away from the Church of England, the Pilgrims did bring some of it with them.
04:40For example, they brought their obsession with education.
04:44Every town was required to establish a school where children would be taught to read the Bible.
04:48That way, they would grow up to be good, godly citizens.
04:53They were also obsessed with the idea of hard work.
04:57They believed that if you worked hard, it meant that you were serving God, which probably sounds a little crazy,
05:03but it was actually a big help in building their settlements.
05:06In fact, it was the Puritan work ethic that led to many of the inventions and innovations of early America.
05:12Of course, the downside of having an entire society built around religion
05:17is that when you believe one thing and one thing only, life tends to be a little difficult.
05:23For example, people weren't allowed to eat shellfish because the Bible said it was an abomination.
05:29And that was that.
05:31No questions asked.
05:33You can imagine how difficult it must have been for someone living in a fishing community.
05:37The Pilgrims were also concerned with witchcraft, and it was common for people to be accused of it.
05:43In fact, between 1638 and 1653, seven women were put to death for practicing witchcraft in Massachusetts.
05:51Now, this wasn't anything compared to what happened in Salem a few decades later.
05:56But it was still a thing.
05:58To be fair to the Pilgrims, they were just trying to create a decent life for themselves and their families.
06:03And, by all accounts, they accomplished that.
06:07So let's quickly recap.
06:09The Pilgrims were a group of English people who wanted to escape religious persecution.
06:13They settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts because it was cold, and nobody wanted to live there.
06:19They created a government based on their religious beliefs and a strong work ethic, which helped them succeed.
06:25But they also struggled with things like witchcraft and food.
06:29So, you know, it's complicated.
06:31As successful as Plymouth was, though, it wouldn't be the last Pilgrim settlement.
06:37After gaining their charter, the Massachusetts Bay Company established a second colony north of Plymouth in 1630.
06:44This was a much larger colony with 800 settlers, and it quickly became clear that the two colonies had a lot to offer each other.
06:52Both colonies exported things like fish, timber, and agricultural products, which boosted their economies.
06:59More importantly, though, they shared ideas and innovations, which caused both colonies to grow rapidly.
07:06Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay were not the only colonies in the area.
07:11There were several other small settlements, but they were largely ignored until the French and Indian War broke out in 1754.
07:17When the war began, the British colonial secretary tried to raise 10,000 soldiers to fight against the French.
07:25But after he got 2,000, he realized that nobody else was going to sign up.
07:30So he turned to the most reliable colonial militia in the region, Massachusetts.
07:35Unfortunately for everyone involved, the war was a disaster.
07:40Many British soldiers deserted and joined the colonists, which caused the British government to crack down on them.
07:47The colonists felt that this was unfair and that they should be given more representation in Parliament.
07:53The British government said no.
07:55So, you know, maybe thank the Pilgrims for giving us the whole democracy thing.
08:04Probably the worst thing about the Pilgrims is that they're still talked about today, which means you're still listening to me.
08:10And for that, I thank you.
08:13If you enjoyed this video, stay tuned for more content.
08:16And if you want to learn more about the history of New England, click right over here.
