What was the Mayflower?
A: The Mayflower was an English ship that transported a group of English
families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in
1620.
Starting in 1608, a group of English families left
England for the Netherlands, where they could do what?
A: Worship freely.
By 1620, the community determined to cross the Atlantic
for America, which they considered what?
A: A "new Promised Land," where they would establish Plymouth Colony.
After deciding to leave Holland, they planned to cross
the Atlantic using what?
A: Two purchased ships.
A small ship with the name Speedwell would first carry
them where?
A: From Leiden to England.
Then the larger Mayflower would be used to transport
what?
A: Most of the passengers and supplies the rest of the way.
The trip to the south coast of England took how long?
A: Three days, where the ship took anchor at Southampton on August 5, 1620.
From there, the Pilgrims first laid eyes on their
larger ship, Mayflower, as it was being what?
A: Loaded with provisions.
Carrying how many passengers, Mayflower left
London in
mid-July 1620?
A: About 65.
The ship then proceeded down the Thames to where?
A: The south coast of England, where it anchored at Southampton, Hampshire.
There she waited for the planned rendezvous on July 22
with what?
A: With the Speedwell, coming from Holland with members of the Leiden
congregation.
The ships planned to depart for America by the end of
July, but what was discovered?
A: A leak was discovered on Speedwell, which had to be repaired.
The ships set sail for America around August 5, but
Speedwell sprang another leak shortly after, which necessitated what?
A: The ships' return to Dartmouth for repairs.
They made a new start after the repairs, but what
happened more than 200 miles (320 km) beyond Land's End at the southwestern
tip of England?
A: Speedwell sprang a third leak.
It was now early September, and they had no choice but
to do what?
A: Abandon Speedwell.
On September 26, 1620, the Mayflower did what?
A: Slipped out to sea.
In proportion to her cubic feet of space, no heavier
cargo had ever been what?
A: Shipped across the Atlantic.
The entirety of a new church, a new commonwealth, a new
nation, all of which were to bless the world, were confined where?
A: Within the limits of Mayflower's hold.
In early September, western gales turned the North
Atlantic into what?
A: A dangerous place to sail.
Mayflower's provisions were already quite low when
departing Southampton, and they became lower still by delays of how long?
A: More than a month.
When Mayflower sailed from Plymouth alone on September
16, 1620, what did she carry?
A: She carried 102 passengers plus a crew of 25 to 30 officers and men,
bringing the total aboard to approximately 130.
At about 180 tons, she was considered a what?
A: A smaller cargo ship, having traveled mainly between England and Bordeaux
with clothing and wine, not an ocean ship.
She was a high built craft forward and aft measuring
approximately how long?
A: 100 feet (30 m) in length and about 25 feet (7.6 m) at her widest point.
The living quarters for the 102 passengers were
cramped, with the living area about how big?
A: 80 feet by 20 feet (1,600 sq. feet,) and the ceiling about five feet
high.
The first half of the voyage proceeded how?
A: With calm seas and under pleasant skies.
Then the weather changed, with continuous what?
A: Northeasterly storms hurling themselves against the ship.
During one storm, what happened to the servant of
physician Samuel Fuller?
A: He died and was buried at sea.
A baby was also born and named what?
A: Oceanus Hopkins.
During another storm, so fierce that the sails could
not be used, the ship was forced to drift without hoisting its sails for
days, or else what?
A: Risk losing her masts.