The Mayflower

Kate Caffrey

The ship itself was obscure and small, valued at a mere 128 pounds, eight shillings, and fourpence. Each passenger had a total area the size of a single mattress under a five-foot ceiling in which to cook, eat, sleep, dress and all the rest of living.

During the months-long journey, one Pilgrim died. Another, washed overboard, was miraculously washed back on deck. A crew member, not so fortunate, perished. The landing at Plymouth was on the morning of Monday, December 11, 1620.

Ahead of this brave band lay a harsh winter, which robbed more than half the settlers of their lives. When spring came at last, 54 people were left, 21 of them under sixteen. But when the Mayflower sailed back to England, not one survivor asked to return.

The men and women of the Mayflower did not come seeking fame or profit. They sought—and found—peace. The agreement they drew up before landing was described by John Quincy Adams as “the first example in modern times of a social compact or system of government instituted by voluntary agreement conformable to the laws of nature, by men of equal rights and about to establish their community in a new country.”

This book reconstructs the voyage that linked European civilization and America, the facts behind what was to become the first legend of the American people, a pioneering journey that took nearly four centuries to come to life as it does in these pages.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 392 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-1-4422-4248-7 • Paperback • October 2014 • $22.95 • (£17.99)

978-1-4422-4249-4 • eBook • October 2014 • $9.99 • (£7.99)

Subjects: History / United States / Colonial Period (1600-1775), History / Modern / 17th Century, History / Expeditions & Discoveries

The Mayflower

Paperback

eBook

Summary

The ship itself was obscure and small, valued at a mere 128 pounds, eight shillings, and fourpence. Each passenger had a total area the size of a single mattress under a five-foot ceiling in which to cook, eat, sleep, dress and all the rest of living.

During the months-long journey, one Pilgrim died. Another, washed overboard, was miraculously washed back on deck. A crew member, not so fortunate, perished. The landing at Plymouth was on the morning of Monday, December 11, 1620.

Ahead of this brave band lay a harsh winter, which robbed more than half the settlers of their lives. When spring came at last, 54 people were left, 21 of them under sixteen. But when the Mayflower sailed back to England, not one survivor asked to return.

The men and women of the Mayflower did not come seeking fame or profit. They sought—and found—peace. The agreement they drew up before landing was described by John Quincy Adams as “the first example in modern times of a social compact or system of government instituted by voluntary agreement conformable to the laws of nature, by men of equal rights and about to establish their community in a new country.”

This book reconstructs the voyage that linked European civilization and America, the facts behind what was to become the first legend of the American people, a pioneering journey that took nearly four centuries to come to life as it does in these pages.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 392 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-1-4422-4248-7 • Paperback • October 2014 • $22.95 • (£17.99)

978-1-4422-4249-4 • eBook • October 2014 • $9.99 • (£7.99)

Subjects: History / United States / Colonial Period (1600-1775), History / Modern / 17th Century, History / Expeditions & Discoveries

Author

Kate Caffrey is a historian who also wrote the celebrated Out in the Midday Sun.

Table of Contents

Part One: A Great Design
Part Two: A Hatful of Wind
Part Three: Establishment
Part Four: The Freshest Advices

Appendices:
1: The Passenger List
2: The Mayflower Compact
3: Typical letters to and from the Pilgrims
4: Passengers from Delftshaven to Southampton
5: Passengers on the Fortune, Anne and Little James
6: Officers of the Plymouth Plantation
7: The Mayflower Bill of Lading, June 29, 1654
8: The Melo Drama, 1808
9: The Mayflower Menu, May 26, 1897
10: The Inscriptions at the Barbican, Plymouth, Devon
11: The Founding Fathers

Afterword
Acknowledgments and Sources

Reviews

Miss Caffrey’s sprightly and readable account of the great adventure proves that in most cases truth is more exciting than fiction.
— Indianapolis Star

Kate Caffrey’s eye for telling detail and her knack for the apt metaphor make The Mayflower highly readable.
— The Christian Science Monitor

A sound, crisp and involving popular history.
— Kirkus Reviews

Entertaining and informative history.
— The Denver Post

The Mayflower

Kate Caffrey

The Mayflower

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