A cargo hold, just 5 feet tall and divided up with canvas - this is what served as the living quarters for the 102 passengers of the Mayflower on their 66 day crossing to North America.

Don is joined by guest Anna Scott, a researcher from the University of Lincoln, to find out what this journey was really like. From the failures of the Speedwell to the tensions between passengers on arrival in the wrong place, how has this group of colonists become so intrinsic to the American story?

Produced and edited by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds/All3 Media.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.