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History of the Mayflower Timeline

(1620 - Present)

The Mayflower was an English merchant ship that transported 102 passengers—Pilgrims seeking religious freedom and other settlers—from Plymouth, England, to North America in 1620. After a difficult 66-day Atlantic crossing, the ship landed at Cape Cod, leading to the founding of Plymouth Colony in present-day Massachusetts. The voyage resulted in the signing of the Mayflower Compact, one of America's first documents of self-governance. Less

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Origins and Early Service

English families depart for the Netherlands

1608

Starting in 1608, a group of English families departed England for the Netherlands, where they could worship freely. Rather than work for change in England as other Puritans did, they chose to live as separatists in religiously tolerant Holland.

Mayflower active as English merchant ship

1609 - 1622

Mayflower was an English square-rigged merchant sailing ship, active from before 1609 until 1622. She was a typical vessel of her class, used for transporting cargo and passengers across European trade routes.

Mayflower designated 'of Harwich' in port books

1609 - 1611

Mayflower was designated in the port books of 1609–11 as 'of Harwich' in the county of Essex, coincidentally the birthplace of her master Christopher Jones in about 1570. There were 26 vessels bearing the name Mayflower in the port books of England during the reign of King James I.

Starving Time devastates Jamestown settlement

1609 - 1610

During the 1609–10 winter period known as the Starving Time in the Jamestown settlement of the Virginia Colony, 440 of the town's 500 settlers died of starvation. This grim episode foreshadowed the dangers awaiting future English colonists in America.

Jones recorded as master on voyage to Trondheim

Aug 1609

Records dating from August 1609 note Christopher Jones as master and part owner of Mayflower when the ship was chartered for a voyage from London to Trondheim, Norway and back to London. Litigation resulting from this voyage went unresolved until at least 1612.

Mayflower recorded twice on the Thames

1613

According to records, Mayflower was twice on the Thames at London in 1613, once in July and again in October and November, continuing its work as a merchant trading vessel.

Mayflower carries wine cargo on the Thames

1616

In 1616 Mayflower was on the Thames carrying a cargo of wine, which suggests that the ship had recently been on a voyage to France, Spain, Portugal, the Canary Islands or some other wine-producing land. No further records relate to Jones's Mayflower from 1616 until 1624.

Image source: Mayflower

Mayflower carries wine cargo on the Thames

The Pilgrim Voyage

Community resolves to cross the Atlantic

1620

By 1620, the Pilgrim community resolved to cross the Atlantic Ocean for America, which they considered a 'new Promised Land' where they would establish Plymouth Colony.

Weston charters Mayflower from Child and Short

1620

Thomas Weston chartered Mayflower from owners Child and Short in the summer of 1620 to undertake the Pilgrims' voyage. Jones was one of the owners of the ship by 1620, along with Christopher Nichols, Robert Child and Thomas Short.

Mayflower departs London with about 65 passengers

Jul 1620

Carrying about 65 passengers, Mayflower left London in mid-July 1620, beginning the journey that would become one of the most famous crossings in history.

Mayflower departs with 102 passengers and crew

Sep 6, 1620

On 6 September 1620, with what Bradford called 'a prosperous wind', Mayflower carried 102 passengers and a crew of 25 to 30 officers and men, bringing the total aboard to approximately 130 people bound for America.

Crew sights present-day Cape Cod

Nov 9, 1620

On 9 November 1620, after a difficult Atlantic crossing hampered by the ship's high stern castle that was ill-suited for the North Atlantic's prevailing westerlies, the crew sighted present-day Cape Cod.

Pilgrims first set foot at Plymouth Rock

Dec 1620

The Pilgrim Fathers first set foot in December 1620 upon a bare rock on the bleak coast of Massachusetts Bay, while all around the earth was covered with deep snow. This landing became one of the most iconic moments in American history.

Mayflower sets sail for England

Apr 15, 1621

Mayflower set sail for England on 15 April [O.S.] 1621, arriving 6 May 1621 in less than half the time it had taken her to sail to America, with the strong winds now blowing in the direction of the voyage.

Later Voyages and Legacy

No admiralty court documents mention the 1620 voyage

1620

No admiralty court documents have been found that mention the Pilgrims' voyage of 1620, making the details of this famous crossing surprisingly absent from official legal records of the period.

Captain Jones dies

1622

Captain Christopher Jones, who had commanded the Mayflower on its historic 1620 voyage, died in 1622, ending the ship's long association with its most famous master.

