The Pilgrims and the Mayflower

During the 17th century, there was religious unrest. There was a group of people who were Protestants, but who did not agree with the way the Church of England was being run. After trying to settle in Holland, they eventually set sail across the Atlantic Sea in search of a new life in the New World. They settled in North America in a place that later became known as New England.

In 1620, 102 people boarded a ship called the Mayflower and set sail from Plymouth on the south coast of England. They were all hoping for a new start in a new land. We call these people the ‘Pilgrims’. The journey across the Atlantic Sea was not easy; there were storms and large waves, but the Mayflower made the journey in two months.