The Plymouth Colony
I.The Pilgrims’ Journey
A.John Smith explored the Atlantic Coast of North America then made a map and wrote a book about the region.
1.Seeking Religious Freedom
a)The English wanted to move to the new world so they could make money and have religious freedom.
b)King Henry VIII banned the Catholic Church and forced English people to follow the Church of England or be punished.
c)The Pilgrims, people who make a journey for a religious reason, moved to the Netherlands in hopes of having religious freedom
d)Although the Pilgrims had religious freedom in the Netherlands, they wanted a place where they could all share the beliefs.
e)The Virginia Company paid for the Pilgrims journey to North America, and in return the Pilgrims would give them furs and lumber.
II.The Mayflower Compact
A.The Mayflower was headed to Virginia, but a storm caused them to land in Massachusetts instead.
1.Self -Government
a)Settlers arrived in a place with no government, so they signed an agreement , called the Mayflower compact, which outlined laws for everyone to follow.
b)The Mayflower Compact allowed the colonists to make their own laws by having at least half of the colonists agree on an idea.
c)The colonists decided to settle around a harbor because it had good fishing, and was a good place to grow crops
III.Building a colony
A.The first winter for the settlers was tough and about half of them died.
1.Help from Native Americans
a)After the long winter the settlers were welcomed by a Native American, Samoset, who spoke English.
b)Samoset introduced Squanto to the settlers because he also spoke English from his time in England.
c)Squanto taught the settlers where to fish and plant crops because their food was scares.
d)Squanto helped the settler’s trade goods such as fur cloth for metal because it could be used for jewelry and tools.
IV.Plymouth Grows
A.After the colonists arrived food was hard to get, so the land was divided among the settlers to force them to work harder.
1.Growing Prosperity
a)The colonists started to do well in Plymouth; however, their population did not grow.
2.Trouble Starts
a)As the colonists population grew, and their claims to land grew, fighting broke out between the Native Americans which caused trade to stop.
b)William Bradford wanted to force Native Americans off their land so the colonists could settle more land,. This lead to fighting among the Native Americans
Vocabulary
1. Pilgrim-
2. Compact-
3. Self-Government-
4. Majority Rule-