James I of the Stuart dynasty began new traditions after the death of Elizabeth I of England, …show more content…
commissioned two ships for the Pilgrims’ to use. These were the Speedwell and the Mayflower. The Speedwell was already waiting for a crew in Leiden, Holland; it was to take the local Pilgrims off to the agreed rendezvous point, Southampton, which was in the southern region of Great Britain. In Southampton, England, the Mayflower would be waiting with more supplies and passengers. The two ships met in Southampton on schedule in August of 1620, and set sail immediately, but a short time after setting sail, the Speedwell sprung a leak. This forced the ships to delay their trip to the New World and head to Dartmouth, England, which is just southwest of Southampton, where they had originally set sail. The Pilgrims stayed in Dartmouth until the leak was fixed, and set sail again as soon as possible. Not long after they set sail from Dartmouth, England, the Speedwell again sprung a leak. The Pilgrims had already spent most of what little money they had on renting the ships and fixing the Speedwell for the first time, so they had no other choice than to abandon the Speedwell and pack as many passengers and supplies as possible onto the Mayflower, which was captained my a man by the name of Christopher Jones. A few of the Mayflower’s passengers, including William Bradford, a prominent English Separatist, thought that the Speedwell’s leaks were plotted to slow down their journey to the New World. Though nothing truly became of the case, William Bradford was not alone …show more content…
The Wampanoags had previously encountered other settlements of Englishmen, but none of their encounters had ended in either peace or friendship. Although the Native Americans had good reason to be wary of the Pilgrims, and expected them to be like others from Europe, after meeting the Pilgrims through a peaceful introduction, Massassoit and the John Carver agreed that the two civilizations could live together without conflict. Once the two leaders had come to a final agreement, Samoset brought another Indian, who went by the name of Squanto, to meet the Pilgrims. Squanto had previously been kidnapped by Englishmen and taken to England, where he learned how to speak English and was shown several of the Englishmen’s customs. Fortunately for Squanto, he was able to return to his homeland after a period of time had passed; when he arrived home, he found, much to his dismay, that his entire tribe had been wiped out by a plague during his absence. In spite of Squanto’s previous painful experiences with Europeans, Squanto was ready to join in and help to teach the Pilgrims how to make a living and thrive in