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KF5JRV > TODAY 18.12.24 10:06l 18 Lines 2814 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 2583_KF5JRV
Subj: Today in History - Dec 18
Path: IW8PGT<IZ3LSV<DB0ERF<DK0WUE<PI8ZTM<VK2IO<VE3CGR<GB7YEW<W9GM<KA3BVJ<
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Sent: 241218/0903Z 2583@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA BPQ6.0.23
On December 18, 1620, with the English ship Mayflower anchored in Plymouth Harbor, Massachusetts, a small party of sailors from the vessel go ashore, as its passengers prepare to begin their new settlement,
The famous Mayflower story began in 1606, when a group of reform-minded Separatists in Nottinghamshire, England, founded their own church, separate from the state-sanctioned Church of England. Accused of treason, they were forced to leave the country and settle in the more tolerant Netherlands. After 12 years of struggling to adapt and make a decent living, the group sought financial backing from some London merchants to set up a colony in America. On September 6, 1620, 102 passengersâ€ödubbed Pilgrims by William Bradford, a passenger who would become the first governor of Plymouth Colonyâ€öcrowded on the Mayflower to begin the long, hard journey to a new life in the New World.
On November 11, 1620, the Mayflower anchored at what is now Provincetown Harbor, Cape Cod. Before going ashore, 41 male passengersâ€öheads of families, single men and three male servantsâ€ösigned the famous Mayflower Compact, agreeing to submit to a government chosen by common consent and to obey all laws made for the good of the colony. Over the next month, several small scouting groups were sent ashore to collect firewood and scout out a good place to build a settlement. Around December 10, one of these groups found a harbor they liked to the west of Cape Cod Bay. They returned to the Mayflower to tell the other passengers, but bad weather prevented them from landing until December 18.
After exploring the region, the settlers took over a cleared area previously occupied by members of a local Native American tribe, the Wampanoag. The tribe had abandoned the village several years earlier, after an outbreak of European disease. That winter of 1620-1621 was brutal, as the Pilgrims struggled to build their settlement, find food and ward off sickness. By spring, 50 of the original 102 Mayflower passengers were dead. The remaining settlers made contact with returning members of the Wampanoag tribe and in March they signed a peace treaty with a tribal chief, Massasoit. Aided by the Wampanoag, especially the English-speaking Squanto, the Pilgrims were able to plant cropsâ€öespecially corn and beansâ€öthat were vital to their survival. The Mayflower and its crew left Plymouth to return to England on April 5, 1621.
Over the next several decades, more and more settlers made the trek across the Atlantic to Plymouth, which gradually grew into a prosperous shipbuilding and fishing center. In 1691, Plymouth was incorporated into the new Massachusetts Bay Association, ending its history as an independent colony.
73 de Scott KF5JRV
Pmail: KF5JRV@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA
Email KF5JRV@gmail.com
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