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Did anyone else catch “Desperate Crossing” on the History Channel? They played it a few times over the past week and I was only able to catch the middle hour and a half or so of the excellent documentary about the Pilgrims and their grand voyage (unfortunately I missed the parts I would have liked to watch, which explained their motivations for going, and which explained how they made contact with the local Indians). According to the show, the Pilgrims were given some sort of charter for land north of Jamestown but south of present-day New York City. After a long and weary journey of about 90 days, they caught site of land at Cape Cod, Massachusetts. They attempted to go south and around the Cape to get to the Hudson River in New York, but by the time they got there the river was so polluted they had to turn back ( 😆 ok ok, I had to put that in there). What really happened was that the turbulent waters off the Cape (just east of Nantucket Sound) were too much, and a southerly wind helped push them back north. They decided instead to land on Cape Cod itself. Because of this change, the original legal charter they had obtained became void and so among themselves they agreed to the infamous "Mayflower Compact" as their governing document.Their time in Cape Cod was not the best. Although they had a break from seafaring, they were greeted by hostile Indians and were forced to find a different settlement area. They crossed the bay and settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The program I watched showed how they were a bit different than how we might think of them today. They dug up some Indian storage mounds during the winter months and took the corn that had been buried there. They also dug up some Indian burial mounds, and I believe they allegedly looted some of the graves. Interviewed on the show were some present-day Native Americans who discussed what went on back then. It was interesting to see the differing points of view, even though I thought at least one of the interviewees might be a bit "P.C.". So anyway, what do you think of the Pilgrims? Should their actions in disturbing the Indian mounds be condemned? Did they even have right to land where they did? And do you think the story of their voyage and settlement is seen in modern times through the disinfected Victorian view rather than cold, harsh eyes which saw what it was really like?
I saw the first hour. Their motivation for going was about what you would expect; religious persecution. It seems the left England in 1608 and went to Holland for 12 years before they left for America. While preparing for the trip they hired a mercenary to teach them how to defend themselves, Miles Standish. They did not conform to the church of England and did not celebrate Christmas, felt it was too Pagan and no one reaaly knew the exact date of Christs birth.
Thanks for that synopsis. You mention that Miles Standish trained them before they went on their trip. He might be an interesting figure to study. After they arrived in America they began to get sick and die off in high numbers. I believe of the 100+ that went on the trip, around half died before they got through the first winter. I think they noted, however, that Miles Standish was one of two figures who regularly tended for the sick. That was impressive since he was a “man of war”.On a side note, I thought it was interesting to see the Pilgrims - who I gathered were more or less pacifists - carrying guns and fighting off the invading Indians.
That was an interesting point made in the show. They wernt as pacifist as legend has it or as sexually repressed as legend has it.
This was a good documentary on the Pilgrims. I need to catch it again sometime. Looks like I saw it two years ago. How time flies!
