Pilgrims

A pilgrimage is a journey or travel, that is often done for a religious purpose

Embarkation of the Pilgrims, a painting by Robert Walter Weir

The Pilgrims is the name for the early settlers of the Plymouth Colony, which is now Plymouth, Massachusetts. In 1620 they traveled to New England on a ship called the Mayflower. There were 102 passengers on the ship. They were English Puritans who had left England years earlier to live in Leiden because of religious differences with the Church of England. Unlike other Puritans who wanted to reform the Church of England, they wanted to separate from it, so they were called Separatists. The original settlers of Plymouth Colony are known as the Pilgrim Fathers, or simply as the Pilgrims.

The Mayflower was a cargo ship and was not meant for passengers. It was uncomfortable and small. Many Pilgrims got sick on the journey or soon after they arrived. One child was born on the Mayflower.

When they arrived in America, they built homes and farms. They received help from the Wampanoag people. The Wampanoag people taught the Pilgrims how to plant corn, hunt, and fish in the new land. They had a big feast for 3 days, which was the first thanksgiving.

Foods commonly eaten by the Pilgrims included bread, grains, corn, venison, turkey, mussels, lobster, eel, and clams.