You're Dead to Me The Mayflower
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Mar 6, 2020 
A failed voyage, a leaking ship and a cargo of shoes: the Mayflower’s journey was hardly the triumph its legend suggests. Explore Puritan life, sea births and the settlers’ uneasy dealings with Indigenous peoples, including the remarkable story of Squanto. And discover how Thanksgiving grew into one of America’s most enduring origin stories.
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Puritan Faith Met Merchant Capital
- Financing colonial voyages required merchant investors; the Puritans partnered with merchant adventurers who demanded commercial returns like furs and fish.
- That partnership brought non-Puritans (the 'strangers') aboard to pursue profit alongside religious settlers.
Speedwell Leak and A Late Dangerous Voyage
- The expedition first tried to sail in August but the Speedwell leaked; they squeezed everyone onto the Mayflower and finally left in September, arriving too late in the year.
- The cramped voyage caused scurvy, sickness, and took 66 days at sea.
Mixed Passengers And Harrowing Ship Conditions
- Of the 102 aboard, only around half were Puritans; the rest were 'strangers' including experienced colonist Stephen Hopkins and many indentured servants.
- Conditions were cramped and disease-ridden, with at least one death onboard and widespread scurvy.