Image source: Christopher Jones (Mayflower captain)

Captain Jones dies

Mayflower believed broken up; timbers used for barn

1624

She is believed to have been broken up and her timbers used for building construction. Historical records indicate that in 1624, Thomas Russell of Jordans, a village in Buckinghamshire, erected a barn with timbers purchased from a shipbreaker's yard in Rotherhithe, which many believe to have been those of the Mayflower.

Owners apply for appraisal of the ship

May 4, 1624

Three of Mayflower's owners applied to the admiralty court for an appraisal of the ship on 4 May 1624, two years after Captain Jones's death in 1622. No record of the ship herself exists after 1624.

Another Mayflower voyages to Plymouth Colony

May 1629 - Aug 1629

Another ship called Mayflower voyaged from London to Plymouth Colony in May 1629, arriving in August with 35 passengers aboard, many of whom were from the Pilgrim congregation in Leiden that organized the first voyage.

Second Mayflower sails as part of the Winthrop Fleet

1630

This ship also traveled from England to America in 1630 as part of the Winthrop Fleet, and made further crossings in 1633, 1634 and 1639.

Second Mayflower lost at sea

Oct 1641

This ship attempted the trip again in October 1641, with 140 passengers bound for Virginia, but it was lost at sea.

Boughton uses phrase for his 1871 painting

1871

George Henry Boughton used the famous phrase associated with the Pilgrims for his 1871 painting, as did Bernard F., helping cement the cultural memory of the Mayflower voyage in art.

Image source: George Henry Boughton

Boughton uses phrase for his 1871 painting

SS Ruslan described as the 'Israeli Mayflower'

1919

The SS Ruslan, a ship of the Third Aliyah from Odessa that docked in Jaffa in 1919, has been described as the 'Israeli Mayflower' for its cultural importance in the development of Israeli culture, since several pioneers of Israeli culture were on board.

Image source: Ruslan (ship)

SS Ruslan described as the 'Israeli Mayflower'

300th anniversary commemorations held worldwide

Jan 1920 - Dec 1921

The 300th anniversary of Mayflower's landing was commemorated in 1920 and early 1921 by celebrations throughout the United States and Europe, with delegations from England, Holland and Canada meeting in New York. With 20 Mayflower historical societies throughout the country, the celebration was expected to last throughout 1920.

400th anniversary celebrations planned and held

Jan 2020 - Dec 2020

For the 400th anniversary of Mayflower's landing in 2020, numerous organizations planned celebrations to mark the voyage, and festivities celebrating the anniversary took place in various New England locations.

Full-scale replica burned in Great Torrington charity event

Aug 28, 2021

In a charity event, a full-scale replica of Mayflower was burned in Great Torrington in Devon, England on 28 August 2021, a year later than originally planned due to delays.

Plymouth Colony

Mayflower lies in Plymouth Harbor through winter

Dec 1620 - Apr 15, 1621

Captain Jones had originally planned to return to England as soon as the Pilgrims found a settlement site, but his crew members were ravaged by the same diseases that were felling the Pilgrims, so he remained in Plymouth Harbor through the winter of 1620–21. The entire crew stayed with the ship, and about half of them died during that time.

First Thanksgiving celebrated with Wampanoag people

1621

The following year, the survivors celebrated the colony's first fall harvest along with 90 Wampanoag people, an occasion declared in centuries later as the first American Thanksgiving. The American national holiday originated from this prayer event and dinner marking the first harvest of the Mayflower settlers.

Image source: Thanksgiving (United States)

First Thanksgiving celebrated with Wampanoag people

Heavy mortality strikes the colony by April

Apr 1, 1621

The governor and his wife died in April 1621; and on the first of that month, forty-six of the one hundred emigrants were in their graves, nineteen of whom were signers of the Mayflower Compact.

Key Facts

  1. The Mayflower departed from Plymouth, England, on September 6, 1620, with approximately 102 passengers and about 30 crew members aboard.
  2. The passengers included Separatist Puritans (known as Saints) and other settlers (called Strangers) seeking new lives in the New World.
  3. Before landing, 41 male passengers signed the Mayflower Compact on November 11, 1620, establishing a framework for self-government in the new colony.
  4. After anchoring near Cape Cod, the colonists established Plymouth Colony in present-day Massachusetts, where roughly half of the passengers died during the first harsh winter.
  5. The original Mayflower was likely dismantled around 1624, but its legacy endures through the annual Thanksgiving holiday and millions of Americans who can trace their ancestry to Mayflower passengers.

Source

This History of the Mayflower timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

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